Why weigh meat raw?

Evamutt

I've read on here to weigh meat raw but I eat alot of ground turkey. Raw it weighs 5.5oz(It's extra lean & has water in it from defrosting) when i weigh it cooked, it's 3.4oz

jemhh

If you use the nutrition entry for raw meat, weigh it raw. If you use the entry for cooked meat, weigh it cooked.

Evamutt

some on here don't specify raw or cooked but I'll look more for it

jemhh

Look it up in the usda nutrient database. Once you find the entry, copy the entry name and paste it into the mfp food search box. Double check that the entry you get matches the usda info.

subcounter

Evamutt wrote: »

Raw it weighs 5.5oz(It's extra lean & has water in it from defrosting) when i weigh it cooked, it's 3.4oz

Exactly! While cooking the meat, a lot of the juices evaporate etc. So if you happen to cook that meal very well-done, vs lets say medium, the amount of calories are similar, however if you weigh them, the overcooked meat will just weight lighter. So you overestimate a medium steaks calories as USDA usually recommends cooking the meat pretty much well-done. Raw is simply more accurate.

Thats why the Raw Ground Meat vs Cooked Ground Meat data are different. Make sure you add them accordingly.

BiggDaddy58

If you are going to eat a steak, or chicken or whatever, find the calories for how you prepare it.

Grilled chicken breast, baked chicken breast, raw chicken breast , calories will vary ..same with steak, broiled, fried, grilled, raw, etc..

at least that's my thought..

jennifer_417

I don't think it matters if you log it raw or cooked, as long as you log it correctly as raw or cooked.