Weighing and Measuring

txteachermom
txteachermom Posts: 83 Member
edited November 12 in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone! So I've lost 20 pounds in the last 6 weeks or so, and MFP combined with walking and using my Fitbit seems to really be working for me. I have a high calorie goal (2190, because I'm 5'8", 305 pounds, sedentary, set to 1 lb/week), and I haven't had a hard time staying under at all.

I went ahead and bought a food scale though because I know that as I lose more weight, my logging will have to be more and more accurate in order for me to continue to lose. My question is primarily about weighing/measuring food when cooking. Do you weigh/measure before it goes into the meal, or weigh/measure the final product? So if I'm making soup, do I measure the raw ingredients, or just measure the soup I will be eating at the end?

Thanks so much for any help and advice, and good luck to all of you on your journey!

Replies

  • CyberTone
    CyberTone Posts: 7,337 Member
    edited February 2015
    - Weigh and record the weight of your cooking pot or storage container.​
    - Weigh and record the individual weights of all raw ingredients that contribute Calories, including oil, butter, and any spices more than 1 tsp. (more than 3 g) - if you want to be exact, and all salt if you need to monitor your sodium intake.
    - Cook recipe, adding water if needed - water contributes zero Calories.
    - After cooking, weigh cooked food in cooking pot or cooked food in storage container.
    - Subtract weight of cooking pot or storage container.
    - Record total weight of cooked food.
    - Either set serving size as total weight of cooked food or divide into X number of servings by a convenient serving weight.
    - Use the Recipe Importer or Old Recipe Calculator to enter the weights of each individual raw ingredient to calculate macro- and micronutrients.
    - Tip: Record total weight and number of servings in the Name of the Recipe since there is no other place to record that information.
  • lsprinkles
    lsprinkles Posts: 5 Member
    txteachermom wrote: »
    Hi everyone! So I've lost 20 pounds in the last 6 weeks or so, and MFP combined with walking and using my Fitbit seems to really be working for me. I have a high calorie goal (2190, because I'm 5'8", 305 pounds, sedentary, set to 1 lb/week), and I haven't had a hard time staying under at all.

    I went ahead and bought a food scale though because I know that as I lose more weight, my logging will have to be more and more accurate in order for me to continue to lose. My question is primarily about weighing/measuring food when cooking. Do you weigh/measure before it goes into the meal, or weigh/measure the final product? So if I'm making soup, do I measure the raw ingredients, or just measure the soup I will be eating at the end?

    Thanks so much for any help and advice, and good luck to all of you on your journey!

  • lsprinkles
    lsprinkles Posts: 5 Member
    You can really donut either way. Be careful though because things will have different weights before and after they are cooked. For example, if you are going to bake a chicken breast weigh it beforehand and select the item that specifically says chicken, raw, with skin (or whatever). If you are weighing it after it's cooked, select the one that says chicken, breast, baked. MFP has a recipe calculator you can use for things like soup. I usually find it easier to just weigh the cooked product because I cook for my family. Fir example, if I make pot roast, I will weigh the meat, carrots and potatos separately and account fir the sauce. Hope that helps. I am absolutely religious about weighing everything I eat and it makes a big difference, you may be surprised at what you are actually eating.
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