Measuring food question

[bostongirl2you]

I was wondering if it matters if you weigh your food before you cook it or after you cook it? ensive Just for the heck of it, I measured our shrimp before cooking and it was 12 ounces then after I cooked it, it was 8 ounces. What would you enter into fitday for the ounces?
Thanks

[Elizellen]

Fitday often has an option for specifying the weight of meats as cooked or raw. Just click on the arrow beside the box where you put the measurement and choose the relevant one.

I usually go for the 'raw' option if there is one as the 'cooked' options often include margarine and salt etc where I use butter or oil and enter those seperately.

[bostongirl2you]

Thank you Elizellen,
Do you think it would make a difference if I enter cooked weights? It just seems like certain foods shrink so much while cooking. What are your thoughts on this?
By the way, you look wonderful!!

[not2late]

During Induction, veggies are weighed raw according to the book.

[snorkelman]

I never weighed anything. As for your protein, if it comes from meats and fish, you don't really need to weight it. Just eat until you are full.

That is a great way to live.

The first few days on Atkins I noticed that I ate more, but then a few days leter I felt full quicker. Start making it a practice to bring food home in a doggie bag.

You will no longer need to eat the 16 oz steaks because you will be full after eating much less.

[not2late]

Actually, you should eat only until you are "satisfied". A "full" feeling usually indicates that you have over-eaten.

Protein should make up only 30% of your daily calories. This remains constant throughout the entire diet.

Lots of folks make the mistake with protein and overeat it. Protein supplies the body with the building blocks, or amino acids, to tissue building and repair. If protein is eaten in the right amount, there won't be any excess to be stored away.

To process excess protein a normal body will remove the nitrogen from the amino acid molecules, which breaks the amino acid down somewhat. These "broken" amino acids are used to make glycogen or are converted into fatty acids, which are eventually converted to fat.

It's good to get into the habit of weighing and measuring foods, especially the carby foods. When you move onto OWL, Pre-Maintenance and Maintenance phases you'll be eating at your individual carb level. And you'll quickly find that going over by even 1 carb will stop your weight loss and/or begin your weight gain.

[bostongirl2you]

Thanks for the help. I like to weigh everything and put it into fitday. I try to keep as close to 65% fat, 30% protein, 5% carbs as I can. 6 weeks ago, I did not weigh my protein, I ate what I needed to, to feel full and good while starting this WOL. Now, I like the structure of weighing and eating proper portions.

[Moochiecat]

I think that knowing is better than assuming especially in the beginning when you are learning as you go along.

The problem with not measuring is that your eye gets distorted after a while and a cup can grow or shrink, so good on ya for being careful. :yes

[not2late]

Just a word of caution about the protein amounts. I remember when I first started on ADBB, someone asked about the serving size of protein during Atkins. A mod contacted the Atkins Center and was told that one serving of protein was 4-6 ounces.