Weighing and Measuring

MissMingLeee

So I have really been try my best on my weight-loss Journey. And I've actively been using this app to track my macros. But now I'm wondering what is best for certain foods as far as measuring. For Meats is it better to weigh before you cook or after you cook because I've been weighing after I cook. But I also want to make sure I'm logging my calories correctly for cooked Foods. And also should I be weighing or measuring peanut butter lol tell me some foods that you all have went from measuring with a cup to Simply weighing for better accuracy!

janejellyroll

The most accurate way for the majority of foods is to weigh (and log) the raw weight using an entry specifically for raw foods.

There are people who have success weighing the cooked foods, but given the change in moisture content during the cooking process, raw is going to be more accurate.

The most important thing, IMO, is to use the right type of entry. So if you choose to weigh and log cooked items, just make sure the database entry you're using is for the cooked item and not the raw one.

Weigh peanut butter. This one does make a big difference.

I weigh just about everything solid and all my condiments. I use a measuring cup/tablespoons for most liquids.

fitoverfortymom

Weigh everything solid on a food scale. Liquids can be measured using measuring spoons and cups (designed for liquid measure). Whenever possible, weigh meats raw--the exception being bacon when the label indicates the calories are for a cooked product.

Weigh peanut butter. Especially weigh peanut butter.

laurenbastug

You want to weigh as you track/log it. I know a lot of people suggest weighing raw and I try to when I can, but sometimes it's not possible so I'll log whatever it is with the word "cooked" (or "steamed", "boiled", etc.) after. So for example, I wasn't able to weigh my raw sweet potato but, I got the weight after I cooked it so I searched and logged "sweet potato cooked".

As for what to weigh, I weigh everything on a food scale and track everything in grams for most accuracy. Peanut butter is notorious for being super off in terms of using a tablespoon as a measurement vs. weighing in grams.

!

jjpptt2

In the vast majority of cases, weighing BEFORE you cook is going to be more accurate than weighing after.

In most cases, measuring based on weight is going to be better than other metrics. Not the case with most liquids, but certainly the case with solids.

kami3006

You've gotten great answers already. I just wanted to add that you should have some tissues handy when you weight peanut butter. It's a sad, sad, eye opening experience.

RoxieDawn

I use a digital scale for everythingthat has calories. If you purchase meats, chicken, etc. are bought raw then weigh raw before cooking. If you have cooked meat and it has a nutritional label, weigh it using the labels information. There will be entries in the database for both cooked and raw so select carefully and double check you have the correct.

Always weight your peanut butter and careful if you lick the spoon, it has calories too.

Maybe these links will help.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1290491/how-and-why-to-use-a-digital-food-scale/p1

AnnPT77

Yes, weighing is more accurate than measuring cups/spoons. Here's the thing: It's also easier. Lots easier.

You just need some tricks:

• Assembling a salad in a bowl, a stew in a pan, sandwich on a plate? Put the bowl/pan/plate on the scale, zero, add an ingredient, note the weight, zero, add the next ingredient, note the weight . . . .
• Using something from a carton or jar, or cutting a slice from a hunk of cheese? Put the container or chunk on the scale, zero, take out portion, note the negative value (it's the amount you took out).
• Eating a whole apple, banana, un-hulled strawberries, corn on the cob? Weigh the ready-to-eat food, eat the yummy parts, weigh the core/hulls/peel, subtract & note.
• I like to keep a few clean plastic yogurt-tub lids around to weigh small items, like a handful of nuts or chopped hardboiled eggs or something. Drop the lid on the scale, zero, add item, note weight, eat or use - just a quick rinse of the lid under the faucet & you're done.
• I also use an old junk-mail envelope to scribble the items while I’m cooking to spare spills on my electronic device, and record the results after.

No measuring spoons to scrape out, or wash, except when you need to measure liquids . . . and you can weigh some of them, too.

Plus a decent scale only costs $15-20.

More accurate. Easier. What's not to like?

Weighing raw, and using a matching (raw) entry in the database, is usually most accurate, too. Cooking things usually changes the water content, which changes the weight. Different cooking methods (or lengths of time) have different effects on the water content. Since water doesn't have calories, but weighs a good bit, it can skew the results for cooked foods. So, it's more likely that your raw food has the same calories as raw food in the database, and it's a little more iffy for cooked food.