Looking to properly calorie count

JayZ1488

Any recommendations on websites that have accurate calorie readings.

For Example - I want to eat 1 pound of chicken breast. Multiple websites are giving me multiple answers.

I want to add in the proper amount of calories for the food consumed.

Ready2Rock206

USDA - and use a food scale.

JayZ1488

Ready2Rock206 wrote: »

USDA - and use a food scale.

Is that a website
I have and use a food scale
Basically need a efficient site with accurate reading

JayZ1488

?

JayZ1488

Anybody

Hamsibian

use the nutritional information label on the package if it's available. Otherwise search on the Usda database https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/

seska422

Another thing you can try if you wish is to Google "food nutrition" for whatever food you want and you'll get a nutritional info box on the right of the screen for many foods. One of the sources they use is the USDA.

JayZ1488

I'm not getting much help from those sites

seska422

JayZ1488 wrote: »

I'm not getting much help from those sites

What are you expecting them to say?

Googling "chicken breast nutrition" gives nutrition info and has pulldown boxes so that you can choose serving sizes.

JayZ1488

Even this app is unhelpful. To many posts with different calorie amounts

JayZ1488

People are saying 480-780 for a pound. I just want an accurate calorie count for one chicken breast, skinless boneless, cooked in the over with nothing but a squirt of pam

seska422

I don't use the general database because the items are mostly user-entered and can vary. I make a private entry in My Foods from a reliable source and then use that.

The USDA site is reliable. Be sure to specify cooked or raw so that you are using the correct entry. Most things are more accurately weighed when raw.

Unknown

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JayZ1488

Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »

I don't really know what more you want, if you type "Chicken breast, boneless, skinless, roasted" in the USDA search it comes up with a entry, 100g = 165 calories, 1lb of chicken is 454g.. so change the 100g to 454 and you have a number... put some effort into it, don't expect to just open a web page and have the answer slap you in the face, sheesh

The sites not helpful. I don't need attitude thanks.

seska422

That's about as good as it gets until they develop a working tricorder.

Unknown

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SueSueDio

Look at a few different sites and take an average? Not sure why you're unhappy with what's been suggested so far.

CafeRacer808

JayZ1488 wrote: »

Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »

I don't really know what more you want, if you type "Chicken breast, boneless, skinless, roasted" in the USDA search it comes up with a entry, 100g = 165 calories, 1lb of chicken is 454g.. so change the 100g to 454 and you have a number... put some effort into it, don't expect to just open a web page and have the answer slap you in the face, sheesh

The sites not helpful. I don't need attitude thanks.

Most everyone agrees that the USDA site has the most accurate info. Perhaps if you explained what you find unhelpful about the UDSA site, we can provide alternative suggestions that will be of more use to you.

AliceDark

JayZ1488 wrote: »

People are saying 480-780 for a pound. I just want an accurate calorie count for one chicken breast, skinless boneless, cooked in the over with nothing but a squirt of pam

Search the MFP database for "Raw chicken USDA."

You may be having any number of problems (it's hard to tell from your posts), but I think two might be most likely:

1. You're seeing different calorie counts for raw vs. cooked chicken, or
2. You're seeing different calorie counts for "one chicken breast," because "chicken breast" isn't a universal measurement.

To be most accurate, find an entry for raw chicken (breast or dark meat, depending on whatever you're using) that has a green check mark and includes the phrase "USDA" in the title, and use a food scale to measure the weight of the portion you're going to eat.

aephillips1

Hamsibian wrote: »

use the nutritional information label on the package if it's available. Otherwise search on the Usda database https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/

^This

Most packaged food you buy, even raw meat, will have a nutrition label on the back. If you can not find the nutritional information, the USDA website is the government official food composition database. https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/

All of the entries on the government site are accurate. The reason you may see variances is because food composition by weight changes depending on how food is cooked. In addition, the act of cooking may slightly alter the composition.

If you measured a raw chicken breast that did not have a solution injection (USDA entry 05062: "Chicken, broiler or fryers, breast, skinless, boneless, meat only, raw"), and the piece weighed 3oz, that piece of chicken is 102 calories, 19.12g protein, 2.23g fat, and 0g carbs. If you weighed that exact same piece of chicken after grilling it, it will have lost a significant amount of weight. The longer it cooks, the drier it will be, hence the lighter in weight it will be.

"When values are calculated from raw items, appropriate nutrient retention (USDA, 2007) and food yield factors (Matthews and Garrison, 1975) are applied to reflect the effects of food preparation on food weights and nutrient content. To obtain the content of nutrient per 100g of cooked food, the nutrient content per 100g of raw food is multiplied by the nutrient retention factor and, where appropriate, adjustments are made for fat and moisture gains and losses."

"Nutrient retention factors are based on data from USDA research contracts, research reported in the literature, and USDA publications. Most retention factors were calculated by the True Retention Method (%TR)(Murphy et al., 1975). This method, as shown, accounts for the loss or gain of moisture and the loss of nutrients due to heat or other food preparation methods."

In my opinion, it is best to measure raw. If for some reason you weren't able to weigh that piece of chicken raw (maybe someone else grilled it or you forgot), if you weighed it now, after cooking, you would use USDA entry 05747: "Chicken, broiler or fryers, breast, skinless, boneless, meat only, cooked, grilled" for a close approximation.

My preferred method is to find the average based on my own cooking. Weigh the chicken raw, then weigh it again after cooking it in your usual method and letting it rest. The degree to which you prefer your chicken cooked should stay about the same, and after weighing it before and after a few times, you should find an average percent of weight loss. For example, say I weighed a raw piece of chicken at 170 grams, then after cooking the chicken it only weighs 122 grams. That's 72% of the original raw weight. Now let's say I forgot to weigh my chicken raw. I have a piece of cooked chicken weighing 122 grams. If I know that when I cook my chicken, it usual stays around 72%, if I divide 122 by 0.72, I get 169.44, which is about how much my chicken weighed raw.