weighing

i use a kitchen scale to weigh steak and chicken and oranges or anything that has a weight to be entered in lol.
I thgouht about this when i weigh my pork chops this afternoon.
DO you weight them before you cook or after??????
Because the weighs are deff diff by 3-5 OZ somethimes once my george forman is done with them lol

Replies

  • kalisa11
    kalisa11 Posts: 4 Member
    oh my gosh! That's a great question. I usually weigh it before, but that might be wrong.:frown:
  • serenapitala
    serenapitala Posts: 441 Member
    i use a kitchen scale to weigh steak and chicken and oranges or anything that has a weight to be entered in lol.
    I thgouht about this when i weigh my pork chops this afternoon.
    DO you weight them before you cook or after??????
    Because the weighs are deff diff by 3-5 OZ somethimes once my george forman is done with them lol

    I do after, but I honestly don't know if that's right. I really just don't want to put raw food on my scale. I clean it well, but still I'd rather not have raw meat on it. I'm going to watch the responses though. I could be really wrong here .
  • Keiras_Mom
    Keiras_Mom Posts: 844 Member
    Most nutritional information is for uncooked meat. I always weigh before, unless what I'm looking up only has an entry in the database for cooked amounts.
  • Keiras_Mom
    Keiras_Mom Posts: 844 Member
    i use a kitchen scale to weigh steak and chicken and oranges or anything that has a weight to be entered in lol.
    I thgouht about this when i weigh my pork chops this afternoon.
    DO you weight them before you cook or after??????
    Because the weighs are deff diff by 3-5 OZ somethimes once my george forman is done with them lol

    I do after, but I honestly don't know if that's right. I really just don't want to put raw food on my scale. I clean it well, but still I'd rather not have raw meat on it. I'm going to watch the responses though. I could be really wrong here .

    Does your scale have a tare function? I put a paper plate or paper towel on my scale, then tare it to zero, then add my meat or whatever I'm weighing.
  • you're supposed to weigh before--otherwise you're likely underestimating your calorie intake since the precooked weight is generally higher than post cooked weight (for meat).
  • SouthernArt77
    SouthernArt77 Posts: 223 Member
    It depends on what nutritional information you're using. The database here has entries for both raw & cooked meat. I always try to use the entries without an asterisk so it's the official entry. Weigh according to the entry you're going to use to log your food. Personally, I usually try to use a cooked entry and just weigh each item I put on my plate then zero it back out for the next item.
  • SyStEmPhReAk
    SyStEmPhReAk Posts: 330 Member
    you're supposed to weigh before--otherwise you're likely underestimating your calorie intake since the precooked weight is generally higher than post cooked weight (for meat).

    This

    Unless the package also has nutritional value for cooked, weigh it raw.
  • FearlessRobb
    FearlessRobb Posts: 249 Member
    well in a raw steak there are no nutrition facts. not till u scan the bar code and my fitness pal gives u it if its in the database. but it doenst say if raw or cooked so what to do then?
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    I always feel like I'm cheating if I weigh before. My post cooked portion is always smaller than a pre cooked portion.
  • Honestly I don't have a scale, i just guess.
  • I always measure after too. I had a kitchen scale for awhile now, but just got a digital scale. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. I always read labels and measure according to what the package says.
  • just4nessa
    just4nessa Posts: 459 Member
    I weigh meats and most other foods before cooking. I've found a lot of inaccurate information in the MFP database so I use http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/list instead. There is nutritional data for both raw and cooked foods.
  • Josalinn
    Josalinn Posts: 1,066 Member
    I figure since the stuff comes with a weight in it at the store, I can easily divide it up into equal portions based on that....so I weigh before. Especially pasta!
  • SyStEmPhReAk
    SyStEmPhReAk Posts: 330 Member
    well in a raw steak there are no nutrition facts. not till u scan the bar code and my fitness pal gives u it if its in the database. but it doenst say if raw or cooked so what to do then?

    If the nutritional info doesn't say "cooked" weigh it raw. Cooking will alter the hydration of most foods (water) but will not change it's nutritional nor it's caloric value. You will likely underestimate your calories and macros if you weigh after.
  • SouthernArt77
    SouthernArt77 Posts: 223 Member
    well in a raw steak there are no nutrition facts. not till u scan the bar code and my fitness pal gives u it if its in the database. but it doenst say if raw or cooked so what to do then?
    For unprocessed foods like meat, grain, veggies, etc., I don't scan the package. If you use the database here and search for it in a form like "beef steak raw" or "beef steak cooked" you will get several listings without an asterisk. Those are the official MFP database entries and not entered by users, so those should be accurate.
  • serenapitala
    serenapitala Posts: 441 Member
    i use a kitchen scale to weigh steak and chicken and oranges or anything that has a weight to be entered in lol.
    I thgouht about this when i weigh my pork chops this afternoon.
    DO you weight them before you cook or after??????
    Because the weighs are deff diff by 3-5 OZ somethimes once my george forman is done with them lol

    I do after, but I honestly don't know if that's right. I really just don't want to put raw food on my scale. I clean it well, but still I'd rather not have raw meat on it. I'm going to watch the responses though. I could be really wrong here .

