This may be a stupid question, but I’m going to ask it anyway:

Should you weigh meat before or after you cook it?

Also, with pasta and veggies, etc.  if you cook it before you weigh (accidentally) how much does the weight vary?

Another measuring question — if you don’t mind…

If you are cooking for your family, do you measure everything before cooking and then just split everything equally, or do you cook your serving separately from everyone elses?  I find that cooking for my family is the hardest part of staying with my diet.  Any suggestion you can send my way will be greatly appreciated. -Kera

It may seem like a silly question or a simple one to pick to answer but it is surprisingly one of the most asked questions I get do to that video. What video?

Over a year ago I posted up a video on You Tube that shows the differences that can occur in caloric intake through just a simple measurement. Just a video that discusses the importance of caloric accuracy has caused quite a stir. It was featured by Hungry Girl.com and some of the biggest health and fitness blogs on the net.

Since this video the questions I get a lot are the above. I will hit at them one-by-one.

1. Do you weigh X (anything) before or after it is cooked?

If you are trying to be as accurate as possible you want to weigh anything before you cook it. Water and some fat can be lost, and overall the change can be small, but for best case scenario before is a good way to go. Pasta weight, veggies, etc it is all the same.

2. Best way to cook for the family, and myself?

There is two ways you can go here.

The first is you can eat separate from your family during the course of fat loss. People make a big deal out of this, but since this isn’t supposed to be going on for life, just a short stint, it really isn’t so bad to step away and make your own food separate from family. You should have their full support and hopefully they will do the best they can to make it as easy on you as possible. If they don’t then you need to stand up for what you want and what you are doing for yourself. If they still whine like babies then you might need to change more than your diet around the household, ya heard?

The other option is to measure out your portion from theirs. The easiest way to do this is either make dishes that are divided easy into the amount that your family needs (think casserole/lasagna) or select meals that are easy to divide item wise. For example, if you make chicken with rice and veggies on the side, then simply measure out the amounts you need as you go. Simply section out your portion and they can dig in and grab their portions.

Remember too, not everything has to be so anal. I know, I know, me the girl with the scale video. The thing is if you are achieving your goals by eyeballing or loosely measuring, great. You won’t have to go that route. However, if you find yourself stuck, then that is the first place to go.

Hope that helps, good luck.

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