Quick meat question

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

Is it “better” to weigh cooked meat vs raw when determining nutritional value (Fats, protein) for consumption, because fat content changes when you cook it?

I realized I’ve been measuring bacon from the nutritional label, but a lot of the fat gets cooked off and not eaten, so I’m actually getting a lot less dietary fat day to day than I realized.

thanks for your time as always

2

A few questions back to you:

  1. What are you using for your numbers?
  2. How much fat that gets cooked off depends on a whole host of things, e.g. cut of meat, cooking method, etc. Do you think this can be accurately measured in a better way than the answer given in #1? If so, does it matter?
  3. What are you trying to do right now with your bodyweight/composition and how’s that been going?
3

Thanks so much for your reply

  1. I’m assuming you mean my measuring methods, sorry if I’ve misunderstood. I’m using food labels, the USDA nutritional database, the national chicken council and a food scale/measuring cups.

  2. Yeah :-/ I was thinking about how it’s sort of impossible to accurately measure all that, because of the variance between samples used for general nutritional stats for cooked meat and the meat you’ve actually cooked, yourself. So no, I supposed there isn’t a better way short of owning some fancy equipment.

As for “does it matter”, I’m honestly not sure for my specific circumstance:

  1. I’m currently trying to lose weight. I’m one of the many people who ate too much and developed unhealthy eating habits through Start Strength and have had a waist over 39 inches for about 4 years. I’ve also been inconsistent with training. I’ve turned a corner though and am making a serious effort to develop healthy long-term eating and exercise habits. I was working with Leah online a few years ago and was beginning to make good progress in those realms, but unfortunately I had to cut it short due to monetary reasons. Strength training with barbells is critical to my training adherence and I’m currently using the BBM beginner template after a long layoff (the last one I will ever take knock on wood).

Going back to your question of “does it matter”: I really love eating things with saturated fat unfortunately lol, and being able sneaking in a few grams of fat, or having more wiggle room in that feels/seems really appealing even though it may only be a few grams. It seems like it matters with my weight loss, but perhaps I have a pretty narrow perspective here.

“How’s it been going?“: I started a week ago and tbh it’s pretty hard. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed saturated fat until I cut it drastically (was getting in excess of dietary guidelines). It’s been a pretty drastic change for me, actually and I’m not sure if I just need to get used to these changes or if what I’m doing isn’t sustainable. I am finding foods/meals I enjoy that meet my nutritional requirements though, so that’s hopeful. Getting plenty of fruits and vegetables.

My current nutritional numbers:
3035 cal
carbs: 330g
protein: 215
fat: 95g

saturated fat: 7-9% of total calories
added sugar: 36g max (usually hit way under this)
fiber: 35g

4

Forgot to mention some other things that you may want to know:
32 yo, 6’ tall, 219 lbs, 41” waist

5

Yea I don’t think it really matters which method you use provided you’re consistent with it. With respect to saturated fat, I think limiting red meat intake to 3 servings per week seems reasonable to do that without getting too cerebral. As you’ve stated, there are other things that need to take priority here :slight_smile:

6

Ok I’ll give that a shot then. Thanks so much for your time and clarity as always

Tim