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Calories - cooked vs raw

So, when logging my foods, I always wonder, should I be using the raw weight of the items I am eating, or the cooked/prepared weights.

 

For instance. If I am cooking some ground beef patties, do I log the weight of the patties pre-cooked - which seems strange to me because some of those fats are going to be left in the pan, right? - or do I used the final cooked weight of the patty?

 

Thank you. And sorry if this has already been asked. I looked, but my searches didn't find anything.

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When I log food, I log pre-cooked as that is what I have calories information on (labels on the products and of raw ingredients). The biggest change in weight will be from water evaporation and there are no calories in that. So I would end up logging a low weight, logging less calories, just because I lost water during cooking. Also I can weigh everything seperately before cooking, where I can't when it is together in a pan. Yes, there will be some fat left behind in the pan, but it is better to overestimate the amount of calories you have than underestimate them.

Karolien | The Netherlands

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Yep, I am with @Esya on this. @kalthandrix even though its not completely accurate, logging precooking is more accurate. There are lots of foods that change nutritional value once they are cooked, lose water, gain water, pick up fat, lose fat- you are safer with it being in the original state and logging whatever you are cooking with as a separate entry. So if you are making eggplant in the pan- you weigh it raw- because it reduces in size when its cooked, and you would add in the calories for oil because it will absorb some of it during the cooking process.

Elena | Pennsylvania

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I'm lazy -- I'll log whatever calorie information is most easily available.  When I cook with oil or butter, I assume all of it is absorbed by the food and needs to be logged (unless I am deep-frying and residual oil is left.  In that case, I assume 1 tbsp per serving is absorbed).

 

Same with weighing - I'll take the weight off the package before I use a scales.  When I make a concoction, I add up the total calories and divide by the number of servings.  Also, I'm selectively OCD about measurements depending on calorie density, e.g., I eyeball lettuce but weigh avocados.  Splash soy sauce but measure olive oil.

 

At the end of the day, I think even our most careful measurements are subject to 20% observational error.  More important than accurate measurements are complete measurements - we need to record ALL our eating.

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This is a huge question for me as well. I'm doing 1150 calories a day. I weigh everything. I just ate some hot Italian sausage that I got in a 20lb bulk case from a supplier as a gift and it has no nutritional info listed. I portioned 9 oz raw, it weighed 6 ounces cooked. Usda says 9oz raw is 883 calories and 6 oz cooked is 588 calories. If I use the raw numbers then I've used all my calories up for the day and it's not even 5 pm. If I use the cooked numbers then I still have 300 calories to use before midnight. This is a huge difference, any entire meal for me, that needs clarity. 

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