food weights - precooked or after cooking
 

What weight value do I record when I eat a microwaved or baked potato (or anything microwaved or baked)?

Last night, I ate a sweet potato that weighed 290 grams before microwaving, and 208 grams after microwaving. I would think this is all water lost in the form of steam.

For nutritional purposes, did I consume the nutrients in 290 grams of raw sweet potato, or the nutrients in 208 grams of microwaved sweet potato? I know there are chemical changes during cooking, but I'd think overall quantities of nutrients would remain roughly the same, before vs. after.

The confusion starts when I compare equal amounts of raw potato and baked potato. The nutritional values are roughly the same for 100 gram portions. If my theory that the nutritional content remains roughly the same through the cooking process is correct, then 100 grams of raw would have to equal 72 grams of baked.

Help!

Now, calories should be less since I burned up some of the "fuel" during the microwaving process.

Signed,

Not a Nutritional Expert by any stretch.
:o

PS I've done some more comparing, and it's looking like the water loss may be accounted for after all in the nutrient tables, before vs after. I still need a straight answer, though. Thanks.

i just want to join the thread to get the answers.

cooked vs. not cooked
 

Hi Coolfoot,
When you use the browse tool to find a food it will often give you the choice of "raw" or "cooked" - not always, but in many cases. Sometimes the drop down menus in your food logs will also give you that choice. You are certainly right that it can make a difference. If it isn't clear, I will usually use the uncooked weight. That way I will be erring on the over estimation side. I would rather over estimate my consumption than under estimate and then wonder why I am not shedding pounds. :p