Weighing food

**(Cock-Diesel)** · 02-02-2013, 05:07 PM

Should meat and poultry be weighed before or after cooking or does it not matter?

**Back In Black** · 02-02-2013, 05:09 PM

Everything should be weighed in its raw/uncooked state.

**(Cock-Diesel)** · 02-02-2013, 05:10 PM

Alright thanks man

**kitstreasure** · 02-02-2013, 09:40 PM

Stem, would you mind explaining the why's of this? I'm asking b/c I've always been told to weigh meat after cooking... which is what I've been doing since I started logging my food.

**Back In Black** · 02-03-2013, 02:14 AM

Originally Posted by kitstreasure

Stem, would you mind explaining the why's of this? I'm asking b/c I've always been told to weigh meat after cooking... which is what I've been doing since I started logging my food.

Go roast 2 chicken breasts that weighs 4oz raw. Cook one for 20 mins and one for 30 mins. They are now different weights, lets say 3oz and 2oz. If you calculate on cooked weight then you would be calculating the 3oz breast to have more protein that the 2oz breast. It doesn't, they are the same, only water has been lost.

Obversely is cooking things that absorb water. The longer you cook the more they absorb and the heavier they are but the nutritional info is still the same as something lighter at the end after a shorter cooking period.

Make sense?

**kitstreasure** · 02-03-2013, 04:23 AM

Originally Posted by SteM

Go roast 2 chicken breasts that weighs 4oz raw. Cook one for 20 mins and one for 30 mins. They are now different weights, lets say 3oz and 2oz. If you calculate on cooked weight then you would be calculating the 3oz breast to have more protein that the 2oz breast. It doesn't, they are the same, only water has been lost.

Obversely is cooking things that absorb water. The longer you cook the more they absorb and the heavier they are but the nutritional info is still the same as something lighter at the end after a shorter cooking period.

Make sense?

The bolded makes complete sense.

However, in the states, producers inject a saline solution/broth into most meats (even organic and grass fed) by up to 15% of it's weight. So the italic is basically the reasoning behind being taught to weigh food after it's been cooked. Great, so my food log for the last 6 weeks just became useless. Thanks for not letting me continue that way, Stem.

But this information brings up a new question for me... When cooking in bulk and pre-preparing your meals, how do you track the raw weights for food tracking? I mean I usually precook 2 flats of chicken breasts in the oven. That gives me 24ish chicken breasts cooked and ready to go to get me through the week. But it's not like I can write on the raw weights on them. Same thing then applies to servings of roasts and other large cuts of meat. How do you now track your portions?

ETA: The USDA say on their site to weigh meat cooked?????? /confused.

**Back In Black** · 02-03-2013, 07:05 AM

The added water weight is still just water. All my raw meats come with nutritional info, it doesn't matter how much water it has added or loses.

Cooking in bulk is no different. Weigh it raw for the macro's you need and then just divide the cooked weights into the servings you need.

Never trust a government agency either, they are all in the hands of the food industry!

**kitstreasure** · 02-03-2013, 09:47 AM

Believe me, honey, I DON'T trust my government. I mean they're the ones that allow this BS.

Okay, so what you're saying is weigh the whole batch of chicken; cook it; re-weigh and then split it up? Sorry if I'm sounding dense or something, I just want to make sure. I've got a long row to hoe, and I want to do it right.

**Back In Black** · 02-03-2013, 10:49 AM

Originally Posted by kitstreasure

Believe me, honey, I DON'T trust my government. I mean they're the ones that allow this BS.

Okay, so what you're saying is weigh the whole batch of chicken; cook it; re-weigh and then split it up? Sorry if I'm sounding dense or something, I just want to make sure. I've got a long row to hoe, and I want to do it right.

You got it

**kitstreasure** · 02-03-2013, 11:10 AM

And I track 1/x of the total RAW weight for caloric and macro tracking, correct?

**Back In Black** · 02-03-2013, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by kitstreasure

And I track 1/x of the total RAW weight for caloric and macro tracking, correct?

Yep.

**kitstreasure** · 02-03-2013, 11:25 AM

Okie Dokie. That just made my last 6 weeks or so of tracking worthless... *bangs head on desk* Oh well, I'll be posting it up as is, anyway. Thanks a bajillion for your patience.

**(Cock-Diesel)** · 02-03-2013, 08:27 PM

Yeah lucky for me I've been weighing my food raw all along. Idk why I waited until now to ask if I was doing it right. Anyway thanks a lot SteM. I appreciate the knowledge brother.