I am sure this is a dumb question but

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Tara_238
Tara_238 Posts: 70 Member
in Getting Started
Do you weigh the food before or after cooking? I know it is a dumb question but I never owned a food scale and I am just now actively trying to do something about my weight. I bought a food scale and it came in on Saturday but I was unsure of when to weigh the food.
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  • Realtree2429
    Realtree2429 Posts: 81 Member
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    You weigh before :( It always makes me sad when the meat shrinks!! Hehe.
  • hearthwood
    hearthwood Posts: 794 Member
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    I think most on this board weigh before they cook.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    Before.
  • Taegre
    Taegre Posts: 7 Member
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    I came to the message board for the first time to ask this exact question. Because vegetables and meats change weight, nutrition, and fat content when they're cooked. But weighing things after they're cooked is difficult or impossible. Sauces add weight, and vegetables are usually mixed together by the end of the cooking process.
  • Birder155
    Birder155 Posts: 223 Member
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    I also weigh everything before I cook.

    Not a dumb question. :flowerforyou:
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    Generally before cooking but make sure you are logging as "raw" instead of roasted, cooked, broiled, etc. Sometimes you will have things that are already cooked, like using leftover chicken in a salad, then search for an entry in the database for cooked and use that.
  • oksanatkachuk
    oksanatkachuk Posts: 149 Member
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    Mmm.. Strange! I never weight raw, but I m cooking for myself separate. And I keep it simple- grilled chicken breast and it's only it.
  • missyme10
    missyme10 Posts: 38 Member
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    Watch out for pasta and rice, a bag may say portion size is x amount and x of calories, but that's cooked weight sometimes. So if you weigh dried, you end up with about 2 1/2 times what you should have in the case of rice - which definitely wont help the diet!!

    It varies on brand, so just check the label. If the portions and calories are listed in cooked weight, then you can find the information on line about how much it is in dried weight.

    With rice it's about 2 1/2 times the weight once cooked.

    I used to get caught out all the time until I realised this!
  • natalee8
    natalee8 Posts: 34
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    Normally before, however - if I am making a meal for a few people, I add the total calories of each ingredient raw, cook the food, weigh the total and then weigh my portion and divide total calories (this isn't as time consuming as it sounds, I just have a large plastic bowl I weigh the entirety in and then weigh my own on my plate).

    I really enjoy cooking food in sauces, currys, bolognese etc etc etc and so this helps me to know what I am eating - definitely weigh ingredients raw though!
  • Tara_238
    Tara_238 Posts: 70 Member
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    Thanks for the replies
  • GuyIncognito123
    GuyIncognito123 Posts: 263 Member
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    I weigh all my veggies raw but my meat cooked.
  • habeeba300
    habeeba300 Posts: 33 Member
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    just look if it says cooked,raw ,boiled,grilled,fried ,baked,and if its a takeaway check it says takeaway as that will be ready cooked
  • laurie04427
    laurie04427 Posts: 421 Member
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    Glad you asked, I just got a food scale and had no clue either hehe. :smile:
  • dbanks80
    dbanks80 Posts: 3,685 Member
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    I ususally weigh after since it shrinks
  • ksolksol
    ksolksol Posts: 194 Member
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    I'm going to tack on a second question to this thread, since we're discussing measuring -- how tightly do you pack raw salad greens if you're measuring them by cup instead of by weight?
  • johnmurphymfp
    johnmurphymfp Posts: 2,590 Member
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    You weigh before :( It always makes me sad when the meat shrinks!! Hehe.
    It shrinks?
    Like a frightened turtle.
    I WAS IN THE POOL!!

    lol, and the water was really REALLY cold.
  • Lemongrab13
    Lemongrab13 Posts: 206 Member
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    How do you weigh rice? It always weighs 3x more afterwards and the calorie input is confusing:noway:
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,324 Member
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    i weigh after.

    just easier for me. idk how different the cals and macros are due to it, but it hasnt had a negative impact that im aware of.
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
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    Just make sure you line up to what the listing and/or package says - most of the time, the accurate listings will include raw vs cooked.

    To the poster who asked about the greens....I tend to not even bother with measuring cups with my greens. If I've got my scale out and I'm weighing other components I'll note the weight, but it's not worth dirtying another cup when the calorie difference is so small - a cup of lettuce is what, like 4 calories? Don't stress about greens. (Disclaimer: cooked greens, esp in oil or sauce or something, are a horse of a different color. I was assuming raw.)

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