Do you weigh food before or after cooking?

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meidoj
meidoj Posts: 4 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi friends,
Just wondering if you weigh your food before or after cooking? Tonight I had grilled chicken and out of interest weighed it before and after. It was around 190g before cooking and around 115g after. Till now I have been weighing before but maybe that means I'm not eating enough... or if I start weighing after, will I end up eating too much?
Thanks in advance for your help and thoughts on the matter, and keep going everyone! You've made it this far! ♡
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Replies

  • rhauser44
    rhauser44 Posts: 43 Member
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    I weigh chicken breasts after cooking. For thing that will absorb water or liquids during cooking (oatmeal) I weigh the dry ingredients before cooking.
  • gothomson
    gothomson Posts: 215 Member
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    I only weigh it before. If you look up calories it will usually say what the dry weight is and I've always found that works for me.
  • meidoj
    meidoj Posts: 4 Member
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    Thanks so much! I'll keep going the way I am. x
  • ktekc
    ktekc Posts: 879 Member
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    either way just make sure you are using the right entry in the database. The usda listing usually have raw and at least one method of cooked. . ie. steamed, fried, boiled. I do raw when i can and log it as raw but when i dont know which im going to be eating ahead of time i just weigh cooked and log with cooked entry.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    It really doesn't matter as long as you use the right entry.
  • DetroitDarin
    DetroitDarin Posts: 955 Member
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    I use the weight that shows me the MOST calories - as I wish to over-estimate intake and underestimate what i've burned.
  • WriterGirl30
    WriterGirl30 Posts: 7 Member
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    Are the pasta weights cooked or dry? I'm never sure
  • MommyMeggo
    MommyMeggo Posts: 1,222 Member
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    weigh what you log.
    weigh raw- log raw.

    I weigh everything raw personally - it is the most accurate.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    Before whenever possible. Just because you can cook the hell out of something and dry out every drop of liquid from it doesn't mean you cooked out the calories.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    ktekc wrote: »
    either way just make sure you are using the right entry in the database. The usda listing usually have raw and at least one method of cooked. . ie. steamed, fried, boiled. I do raw when i can and log it as raw but when i dont know which im going to be eating ahead of time i just weigh cooked and log with cooked entry.

    This.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    Either is fine just choose the entry that matches what state you weighed it in.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    WriterGirl30 wrote: »
    Are the pasta weights cooked or dry? I'm never sure

    For pasta and rice etc, you want to weigh it dry.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    Most things I weigh raw but bacon... always weigh cooked.

    And of course be sure to use the correct entry. Preferably the USDA one.
  • MPD6944
    MPD6944 Posts: 75 Member
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    Oops I always thought with pasta if it is 2 oz dry then it would be 4 oz cooked for around 200 calories. So it is still only 2 oz cooked for 200?
  • MPD6944
    MPD6944 Posts: 75 Member
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    Ok well I just had some angel hair and ate 112 g because 56 g seemed like hardly anything lol. Guess I'll have to measure it dry and cook separate from my hubby next time to see what it is. Thanks.
  • Kelbelb75
    Kelbelb75 Posts: 90 Member
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    For cooked servings, after. Otherwise before.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,222 Member
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    I'm down 113 pounds and I always weigh everything before cooking. Must be doing something right. For me there's just too much chance of variation regarding the length of cooking and the resulting volume of fats/liquids that are lost or absorbed during the cooking process.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    MPD6944 wrote: »
    Oops I always thought with pasta if it is 2 oz dry then it would be 4 oz cooked for around 200 calories. So it is still only 2 oz cooked for 200?

    You're not too far off with your 4oz cooked, if anything you're overestimating a bit. For most of the pasta I use, 56g dry is about 130g cooked.

    Rice is all over the place though!

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