    Does your scale have a tare function? I put a paper plate or paper towel on my scale, then tare it to zero, then add my meat or whatever I'm weighing.

    That never occurred to me. Duh! Thanks :smile:
  • FearlessRobb
    FearlessRobb Posts: 249 Member
    well in a raw steak there are no nutrition facts. not till u scan the bar code and my fitness pal gives u it if its in the database. but it doenst say if raw or cooked so what to do then?
    For unprocessed foods like meat, grain, veggies, etc., I don't scan the package. If you use the database here and search for it in a form like "beef steak raw" or "beef steak cooked" you will get several listings without an asterisk. Those are the official MFP database entries and not entered by users, so those should be accurate.

    Only problem with that is the fact that steak isnt just steak there diff cuts with alot diff fat values. USDA select steak is a better cut the prime beef. also like people want a good marble in a steak it taste better cause its more fatty. (sry meat manager lmao)
    Im also a fan of tough steak so i luck out cause that the better for you type lol
  • SouthernArt77
    SouthernArt77 Posts: 223 Member
    well in a raw steak there are no nutrition facts. not till u scan the bar code and my fitness pal gives u it if its in the database. but it doenst say if raw or cooked so what to do then?
    For unprocessed foods like meat, grain, veggies, etc., I don't scan the package. If you use the database here and search for it in a form like "beef steak raw" or "beef steak cooked" you will get several listings without an asterisk. Those are the official MFP database entries and not entered by users, so those should be accurate.

    Only problem with that is the fact that steak isnt just steak there diff cuts with alot diff fat values. USDA select steak is a better cut the prime beef. also like people want a good marble in a steak it taste better cause its more fatty.
    True! I was just stating the way I search for things to be more likely to get the "official" database entries to come up: general item, followed by something a little more descriptive, followed by whether I want to see cooked or raw data. Usually that will return the official entries. If you search for steaks that way, you will get several listings for the different cuts of meat to get more specific. :)
  • WAHMto5
    WAHMto5 Posts: 375 Member
    This is what I do as well.
  • FearlessRobb
    FearlessRobb Posts: 249 Member
    im finding it much easier to just weigh before cooking till i scan something and it gives the option lol. i saw a package at the store said calories 120 raw 130 cooked how can cooking something add calories to it? lol
  • im finding it much easier to just weigh before cooking till i scan something and it gives the option lol. i saw a package at the store said calories 120 raw 130 cooked how can cooking something add calories to it? lol

    You'd have to give an example of what it is...my guess is that it's 4oz raw, 4oz cooked...the 4oz cooked would have had a higher pre-cooked weight because some water is often cooked out. That's pretty negligible anyway.
  • DaveHuby
    DaveHuby Posts: 175 Member
    im finding it much easier to just weigh before cooking till i scan something and it gives the option lol. i saw a package at the store said calories 120 raw 130 cooked how can cooking something add calories to it? lol

    You'd have to give an example of what it is...my guess is that it's 4oz raw, 4oz cooked...the 4oz cooked would have had a higher pre-cooked weight because some water is often cooked out. That's pretty negligible anyway.

    I notice lots of things give nutrition as "cooked according to instructions" which often includes things like added butter, oil, milk etc - hence the additional calories
  • GoddessG
    GoddessG Posts: 172 Member
    If I can find a calorie count for "cooked" whatever, I use that.
  • im finding it much easier to just weigh before cooking till i scan something and it gives the option lol. i saw a package at the store said calories 120 raw 130 cooked how can cooking something add calories to it? lol

    You'd have to give an example of what it is...my guess is that it's 4oz raw, 4oz cooked...the 4oz cooked would have had a higher pre-cooked weight because some water is often cooked out. That's pretty negligible anyway.

    I notice lots of things give nutrition as "cooked according to instructions" which often includes things like added butter, oil, milk etc - hence the additional calories

    very true--like brownies, cookies, rice a roni, etc. forgot about those things.
  • FearlessRobb
    FearlessRobb Posts: 249 Member
    im finding it much easier to just weigh before cooking till i scan something and it gives the option lol. i saw a package at the store said calories 120 raw 130 cooked how can cooking something add calories to it? lol

    You'd have to give an example of what it is...my guess is that it's 4oz raw, 4oz cooked...the 4oz cooked would have had a higher pre-cooked weight because some water is often cooked out. That's pretty negligible anyway.


    It was fresh raw chicken breast. plain didnt come with cooking stuff or recepies or anything it just listed that raw was 10 calories LESS than cooked i just dont get how cooking it could make it gain 10 calories lmao.
  • schondell
    schondell Posts: 556 Member
    Weigh everything raw
  • syrklc
    syrklc Posts: 172 Member
    I am sure it is before cooking. would be nice if it was after :wink: