Cooked or raw weight? Conflicting database items.

CindyWard2

When I look up meat like chicken or beef in the database, are the calories listed for raw weight or cooked weight. For example, today I searched for "beef, tenderloin". The first listing is "Grilled Beef Tenderloin Steak 1 oz, 275 cal. (which can't possibly be right) The next one said "Beef Tenderloin - Lean Generic, 8.0oz, 560 cal" (which sounds more likely).

MommaGem2017

I usually add 'usda' my search so I can get something that is more reliable. Also, I indicate if I'm weighing a raw or cooked item.

Ready2Rock206

Go with raw whenever possible. But if you weigh it cooked be sure to use a cooked entry.

VeronicaA76

Use raw weight. There is a huge weight difference between a rare steak and a well done steak from raw to cooked, but not much of a calorie difference.

MommaGem2017

The only problem about always trying to weigh raw is when cooking meat in batches, like in a slowcooker or cooking for multiple people. I need to take my cooked portion out and weigh exactly what I eat, but I absolutely make sure to find a USDA entry that states cooked.

Ready2Rock206

MommaGem2017 wrote: »

The only problem about always trying to weigh raw is when cooking meat in batches, like in a slowcooker or cooking for multiple people. I need to take my cooked portion out and weigh exactly what I eat, but I absolutely make sure to find a USDA entry that states cooked.

Use the recipe builder. Put in the raw weight of the meat and all ingredients. At the end weigh the total dish, use 1 gram as a serving. So if you have 100 grams you have 100 servings. If you eat 10 grams log 10 servings.

MommaGem2017

Ready2Rock206 wrote: »

MommaGem2017 wrote: »

The only problem about always trying to weigh raw is when cooking meat in batches, like in a slowcooker or cooking for multiple people. I need to take my cooked portion out and weigh exactly what I eat, but I absolutely make sure to find a USDA entry that states cooked.

Use the recipe builder. Put in the raw weight of the meat and all ingredients. At the end weigh the total dish, use 1 gram as a serving. So if you have 100 grams you have 100 servings. If you eat 10 grams log 10 servings.

It's really easier, if I'm just cooking simple chicken in the slow cooker, a large amount of cut up chicken, or cooking ground beef for multiple people - to just take out what I'm going to eat and weigh that and find the cooked entry. If I'm making a casserole or anything else with multiple ingredients, then yes, the recipe builder is the best bet.

jennybearlv

MommaGem2017 wrote: »

Ready2Rock206 wrote: »

MommaGem2017 wrote: »

The only problem about always trying to weigh raw is when cooking meat in batches, like in a slowcooker or cooking for multiple people. I need to take my cooked portion out and weigh exactly what I eat, but I absolutely make sure to find a USDA entry that states cooked.

Use the recipe builder. Put in the raw weight of the meat and all ingredients. At the end weigh the total dish, use 1 gram as a serving. So if you have 100 grams you have 100 servings. If you eat 10 grams log 10 servings.

It's really easier, if I'm just cooking simple chicken in the slow cooker, a large amount of cut up chicken, or cooking ground beef for multiple people - to just take out what I'm going to eat and weigh that and find the cooked entry. If I'm making a casserole or anything else with multiple ingredients, then yes, the recipe builder is the best bet.

I use both methods and lose weight just fine. Sometimes I completely forget to weigh a steak or something before throwing it on the grill. Perfect is great, but good enough will get you good enough results. I think it's important to know the most accurate way to log in case you ever hit a plateau and need it, but until then sometimes convenience will will help you stick with it.

JeromeBarry1

CindyWard2 wrote: »

When I look up meat like chicken or beef in the database, are the calories listed for raw weight or cooked weight. For example, today I searched for "beef, tenderloin". The first listing is "Grilled Beef Tenderloin Steak 1 oz, 275 cal. (which can't possibly be right) The next one said "Beef Tenderloin - Lean Generic, 8.0oz, 560 cal" (which sounds more likely).

https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list Type "beef tenderloin" in the search field and you'll get lots and lots of choices. Choose one that most closely resembles your uncooked tenderloin.

Suppose you chose "Beef, tenderloin, steak, separable lean and fat, trimmed to 1/8" fat, choice, raw".
Copy "13920, Beef, tenderloin, steak, separable lean and fat, trimmed to 1/8" fat, choice, raw" and paste that in the myfitnesspal food diary search field. The first item on the search is the one that most perfectly matches the USDA database. You can jiggle the number of grams on the usda database to match the number of grams you have in your food diary and you can observe that the 'energy' value on the usda database exactly matches the 'calorie' value on the food diary.

lemurcat12

JeromeBarry1's post is really helpful. Unfortunately, a lot of the entries are not accurate, and you need to learn to recognize them. The good ones for whole foods are similar to the USDA entries (or are the USDA entries), typically, so it's good to learn the format of them. There are some others that are okay, but many are not, and both of the ones you reference look bad on their face (avoid anything that says "generic" or "homemade," avoid anything with weird amounts, the best entries tend to have a lot of options, including 100 g).

Regarding the cooked vs. raw -- meat shrinks when you cook it, so the same piece of meat will weigh a different amount when cooked vs. raw. Raw is slightly more accurate, especially for something like beef where people vary a lot in how much they cook it (I personally don't think it matters much for chicken or beef if you cook it a standard amount like medium rare, and sometimes it is unavoidable to weigh it cooked, because you don't know what portion is yours before cooking or it has bones which are not included in the weight).

The important thing -- and this is really important -- is use an entry that specifies cooked or raw (and if cooked, the cooking method, since dry heat vs. braised result in different amounts of water in the finished product), and weigh it when in that state. I've seen MANY people on MFP take a 4 oz piece of chicken, cook it, end up with basically a 3 oz piece of chicken, and then use the raw entry for 3 oz when it was 4 oz when raw -- raw entries are generally fewer calories per gram or oz to account for this difference, so doing this results in undercounting.

This aside, the hardest thing for many cuts, including beef is figuring out which one to choose, and you have to be honest with yourself about fat content. If you have a package with calories, that's the ideal (and it's usually raw unless it says otherwise), but I understand you often don't (I never do, so always use the USDA entries), so that can be a pain. But you get used to it, and it gets easier.

ccruz985

I weigh all of my meat raw and log it as such.