You can do either. Cooking can change the calorie content (if fat is left in the pan, for example), but your calorie counting resource should give both raw and cooked weights/calories.
Usually one way will be more convenient, or more accurate. For a piece of meat, like a steak or chicken breast, I usually weigh after cooking, and look up the calorie count (or exchange - because I use exchanges more often than calories, but the process is the same). My calorie or exchange count book will list values for raw and cooked weights (most online calculators do the same) and also on how the food was prepared (broiled, baked, roasted....).
When using meats in a recipe, especially when the entire amount is going into the recipe (that is, there's not going to be any fat left over to drain off) such as ground beef in a spaghetti sauce, then I look up the calorie/exchange for the raw weight.
Last edited by kaplods; 05-01-2009 at 02:36 PM.
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quesion about food weight
