they confuse me a little.

like with meat for example. is the fat content measured before or AFTER its cooked? i use ground beef from time to time and i cant fingure out if they're listing grams of fat before or after the meat is cooked. i know its an estimate as meat is not a uniform thing, the product will vary.

i also wonder what exactly is a portion. they say a can of green beans or any vegetable is ABOUT 3.5 servings per can. a serving based on what exactly? can you have more if you have less variety in your meal? i'm wondering more about how many servings of things you can have in a meal. i dont mean going back for seconds i mean what size a meal should be. as it is now i have 2-3 vegetables and a piece of meat, 4 ounces or a little less for dinner for example. my meals vary from a little under 500 to a little over 700 calories, thats for breakfast lunch or dinner.

these portions are based a certain calorie count which in turn is based on a specific diet of 2000 or 2500 calories per day. then there are new buzzwords like low and high calorie density foods. basically foods like potato chips which are full of calories is called a high calorie density food and most fruits and vegetables are considered low calorie density foods as they are mostly made of water.

i'm interested in some answers and i'm also interested in chatting with anyone interested in this subject.

I think fat content is measured before cooking. I also know that nutritional labels must be certified by an FDA-approved lab or the FDA itself.

Your calorie intake is going to depend on your metabolism rate. Your level of exercise, sleep cycles and genetics, all play a role in your metabolism. I have high metabolism and usually eat the FDA equivalent to 2 servings.

While you should definately watch the calories, what is more concerning to me are the preservatives and synthetic food additives used in processed foods.

Originally posted by kukla
I think fat content is measured before cooking. I also know that nutritional labels must be certified by an FDA-approved lab or the FDA itself.

Your calorie intake is going to depend on your metabolism rate. Your level of exercise, sleep cycles and genetics, all play a role in your metabolism. I have high metabolism and usually eat the FDA equivalent to 2 servings.

While you should definately watch the calories, what is more concerning to me are the preservatives and synthetic food additives used in processed foods.

agreed, i dont like processed foods, i prefer natural fresh foods whenever i can get them.

but why do they list fat content BEFORE you cook the meat rather than after? they're using an averaged statistic for fat content anyway and i much prefer they "ballpark it" for me AFTER its cooked, not before as it would be a little more accurate or truthful. noone is going to eat raw meat 99.99% of the time so the numbers they give are a little misleading.

as for caloric intake for dinner i stick to about 500-700 calories depending what i had to eat earlier in the day. usually my dinner is 4 ounces of meat (sometimes pasta) and then 2-3 vegetables (sometimes i'll use rice or another side like that).

i found cutting cokes out of my diet helped but comebined with actually watching how much i put on my plate along with eating more vegetables has helped a bunch. i even eat three meals a day and i'm still losing weight. i wont give my exact weight but i wasnt happy with what i weighed before. after two months i actually look different in the mirror. a lot better.

for the most part i avoid most of the foods with lots of food colorings and other fake stuff. about the most preserved stuff i have anymore are canned vegetables, not the best but beats eating a frozen dinner by a long shot.