Take the food weight before it is cooked, or after?

bprsam
bprsam Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Maybe a stupid question, but when I mark food in my diary, do I weight it as it was pre-cooked (300g), or after it was cooked (165g). Item was beef meatballs, which I kinda overcooked...

Replies

  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
    its usually before, unless its stated otherwise on the package

    for pre-cooked meatballs though it should be a quantity measurement i.e. 10 (or however many) meatballs
  • kittygrrl15
    kittygrrl15 Posts: 11
    I always wonder this too. I am NO expert, but if I can find a non-asterisk USDA option in the database for the cooked version, that's what I use. For example, I made burgers last night. They were 4.3 oz before I cooked them and around 2.8 after being cooked. They were like 230 calories raw/4 oz at 86% lean, but I knew after being grilled a lot of fat cooks off. I was pleased to find an entry for broiled 85% lean ground beef in the database, which I was able to use for logging purposes with the cooked weight.

    I suspect when I put in some of my recipes they aren't entirely accurate since I log the raw meat often and can't weigh it after I cook it with a bunch of other stuff. I'd rather have more calories logged then under estimating, so I just suck it up sometimes.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    optimal is precooked but it has to be logged that way too....

    but really as long as you log it correctly it doesn't matter...imo.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    I almost always log precooked for two reasons. First, I figure (and I could be wrong) that how long you cook it may influence the final weight. For example, ground beef, 235g uncooked, becomes 185g cooked to the point of just cooked and 165g when cooked to well done (I am making up these numbers for illustrative purposes, I haven't actually taken the time to make these measurements). Second, many times I am adding multiple ingredients together, and I cannot weigh the final product in individual amounts. For example, a stir fry with peas, broccoli, onions, carrots, etc. It is much easier to weigh before adding to the fry pan.

    Hope that helps.

    ETA: make sure the item you chose to enter states that it is raw. The nutritional density will be different and therefore change the values.
  • MaryJane_8810002
    MaryJane_8810002 Posts: 2,082 Member
    It is recommended that you weigh the food before since you are adding ingredients and cooking can sometimes compress the food.
  • abadvat
    abadvat Posts: 1,241 Member
    You eat your food raw or cooked?
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
    The before / after problem is significant with pasta - I don't weight it before I cook it, since we make a big pot for everyone and I just weigh the portion that I eat after it is made. The box gives you the stats on dry pasta, so if you go by that and apply it to the pasta you cook and weigh after it soaks up all of that water, you are going to over estimate your calories by about 3 times (most websites have a 3:1 ratio between cooked and dry pasta).

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