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cooked or uncooked... that is the question

activefatgirl
activefatgirl Posts: 107 Member
edited November 21 in Social Groups
Looking for some advise...

I just started the 21 day fix (bought it in March) but just able to commit to it now. I can't find my books anywhere to answer this question, so I hope you can...

I made mushrooms last night, once cooked I put them in my green container. My co-worker said I should have this before they were cooked? Which is the right way...

Also tonight I am having home made burgers, do I put the raw meat in to the red container or do I cook it first?

Thanks for your help

Replies

  • ketorach
    ketorach Posts: 430 Member
    Mushrooms lose a lot of water when they cook. I'm a noob here and haven't even started 21DF yet but I can't imagine filling the green container with cooked mushrooms. That's a ****-ton of mushrooms! I'd chop them and put them in the container before cooking them.

    No idea on the ground beef, sorry.
  • jpkrueger
    jpkrueger Posts: 280 Member
    edited July 2015
    Always measure in the form in which you'll eat the food. So in your examples above, measure cooked.

    And for ease of measuring, so you don't always have to chop everything up, your burger should weight about 4 oz. after it's cooked to equal one red.
  • ketorach
    ketorach Posts: 430 Member
    jpkrueger wrote: »
    Always measure in the form in which you'll eat the food. So in your examples above, measure cooked.

    And for ease of measuring, so you don't always have to chop everything up, your burger should weight about 4 oz. after it's cooked to equal one red.
    That makes no sense for vegetables that shrink with cooking. A green container can fit 3x more cooked mushroom than raw mushroom. This is one of the issues I have with 21DF. I get the convenience of the containers but it's not precise at all.


  • jpkrueger
    jpkrueger Posts: 280 Member
    The answer comes directly from Autumn Calabrese. While it's true that vegetables shrink with cooking, the difference in calories with what fits in the containers is minimal (since veggies have so few calories to begin with) and should not affect results. It's simpler to remember to measure in the form in which the food will be eaten which is why I imagine they designed it that way. I agree it's not precise, but "close enough" seems to work for this plan. That's also one reason why each bracket is a range, not an exact calorie count.
  • activefatgirl
    activefatgirl Posts: 107 Member
    So like pasta, I should cook it first (as I don't eat dry pasta lol) then use my yellow to portion it out. I guess a portion of dry pasta would be huge when cooked.
  • jpkrueger
    jpkrueger Posts: 280 Member
    Yes, exactly!
  • germany03
    germany03 Posts: 348 Member
    @ketorach for me that is EXACTLY the reason why I love 21 DF and am able to stick with it...it's not an exact since where this has to be perfectly right or that has to be perfectly right...ists a simple adjustment to your diet that even weak minded individuals like me can manage to do and loose weight. Keep it simple I say :)
  • ketorach
    ketorach Posts: 430 Member
    Lol @germany03. I'm a precise person! I measure my food by weight in grams!
  • germany03
    germany03 Posts: 348 Member
    @ketorach - I can be precise in some aspects of life...but food isn't one of them :) how are you planning on dealing with the calorie range during the 21 days, stick with the lowest number of calories allowed in your bracket ? I'm curious incase I ever get to where I have more willpower when it comes to food ;)
  • SatiaRenee
    SatiaRenee Posts: 798 Member
    jpkrueger wrote: »
    Always measure in the form in which you'll eat the food. So in your examples above, measure cooked.

    And for ease of measuring, so you don't always have to chop everything up, your burger should weight about 4 oz. after it's cooked to equal one red.

    This is the official advice from Autumn and beachbody. Measure what you eat how you eat it. If it doesn't make sense to you then measure somewhere in between--eat 1.5 greens raw and 3/4 green cooked which would probably be about the same amount in the end. Personally, when it comes to the green container in particular, I don't worry about it. The Eating Plan is quite specific about one thing--if you are still hungry at the end of the day, eat another green container. So I just assume that there's some green wiggle room and go from there.

    I also don't worry about steelcut oats. I just cook 1/4 cup uncooked in however much water and I'm done. I'm absolutely certain the end amount is more than the yellow container holds although I've never taken the time to measure it out. But 1/4 cup is a single serving so I assume I'm doing it right.

    Ultimately, I try to keep it simple. And so far I'm experiencing success so I have no reason to overthink it to figure out what isn't working or why. If anything, the only thing I'm looking at right now is moving up to a higher bracket because of what's said on page 76 of the eating plan.

    @ketorach The calorie range is actually more reasonable than say MFP's goal of one specific number. How often have you (or any of us for that matter) eaten precisely the number of calories MFP says we are supposed to have? And when have any of us EVER done that every day for an entire week? But a range? I can hit a range? I can fall smack dab in the middle of it one day, fall close to the low end on another, be up towards the high end on still another and, at the end of the week, my overall average is right where it should be.
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