weigh meat before or after cooking?

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Amanda4change
Amanda4change Posts: 620 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been weighing my meats prior to cooking, I was told today that was wrong and I should be weighing them after cooking for correct portion. Does it really matter if my 6oz of chicken becomes 5.5 after cooking?

Replies

  • quarkenstein
    quarkenstein Posts: 60 Member
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    I weigh before...better to overestimate than underestimate :) But chicken doesn't lose that many calories (the weight loss in meat comes from water) for ground beef, you may have some fat coming off. But I would err on the side of caution.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    I weigh all of mine before cooking.
  • FoxyLifter
    FoxyLifter Posts: 965 Member
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    I check the entry to see if it says "raw" or "cooked" in the title

    I cross check the information by searching the web for the similar item.

    For example I'll search "how many calories in chicken, skinless, boneless, raw".

    If the calories are a match, great! I'll use that entry.

    If the calories don't match, I'll search for a more precise entry or edit the incorrect one (warning, the database has a plethora of inaccurate entries, but on order to reduce clutter, make sure that a correct entry truly does not exist before you add/edit* another entry).

    *From what I understand, when you edit an entry, the original entry will still be in the database.
  • adamgoleafs87
    adamgoleafs87 Posts: 129 Member
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    After. Your not eating it before you cook it, so why weigh it before, I asked someone about this a while ago and they had a good response. She told me weigh it after, why give yourself less than you can actually have..hah
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    I weigh before. First, I often add things that mix together during the cooking process so weighing after doesn't work. Second, when I log, I make sure that the entry states 'raw' or 'uncooked.'
  • rudy336
    rudy336 Posts: 66 Member
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    i weigh before cooking :)
  • TurtleTape
    TurtleTape Posts: 254 Member
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    Weigh before; it's more accurate and it's always better to overestimate.
  • Lizajayne23
    Lizajayne23 Posts: 123 Member
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    Calories are based on raw meat so if you're weighing it after, you could be consuming many more calories. I cooked 32 oz of chicken tonight so that was 8 servings at 110 calories each. After cooking, meat becomes more calorie dense so it weighed only 20 oz when divided by 8 equals 2.5 oz servings. If I had still eaten 4 oz it would have been nearly double the calories. Maybe not such a big deal with chicken but when beef is 300 cal per raw serving, it can add up.
  • PennyVonDread
    PennyVonDread Posts: 432 Member
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    You're supposed to weight portions of meat before cooking. Calories are calculated based on that and the weight will change after it is cooked. Log all raw components going into making your meal and it's accurate.

    Same goes for grains like rice/oats which will gain weight in water after they soak it up during cooking giving vastly different caloric values.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    I've done it both ways, but I prefer to weight after it's cooked because whatever that is will be my serving. I find out the nutrition information for cooked and then compare it with what's in the MFP database. All I can say is there are are a lot of underestimations in the MFP database.
  • rrowdiness
    rrowdiness Posts: 119 Member
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    Before (raw weight).
  • kathystrauss1
    kathystrauss1 Posts: 142 Member
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    Before is probably more accurate but realistically it doesn't work for me. I don't cook in nice little single servings. I'm usually cooking a whole roast or chicken or whatever and would have to weigh my portion after anyways. I just make sure I use the calorie selection for cooked when I enter it.
  • Jo2926
    Jo2926 Posts: 489 Member
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    It makes absolutely no difference, as long as you are then using the appropriate nutritional information - i.e. for raw or cooked. I usually do it before I cook as I often add other things to the plan as well so its impractical afterwards, but its just personal preference.

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