Weighing food

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dwiebe85
dwiebe85 Posts: 123
in Food and Nutrition
Do I weight food before I take off the peel or before I cook it? Like for instance I just ate a banana, do I peel it first before I weigh it? Or what about cooking chicken, weigh first or after I cook it?

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  • Trilby16
    Trilby16 Posts: 707 Member
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    Do I weight food before I take off the peel or before I cook it? Like for instance I just ate a banana, do I peel it first before I weigh it? Or what about cooking chicken, weigh first or after I cook it?

    Why would you include the peel, or any part of a food you don't eat, to calculate intake calories?
  • dwiebe85
    dwiebe85 Posts: 123
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    I didn't know what the standard is. To me it's easier to just plop the banana on the scale before I peel it, then i don't have to wash anything. Like grapefruit, i don't eat the peel, so do i have to dig it all out and then weigh it?
  • erinsueburns
    erinsueburns Posts: 865 Member
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    I weigh only the part I will eat for fruits and vegetables, and I measures those precooked if I am going to cook them. As for weighing meats, since I cook a whole bunch at a time and then parcel out for later consumption, I weight AFTER cooking. But, I make sure to use or create an entry that accounts for cooking, and if possible, cooking method.

    http://nutritiondata.self.com/

    That website is really helpful for basic things like meat. I really don't like weighing meat uncooked anyway, because I feel like it increases the chances of bacterial contamination everywhere. The fewer places I have to set and move raw meat, the happier I am.
  • corneredbycorn
    corneredbycorn Posts: 267 Member
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    Weigh the part you eat.

    With meat, weigh raw. I don't know about the user above me, but I usually have to set the meat on something to season it, flatten/tenderize it, shape it, or cut it. I just put that something on the scale and weigh it then. Usually the something is a small cutting board.
  • dwiebe85
    dwiebe85 Posts: 123
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    So how is it with like grapefruit? Should I weight it before i eat it, then weigh it after?
  • jsd_135
    jsd_135 Posts: 291 Member
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    So how is it with like grapefruit? Should I weight it before i eat it, then weigh it after?

    This is what I do.
  • Bianca42
    Bianca42 Posts: 310 Member
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    I always weigh my meat cooked, but I make sure to use an entry for cooked chicken or whatever it is.

    I don't weigh my fruit, so no help there. (I log it, but more based on estimated size not weight. I figure since they aren't as calorie dense if it's off a bit, it won't be a big deal.)

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