Calorie counting

jeffrizzo
jeffrizzo Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Do I count calories before or after cooking?
eg. Hamburger patty

Replies

  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
    I use raw weight most of the time.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    jeffrizzo wrote: »
    Do I count calories before or after cooking?
    eg. Hamburger patty

    Typically raw weight with raw entry. You can also do cooked by weight, but you need to use an entry for "cooked" or grilled or whatever. Meat will weigh less cooked than raw, but it doesn't lose calories, it just loses water.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,055 Member
    You can weigh it before or after cooking, just make sure the entry you use specifies "raw" or "cooked," which all meat entries pulled from the USDA database will.

    Unfortunately, the green check marks in the MFP database are used for both USER-created entries and ADMIN-created entries that MFP pulled from the USDA database. A green check mark for USER-created entries just means enough people have upvoted the entry - it is not necessarily correct.

    To find ADMIN entries for whole foods, I get the syntax from the USDA database and paste that into MFP.

    https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

    Use the “SR Legacy” tab - that seems to be what MFP used to pull in entries.

    Ex:
    • Beef, ground, 90% lean meat / 10% fat, raw
    • Beef, ground, 90% lean meat / 10% fat, patty, cooked, broiled

    Note: any MFP entry that includes "USDA" was USER entered.

    For packaged foods, I verify the label against what I find in MFP. (Alas, you cannot just scan with your phone and assume what you get is correct.)
  • ehju0901
    ehju0901 Posts: 396 Member
    We should make this a pinned topic for how often it comes up. :lol:
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    ehju0901 wrote: »
    We should make this a pinned topic for how often it comes up. :lol:

    wouldnt matter. people would still ask.
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    Always weigh hamburger cooked and use the cooked weight calorie reference. The fat renders out at 9 calories per gram and you probably don't drink the rendered fat. Raw hamburger can be used for lasagna or chili (if not drained) or anywhere that dishes incorporate the entire product.
  • westrich20940
    westrich20940 Posts: 921 Member
    I'd search for the correct entry in the database ('cooked' or 'raw'). I typically weigh my meat raw bc I portion it out when I buy it and freeze it.

    I'm not sure in the grand scheme of things that it really matters. Tracking properly is important but 20cals here and there isn't going to make/break your weight loss. If it does, you have bigger tracking issues.

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