Measuring Food Help??

katiekinney28

Hi Guys...
I need some help understanding how to measure food properly on a food scale. Here are my questions:

1. Do you measure your food AND log them in MFP (raw meat/chicken, rice, veggies...etc.) cooked or uncooked?

2. How do you measure your food on a food scale? Do you zero out the scale with a bowl on top of it and put the meat or whatever you're eating in it and figure it out that way?

Thanks for your help in advance!

quiksylver296

1. Uncooked is usually suggested, but as long as you log them the way you weighed them (cooked or uncooked) it will be fine. I personally do cooked, because I'm cooking for the whole family and it's easier.

2. Depends on what I'm weighing. Peanut butter - I'll put the whole jar on the scale, tare it to zero, take out the peanut butter I use and log the amount (it will show as a negative, but log as a positive number). Dinner - I just throw my plate on the scale, add the meat, tare, add the veggie, tare, add the whatever, tare, etc.

Ready2Rock206

1. Raw whenever possible - but whichever way you choose be sure to pick the corresponding entry from the database (cooked for cooked - raw for raw)
2. Exactly.

DaintyWhisper

I always measure my food raw. A lot of foods lose their weight when cooked. For instance, last night I cooked 1.5 pounds of chicken (24oz) When I weighed it after it was cooked, it was only 15oz. Since the nutrition label is for 4oz of uncooked chicken, it's better to go by that. The same goes for a lot of other foods like meat, veggies, and grains.

JB035

I weigh cooked food only.

I put plate/bowl/Tupperware on scale and zero, add meat the zero, add side then zero, add another side zero.

I either plug these in MFP then or write it down and do it later. MFP remembers serving sizes so the next time you can just select it and it will be ready.

Once you do this for a while you can pretty much eyeball food at other places you eat and add them in.