Going to ask a silly question about weighing meat

strawberrygashes
strawberrygashes Posts: 210 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So we are having pork loin steaks today, usually I log anything like this when its cooked but I can't find a good option for it. Scanning the packet it lists it as 'raw as sold'. Does it make any difference logging it as this? Rather than as cooked?

Replies

  • Seokie
    Seokie Posts: 197 Member
    Things weigh different amounts raw and when cooked :)
  • vade43113
    vade43113 Posts: 836 Member
    Meat is normally weighed before it is cooked... When you go to a fast food place, and ask for a quarter pounder, they weigh it then fry it up. If it loses part of it's weight well your loss

    As for logging wise, I don't see an issue... cause after it's cooked it would just lose some water weight and other stuffs.
  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,374 Member
    Same question....Do you weigh it raw or after it's cooked to get your portion size correct? I know a serving of chicken is 3oz...I am assuming that is cooked but not so sure...
  • strawberrygashes
    strawberrygashes Posts: 210 Member
    Things weigh different amounts raw and when cooked :)

    Oh I know that :) but does it mean I should really log it as cooked (weigh it when cooked and try to find the closest option)?
  • kerriknox
    kerriknox Posts: 276 Member
    General rule of thumb is that it loses 25% of its weight when being cooked. Maybe not always the case but that s the estimate I was told to use. So - if you have 5 oz cooked but you can only find 'raw' in the nutrient info then I would use 8 oz to be safe.
  • dougii
    dougii Posts: 679 Member
    I weigh all of my meats after they are cooked. I also measure my vegetables after cooking (if they ar not being eaten raw)....
  • kerriknox
    kerriknox Posts: 276 Member
    P.S. A serving of meat is not 3 oz! That is more of an appetizer! :-)
  • Tonnina
    Tonnina Posts: 979 Member
    Same question....Do you weigh it raw or after it's cooked to get your portion size correct? I know a serving of chicken is 3oz...I am assuming that is cooked but not so sure...

    3oz of cooked chicken is 4oz of raw chicken is a serving size.

    To the OP: Weigh it after you cook it and use that OR weigh it before you cook it and search for RAW pork in the food database
  • taliesyn_
    taliesyn_ Posts: 219 Member
    In the case of meats the weight loss will include fats as well as water - I would advise that you weigh and compare raw whenever possible. The amount it is cooked will affect any fat (and therefore weight) the meat will lose and so unless it is completely lean when it hits the cooking utensil, results may vary. Please note I am not a nutritionist, nor do I have any training in this area (except a 6-year old anatomy and physiology diploma that I have forgotten most of the content of!) - this is just my opinion! Good luck in finding a solution you are comfortable with.
  • Denjo060
    Denjo060 Posts: 1,008
    I always weigh after cooked not sure if this helps or not But I figure 3 oz cooked is different from 3 oz raw so if I want to et 3 oz I want to eat 3 oz not 2.5 oz
  • Kalynx
    Kalynx Posts: 707 Member
    I definately consider most meat's weight after cooking..especially with a steak or ground beef some of the fat drips out or burns away when cooking and a 16 oz steak can turn into 11-12 oz.

    For your pork steak try searching for "pork grilled lean" that should give you enough options to find closest to what you are fixing..and don't be scared if its only in grams and you only know ounces - 1 oz = 28 grams ..so do a little math I've gotten pretty good at it, but at first it was so aggrevating! LOL

    Protein weight/finding right option in database can be dificult but you get better at it the more you log. Not a silly quesiton at all I think we all struggle with it (especially when we were new to MFP).
  • Kalynx
    Kalynx Posts: 707 Member
    I use http://nutritiondata.self.com/ too, to double check what I'm seeing in the MFP database. Some times it just doesnt look right and the sodium levels can be ridiculously high or missing and potassium is hardly ever listed, either, and I like to track that.
  • strawberrygashes
    strawberrygashes Posts: 210 Member
    Thanks for the many replies, really appreciate it :)
  • palmerig88
    palmerig88 Posts: 623 Member
    For every cooked portion you eat that is size of a deck of cards that is 3 oz.
  • Kalynx
    Kalynx Posts: 707 Member
    For every cooked portion you eat that is size of a deck of cards that is 3 oz.

