Weight-Loss Am I over/underestimating calories?

Weight-Loss
Slim Col

Slim Col

New member
Just a quick question...

Ever since embarking upon my weight-loss program I’ve been weighing each individual ingredient and using fitday.com to calculate its caloric value. Up until now I’ve been using the value of foods in their raw state because it’s not always possible to weigh something after it’s been cooked and mixed with other ingredients. For example, I’ll weigh a potato before I add it to a curry because it can’t be separated from the rest of the food after cooking.

My question is; by weighing ingredients in their raw state, am I under/overestimating the calories that I’m consuming?

Someone once told me that cooking won’t add any calories; therefore it’s safe to weigh ingredients in their raw state. If anything, the caloric value of the cooked food would be overestimated, which is better than underestimating.

Thanks for any help!
 
most food databases will tell you what they are measuring in - otherwise it's raw...

there's a difference in calories between
4 ounces of raw ground beef and 4 ounces of cooked ground beef becuase beef shrinks when cooked... so you're theoretically getting more ground beef..

Rice and pasta are the same.. it expands when cooking...
 
Hi maleficent.

Sure, some foods expand when cooked because they absorb water. I'd like to know whether the process of cooking can alter the caloric value.

For example, 100g of potato becomes roughly 200g when cooked in boiling water.

Which provides more calories when consumed; 100g raw or 200g cooked?
 
Slim Col said:
Hi maleficent.

Sure, some foods expand when cooked because they absorb water. I'd like to know whether the process of cooking can alter the caloric value.

For example, 100g of potato becomes roughly 200g when cooked in boiling water.

Which provides more calories when consumed; 100g raw or 200g cooked?
Click to expand...
- raw 58 calories in 100 grams
boiled 78 calories in 100 grams
baked 198 calories in 100 grams (why this one is so high is beyond me..)

but basically boiled vs raw in potatoes, there's little a bit of a difference - for some reason i'd expect it to go down... becuase in the 100 grams of boiled potatoes I'd expect some water absorbtion..
 
maleficent said:
- raw 58 calories in 100 grams
Click to expand...

That's for skins, not whole potatoes. 100g of raw potato is 77 calories. (Your baked potato number is also for skins. 100g of baked potato is 93 calories.)

Potatoes don't really absorb much water in boiling - they most certainly don't double in weight. They do dehydrate quite a bit in baking, though.

Phoebe :)
 
I must remember to weigh some boiled potatoes some time to see how much weight is gained.

I still haven't got an answer to my actual question. Perhaps I didn't articulate it well enough.

Okay...

Take a raw potato; it doesn't matter how much it weighs. Now, take the potato and boil it. Would it provide more calories eaten raw or eaten boiled?
 
I have a question that sort of relates to this, involving steamed vegetables.

Since you basically have to steam the whole bag, there's no way to measure out the recommended serving (assuming that a serving is such and such of a cup in its frozen state) before cooking. How can I go about making sure I'm getting a serving?

For example, a bag of steam-fresh carrots is 35 calories per 2/3 cup. Assuming this means 2/3 cup uncooked, how much is cooked?
 
Slim Col said:
I must remember to weigh some boiled potatoes some time to see how much weight is gained.

I still haven't got an answer to my actual question. Perhaps I didn't articulate it well enough.

Okay...

Take a raw potato; it doesn't matter how much it weighs. Now, take the potato and boil it. Would it provide more calories eaten raw or eaten boiled?
Click to expand...
No
It would not have any more calories because nothing with calories was added too it.
 
nope, not unless some of them floated away.

Calories are made up of things, like food or stuff. its not some mythical magical thing.

1g protein = 4 calories
1g carbohydrates = 4 calories
1g fat = 9 calories
 
So essentially - in answer to my overall question - it is okay to weigh and record the caloric value of foods in their raw state.

As I said before, it's impossible to separate and weigh a given food after it's been mixed-in with other ingredients.
 
I've run into this problem as well. Honestly, I try to eat things as true to the nutrition label as possible just for ease.
 
Slim Col said:
So essentially - in answer to my overall question - it is okay to weigh and record the caloric value of foods in their raw state.
.
Click to expand...

yup...

There's really no 100 percent precise way of measuring calories that you take in - best you can do is 'close enough'... and the raw state will definitely get you that close enough..
 
I didn't find the calories of Grilled fillets breast chicken (without skin and bones)...on , just find on

It's all protein and no fat value references.

Energy 153 kcal
Protein 36 g
Total lipid (fat) ~ g
Carbohydrate, by difference ~ g
Fiber, total dietary ~ g


It's not easy make a right journal account...
 
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