weight your food before or after cooking?

[yeahbuddy289]

Finally bought a scale and im going to start weighing my food. But I dont know if I should weight meat before or after cooking? For example, the steak I just bought says there are 21g of protein in 4oz... is that 4oz cooked or 4oz uncooked?

[t-dogg]

Before cooked.

[Cuz]

weigh mine before, rice gets bigger, meats get smaller.

[gbrice75]

Typically, almost all nutritional info assumes raw/dry weight. I weigh everything raw and/or dry (rice, pasta, etc.) as the cooked weights will change drastically and throw your macros off considerably.

[Back In Black]

Excellent, we haven't had this question for a month.

Same answer as above, uncooked.

[Docd187123]

Typically, almost all nutritional info assumes raw/dry weight. I weigh everything raw and/or dry (rice, pasta, etc.) as the cooked weights will change drastically and throw your macros off considerably.

This^^^. Raw rice and oatmeal are especially off if you weigh them after cooking bc of all the water they absorb.

[tarmyg]

Excellent, we haven't had this question for a month.

Same answer as above, uncooked.

hahaha....

~T

[staygroovy]

Im not sure I agree with this. I weigh my meat after cooking which I thought was correct. Rice is weighed dry as it just absorbs water when cooked but meats weigh less after cooking which I thought was because theres water present before cooking. 500grams of chicken can weigh less than 400grams after cooking! Am I wrong in thinking that?

[Dpyle]

Im not sure I agree with this. I weigh my meat after cooking which I thought was correct. Rice is weighed dry as it just absorbs water when cooked but meats weigh less after cooking which I thought was because theres water present before cooking. 500grams of chicken can weigh less than 400grams after cooking! Am I wrong in thinking that?

You are correct in the fact that your meats will weigh less after they are cooked, but the only lose water not their macro content. All labeled nutritional info is based on the raw uncooked weights of any given food.

[gbrice75]

Im not sure I agree with this. I weigh my meat after cooking which I thought was correct. Rice is weighed dry as it just absorbs water when cooked but meats weigh less after cooking which I thought was because theres water present before cooking. 500grams of chicken can weigh less than 400grams after cooking! Am I wrong in thinking that?

Meats generally contain 6g protein per raw oz. so, 6oz of raw chicken contains roughly 36g protein. If you cook that chicken it may wind up weighing 4oz, but the protein content hasn't changed, is has only lost water.

Using your method, you'd say that same piece of chicken provides 24g of protein - and you'd be wrong.

Make this mistake several times daily, and your macros will wind up being way off.