Measuring and logging food can lead to your diet’s success
Measuring and logging food is one of the most effective ways to successfully lose weight. When it comes to calorie-dense foods like nut butter, olive oil, sauces, and dressings, most people underestimate portions and serving sizes. To ensure you’re meeting your calorie goal for weight loss it’s important to weigh and measure your food.
Weigh your food before cooking
Weigh and log foods before cooking because it is the best way to get the most accurate and consistent food measurement, the nutrition facts panels giving us details for food in its packaged state. Most whole foods like whole grains, lean proteins and vegetables typically come uncooked and are calculated for nutrition when uncooked.
Fitness apps give you numbers for a standardized food packaging
Furthermore, numbers entered fitness apps reflect the numbers on standardized food packaging. We can alter the weight by cooking the food, depending on the method, temperature, altitude, moisture and even amount of seasoning (Think about it: salt draws water out of meat, seafood and vegetables, affecting both weight and volume).
Vegetables can lose up to 50% of their weight in the cooking process
Vegetables can lose as much as 50% of their weight and volume while meat and seafood may lose 20–25% of their weight and volume during cooking. A cup (150g) of raw sweet potatoes may shrink to 1/2 cup (75g) after roasting. Cooked entries are estimates, so you are always better entering food in its raw, more accurate state whenever possible.
Don’t forget to count the fats used in the cooking process
Take into consideration that the fats that we use to cook our food are often left out of calculations, too. For example, we forget to add the olive oil that was used when cooking chicken for example, you might just weigh the chicken and forget about other extra ingredients used in the process. Doing so would alter your calorie count and macros and cheat on your diet. You will get frustrated for not getting the results you expected. If you enter raw food prior to cooking, you’ll be more likely to take into consideration all the other parts of the recipe used to create the finished product.
Be consistent
Consistency is the key element. Do not enter some foods before cooking and others after. You won’t get the right answer. For consistent results, enter food the same way each time. This way, your app will give you relevant results. There are apps that will remember the most frequently used foods, allowing us to add them later. Keep your log and everything will be easier to track.