    yeah but my steak doesnt come in the shape of a deck of cards..its easier to use my scale :laugh: :drinker:
  • MrsLeibas
    MrsLeibas Posts: 43 Member
    Another idea is type the recipe name exactly as you have it and see if it pops up in the database. We made chicken this past week from a recipe in a magazine I have, come to find out that exact recipe was already in the data base. It made logging my calories very easy and I was concerned it was going to be a challenge because of the marinade and other ingredients. So that might help you too!
  • buyer225
    buyer225 Posts: 17 Member
    I always weigh after cooking. Sometimes the difference in weight before and after can be huge. You especially don't want to cheat yourself out of anything. Then you just get hungrier and that is not a good thing. Sometime you just need to type the right thing in to get the after cooked calories.
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
    I weigh and measure ALL the food before cooking. If you look at the packages of vegetables, the serving size and calories per serving are uncooked. The same for pasta, rice, etc.

    I weigh beef, chicken, and fish raw too. If I add additional ingredients, I enter the recipe in the MFP "Recipe section," so all ingredients are also counted. Too messy to weigh food after is cooked.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    you have to be consistent - if the data is "as sold" then weigh it "as sold" ie before cooking. If the label says "cooked on grill" then weigh it after.

    I find weighing after cooking to be a messy PITA so use raw data where possible.
  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,374 Member
    P.S. A serving of meat is not 3 oz! That is more of an appetizer! :-)


    Lol...I hear ya!!

    I just have an old magnent with serving sizes from the gov't & it says this but that's the gov't for you...I probably shouldn't use that chart anymore...lol
  • palmerig88
    palmerig88 Posts: 623 Member
    For every cooked portion you eat that is size of a deck of cards that is 3 oz.

    yeah but my steak doesnt come in the shape of a deck of cards..its easier to use my scale :laugh: :drinker:
    I was trying to help estimate I don't have a food scale
  • suaku
    suaku Posts: 45
    I use the USDA onine nutrient database (http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/list)

    They list about 20 different Pork Loin numbers depending on whether it's raw or how it's cooked (roasted, braised, etc.). Hope this helps.
  • Denjo060
    Denjo060 Posts: 1,008
    P.S. A serving of meat is not 3 oz! That is more of an appetizer! :-)


    Lol...I hear ya!!

    I just have an old magnent with serving sizes from the gov't & it says this but that's the gov't for you...I probably shouldn't use that chart anymore...lol







    LOL thats why I weigh after its cooked
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,247 Member
    So we are having pork loin steaks today, usually I log anything like this when its cooked but I can't find a good option for it. Scanning the packet it lists it as 'raw as sold'. Does it make any difference logging it as this? Rather than as cooked?

    I always weigh as raw and log the calories as such.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    I am the chef/owner of a catering company. In the food industry the portion is calulated on a final cooked weight. Your raw weight will lose moisture and fat in the cooking process. So when factoring for, say a 4oz portion of chicken per person, you will likely need to start with a 5oz raw portion. Same with steak. Chopped or ground meats lose more so it might be 6oz to yield a 4oz portion. The only way to get it accurate is to have a food scale to measure the final portion after cooking. If you don't have one and don't want to buy one but want to be conservative, use the raw data. You will always be overestimating in this case.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    The only way to get it accurate is to have a food scale to measure the final portion after cooking.
    Providing you have a corresponding food analysis to go with it.
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
    I use the USDA onine nutrient database (http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/list)

    They list about 20 different Pork Loin numbers depending on whether it's raw or how it's cooked (roasted, braised, etc.). Hope this helps.
    Thanks for this!
  • Seokie
    Seokie Posts: 197 Member
    Things weigh different amounts raw and when cooked :)

    Oh I know that :) but does it mean I should really log it as cooked (weigh it when cooked and try to find the closest option)?

    I weigh all my stuff raw and that's also the way I find it in the food database - for example I weigh out peppers before cooking them raw and log them as Peppers - raw. I do the same for meat :)

    Otherwise you'll be weighing X for your cooked meat but recording it as raw when it really weighed Y when raw, which was more.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    Cooking causes some evaporation of juices in the meat. Cooked weight is usually less than raw weight.
  • cyberskirt
    cyberskirt Posts: 218
    I added meats to the database as cooked weight... Because that's how we eat them... cooked. (unless you're one of those people who eat meats raw.)

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