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Not a Diet

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Your Body Burns Energy 24/7. Are You Making the Most of It?

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Larissa Lovato • October 1, 2025

Scopri perché pesare gli alimenti crudi o cotti fa la differenza e come la cottura modifica le porzioni. Evita errori che possono influire sulla sazietà, sull’apporto di nutrienti e sul raggiungimento dei tuoi obiettivi con un semplice strumento.

Raw or Cooked?

When it comes to portions… the difference matters!

One of the most common mistakes when following a nutrition plan is not considering the weight difference between raw and cooked food. It may seem like a small detail, but it can actually completely change the caloric and nutritional intake of your meal!

What happens during cooking?

Foods change weight mainly because of changes in their water content:

  • Some foods absorb water (like pasta, rice, and legumes)
  • Others lose liquids (such as meat, fish, and vegetables)

The result? The weight changes… and so do the calories and macronutrients per portion!

Why is this important?

If we weigh a food cooked instead of raw (or vice versa), we risk eating too much or too little, which can make meals unbalanced and interfere with reaching our nutrition goals.

Let’s look at some examples:

  • If your portion of rice is 100 g raw and you weigh 100 g cooked, you are actually eating less than half of the intended portion! This will likely make the meal less filling, and you may feel much hungrier by the next snack or meal.

  • If your portion of meat is 100 g raw and you weigh 100 g cooked, you may be eating up to 30% more than the intended portion. If this mistake happens often, it can affect the overall balance of your diet.

So which weight should you consider?

The general rule is: <u>always use the raw weight</u>, unless your dietitian specifies otherwise.

However, if you have cooked multiple portions together, you will need to use the cooked weight and calculate your share proportionally.

No calculations needed — Not A Diet does it for you!

Have you cooked multiple portions and don’t know how much to serve on your plate?

With our calculator, it’s easy:

  • Select the food.
  • Enter the quantity specified in your plan (raw).
  • Instantly discover your cooked portion.

This way you avoid mistakes and enjoy your meal stress-free! 😉

References

The conversion coefficients from raw weight to cooked weight were obtained from:
Italian Society of Human Nutrition (SINU). LARN: Reference Intake Levels for Nutrients and Energy for the Italian Population. 5th revision. Rome: SINU; 2024.

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