weighting your meals have a qusestion

Options
DCL123
DCL123 Posts: 4
in Food and Nutrition
So when you are measuring your food do you weight raw or cooked ?????

Replies

  • sclosson
    sclosson Posts: 120
    Options
    I weigh meat cooked.
  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
    Options
    grains and starches raw. veggies raw... not sure about meat. oatmeal pre cooked.
  • damonmath
    damonmath Posts: 359 Member
    Options
    meat raw as well.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,248 Member
    Options
    I weigh everything raw.
  • BJC78
    BJC78 Posts: 324 Member
    Options
    Great question :) im really trying to get away from all the already packaged portions especially in meats but I am struggling with this as well :/
  • rmsrws
    rmsrws Posts: 639 Member
    Options
    Meat I weigh cooked. Veggies usually raw. Grains uncooked. Pasta cooked, which I probably shouldn't since it absorbed moisture.
  • Lozx87
    Lozx87 Posts: 130 Member
    Options
    if im doing a meal for the family i do it both ways
  • babydull
    babydull Posts: 727 Member
    Options
    I weigh everything raw.
  • SheilaSisco
    SheilaSisco Posts: 722 Member
    Options
    All serving sizes listed on packaging (like meat) are listed as RAW weight unless otherwise specified. Meat shrinks when cooked so 4 oz of meat raw (one serving) becomes 3-3.5 ounces of meat cooked, depending on fat content. If you weigh your meat cooked at 4 ounces, you are eating more calories than you are logging.
  • dragonflydi
    dragonflydi Posts: 665 Member
    Options
    meat raw as well.

    I have trouble doing this b/c many things I cook whole and then slice afterwards. For example, last night I BBQ's a whole pork tenderloin. It doesn't get sliced until after it's cooked and rested ... so I weighed it cooked.

    So based on Sheilamknott's info, my 4 oz would have been about 5 oz given that it's pretty lean?

    Good thing I was slightly under my calorie goal yesterday! ;)
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    Options
    Always weigh raw, as stated above, that's what the nutritional info is based off of.

    If cooking a whole loin or larger steak to be portioned after cooking, follow these steps:
    1. Weigh it raw and make note of how many servings worth you will get out of it. (I.e. 16oz = 4, 4oz servings)
    2. Cook it
    3. Weigh again to find cooked weight. So, if it's now only 12oz, then since you know there are 4 portions, each person will get one 3oz, cooked, portion of the meat.
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 MFP Moderator
    Options
    Weigh meat raw for sure, go to any restaraunt and look at their burgers, they are VERY sure to specify that the 1/4 lb weight refers to raw or before cooking weight.

    It's the only way for 2 people to get the 'same' weight from a piece of meat, weigh it raw, then it doesn't matter if you cook it blood-rare so it's still got lots of moisture or if you cook it well-done with little moisture remaining. Because you weighed raw the moisture loss during cooking doesn't affect your "final"

    Same for pasta / rice etc. If you like it al dente (hardly cooked) you want the raw weight to get an actual serving vs my preference for pasta cooked almost to the point that it loses its shape (not really but just to show the diff) you'd get a LOT more pasta than I would using the cooked weight.

Categories