Weighing food: before or after cooking?

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EatingAndKnitting
EatingAndKnitting Posts: 531 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've been tracking my food for twenty one days now, which is a record for me (go me!). I've been eyeballing my measurements, and it's been working for me, but I want to start really tracking.

I got a new battery for my food scale and will start weighing my food. I'm making a chart with the weight of my dishes and pans to make this easier.

Anyway, should I weigh my food before I cook it or after? I know a chicken breast shrinks quite a bit when it cooks, but does that change the weight? I mostly use frozen veggies and chicken.

Thanks!

Replies

  • Karen_can_do_this
    Karen_can_do_this Posts: 1,150 Member
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    I always weigh my foods raw. Go you great thing for starting to weigh your foods!!! That's excellent
  • cross2bear
    cross2bear Posts: 1,106 Member
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    There are foods in the MFP database to cover both possibilities, both raw and cooked. Just make sure when you are selecting a food from that data base that you pick the right one.

    Personally, I weigh food as I eat it, so I weigh cooked.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    The information on the nutrition label is usually for the raw weight (at least, this is true in the US. it may be different in other countries). I prefer to weigh my food raw because 1. I find it easier, personally and 2. I like to be able to check my entries against the info on my food label.

    But, the important thing, as was said up above, is that you pick an accurate and appropriate entry that matches how you weighed the food. If you boil a chicken breast you'd want a different entry than if you grilled it, etc. because the different amounts of fluid the breast will contain when done. There are a ton of good entries in the database that will cover most contingencies. Take a look and find what works best for you.
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
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    I weigh raw when possible because it's more accurate, but chose the appropriate entry either way :smile:
  • EatingAndKnitting
    EatingAndKnitting Posts: 531 Member
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    Awesome! Thanks! Y'all are the best.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    i weigh raw - your chicken breast example is perfect. if you cook it so it's just cooked and still moist, it'll be lighter than if you weighed it raw, but heavier than if you cook if for longer and it gets dry. if you use a "cooked" chicken breast entry, how do you know how they cooked it? you're also not likely to cook it identically every time...
  • Nevada
    Nevada Posts: 140 Member
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    You might not need to be noting the weight of your plates. Your digital scale probably has a button marked "TARE".
    If so, you put the empty plate on the scale, press TARE, and that weighs the plate and sets the readout to zero. When you add food to the plate, the reading is now just the weight of the food.

    After a few days putting your food on the scale becomes a habit.
  • pebble4321
    pebble4321 Posts: 1,132 Member
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    You can do either. There is no right or wrong.

    Weighing raw is probably going to be more accurate, but if you are eating leftovers or precooked stuff then you still need to weigh and log.

    Just look in the database for the appropriate entry: chicken breast, raw or chicken breast, roasted for example.
  • Nikki10129
    Nikki10129 Posts: 292 Member
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    I weigh raw because most packaging labels are raw. In particular stuff like pasta, you aren't going to get an accurate measurement cooked compared to dry. I also cook a lot of things together (fry up a bunch of veggies for a stir fry) so it's easier to put them in the recipe builder raw
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Raw when possible, otherwise cooked. Just use the accurate entry (make sure it specifies raw or cooked).
  • upoffthemat
    upoffthemat Posts: 679 Member
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    Depends on the food really. For food that is boiled (pasta, rice, quinoa, etc) I would definitely weigh raw, in general it is going to pick up a lot of water weight and how long you cook it and how much water it picks up makes a huge difference. Same can go for meat, although for some with a high fat content (bacon, some roasts, ground beef) that I cook fat out of it I weigh cooked. If I have fresh chicken breasts I will weigh raw, frozen I weigh cooked because of water content
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    filbo132 wrote: »
    makingmark wrote: »
    Depends on the food really. For food that is boiled (pasta, rice, quinoa, etc) I would definitely weigh raw, in general it is going to pick up a lot of water weight and how long you cook it and how much water it picks up makes a huge difference. Same can go for meat, although for some with a high fat content (bacon, some roasts, ground beef) that I cook fat out of it I weigh cooked. If I have fresh chicken breasts I will weigh raw, frozen I weigh cooked because of water content

    Not necessarily, the label is for raw, just because it loses weight because of water, your protein still stay inside the food, it doesn't magically evaporate.

    Protein, no, fat, yes. But again, it will all depend on how cooked your food is. 3oz of medium rare steak won't have the same calories as a 3oz of well done steak etc.

    It's just an approximation anyway - even your piece of steak might have more or less fat than the USDA info. So just pick whatever's more convenient for you and go with that.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    I try to weigh them raw, but 90% of the time I weigh them cooked because I forget. When this happens, I just by a few grams (overestimating), and it seems to come out right. I mean, I'm losing weight consistently, so my flubs aren't making that much of a difference. I have to cook full meals for my family, and weighing raw can be difficult to ensure I get the exact piece of whatever meat that I weighed, etc. It's kind of a margin of error I'm willing to live with as long as I continue to lose.
  • EatingAndKnitting
    EatingAndKnitting Posts: 531 Member
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    Nevada wrote: »
    You might not need to be noting the weight of your plates. Your digital scale probably has a button marked "TARE".

    Duh. I knew that. :) (I really didn't, so thank you for this.)

    I may still make a note of at least my tupperware, so I can throw a bowl full of pasta on the scale and know that I'm eating X ounces of pasta.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    jesslla wrote: »
    Nevada wrote: »
    You might not need to be noting the weight of your plates. Your digital scale probably has a button marked "TARE".

    Duh. I knew that. :) (I really didn't, so thank you for this.)

    I may still make a note of at least my tupperware, so I can throw a bowl full of pasta on the scale and know that I'm eating X ounces of pasta.

    not sure about your scale, but on mine - if the container is on the sale prior to me turning it on, that doesn't get factored into the weight (its basically an automatic TARE)
  • EatingAndKnitting
    EatingAndKnitting Posts: 531 Member
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    deannalfisher wrote: »
    jesslla wrote: »
    Nevada wrote: »
    You might not need to be noting the weight of your plates. Your digital scale probably has a button marked "TARE".

    Duh. I knew that. :) (I really didn't, so thank you for this.)

    I may still make a note of at least my tupperware, so I can throw a bowl full of pasta on the scale and know that I'm eating X ounces of pasta.

    not sure about your scale, but on mine - if the container is on the sale prior to me turning it on, that doesn't get factored into the weight (its basically an automatic TARE)

    Nope. My scale just turns on as soon as you put something on it. It was just a cheap scale from Wal-Mart. Nothing fancy.

    It also only weighs in ounces, I had a scale that weighed in grams, but water got in it and ruined it. I didn't think to make sure the new scale did grams. Maybe payday I'll look for a better scale!

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