How to work out calories of chicken breast

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Hi everyone. How do I work out the calories of chicken breast? I have a 300g pack and the nutrition label says '100g as sold, 106cal.' I intend to cook it in a pan on the hob in a little bit of oil. Is it still 106cal per 100g once it's cooked (plus the cals from the oil?)

Thanks!
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Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    cooking doesn't really change the calories...the cooked weight will be less than the raw weight because it will lose some water...
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,239 Member
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    Weight it before cooking, log that weight since the calories are uncooked. The reason for this is that cooking will remove water and change the weight a great deal.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    look for an MFP entry that is something like USDA, chicken, breast meat, raw - weigh and log
  • bob_mck
    bob_mck Posts: 29 Member
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    Always go by the raw weight
  • need2belean
    need2belean Posts: 356 Member
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    I would measure the amount of oil you put in the pan and then add the 300g of chicken and cook it all together. Put it in the recipe builder in MFP. Then divide that recipe into servings. That's the total amount of calories which will include your oil. So, If you put 1tbs of oil in the pan (120calories) and 300g of raw boneless skinless chicken breast (360 calories) = 480 calories. Then divide that by 2 or 3 or whatever you want for your meal. If you eat half of what you make, you're eating 240 calories.
  • need2belean
    need2belean Posts: 356 Member
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    bob_mck wrote: »
    Always go by the raw weight

    You don't always have to go by the raw weight. There are entries for cooked weight in MFP. Sometimes, I cook frozen chicken so the raw weight doesn't apply. I just put in "boneless, skinless chicken breast Cooked"into mfp when I'm searching to get the right numbers.
  • heiliskrimsli
    heiliskrimsli Posts: 735 Member
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    bob_mck wrote: »
    Always go by the raw weight

    You don't always have to go by the raw weight. There are entries for cooked weight in MFP. Sometimes, I cook frozen chicken so the raw weight doesn't apply. I just put in "boneless, skinless chicken breast Cooked"into mfp when I'm searching to get the right numbers.

    I buy it raw, weigh it, wrap it, write the weight on the freezer paper and go by the raw weight in grams. Why would raw weight not apply? Are you worried about it having ice crystals on it?
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    I don't ever go by the raw weight because I hate handling raw food any more than possible. But I consistently weigh it cooked and measure out 120 grams with no bones or skin.
  • particularwave
    particularwave Posts: 3 Member
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    When building recipes I always use the raw weight of the ingredient (I don't have an indepth, scientific reasoning to it, that's just the amount I record) and make sure I'm using a reference that's including the raw weight to double check that the output is reasonable or else I search and find a number more in line what I'm finding. It doesn't come up often, but occasionally I realize that the first option that comes up isn't truly what I'm looking for. After cooking, I then divide the cooked portion into whatever split I'm using for that recipe. It may seem like a lot of fiddling or weighing, but for me I feel more accurate logging the raw weights then doing my meal prep based on cooked weights so that I'm not excessively (because it's hard to be 100% accurate even with accurate databases) changing the estimated counts involved. For instance, if you measured your cooked chicken breast based on a raw chicken breast weight you wouldn't be accurately representing your intake. You could (probably) weigh only after cooking but I always wonder if things were cooked in the same way I cooked them when I look at user submitted numbers. Yeah, I usually end up using extra prep bowls when I'm dealing with meat but I feel like it's overall more accurate but I could be 100% misguided on this.
  • need2belean
    need2belean Posts: 356 Member
    edited April 2017
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    bob_mck wrote: »
    Always go by the raw weight

    You don't always have to go by the raw weight. There are entries for cooked weight in MFP. Sometimes, I cook frozen chicken so the raw weight doesn't apply. I just put in "boneless, skinless chicken breast Cooked"into mfp when I'm searching to get the right numbers.

    I buy it raw, weigh it, wrap it, write the weight on the freezer paper and go by the raw weight in grams. Why would raw weight not apply? Are you worried about it having ice crystals on it?

    Because 4oz of frozen chicken is going to be less calories than 4oz of raw chicken because frozen chicken weighs more.
    Raw weight doesn't apply in that instance because I didn't thaw it before cooking it. 4oz of frozen chicken is actually probably only 3oz of raw chicken after it's thawed (I estimated that btw). PLUS, I batch cook my chicken. So, I cook a whole 3pounds of chicken at once. Then once it's cooked, I toss all the chicken in a tupperware container. I pull out chicken when I need it and weigh the chicken then as a "cooked chicken" entry.
    Check this out: http://www.ontheregimen.com/2013/08/28/how-to-weigh-meat-cooked-or-raw/

    The author suggests "When weighing (cooked) well-done meat, multiply the weight by 1.5 and use the meat’s raw nutrition facts".
  • heiliskrimsli
    heiliskrimsli Posts: 735 Member
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    bob_mck wrote: »
    Always go by the raw weight

    You don't always have to go by the raw weight. There are entries for cooked weight in MFP. Sometimes, I cook frozen chicken so the raw weight doesn't apply. I just put in "boneless, skinless chicken breast Cooked"into mfp when I'm searching to get the right numbers.

    I buy it raw, weigh it, wrap it, write the weight on the freezer paper and go by the raw weight in grams. Why would raw weight not apply? Are you worried about it having ice crystals on it?

    Because 4oz of frozen chicken is going to be less calories than 4oz of raw chicken because frozen chicken weighs more.
    Raw weight doesn't apply in that instance because I didn't thaw it before cooking it. 4oz of frozen chicken is actually probably only 3oz of raw chicken after it's thawed (I estimated that btw). PLUS, I batch cook my chicken. So, I cook a whole 3pounds of chicken at once. Then once it's cooked, I toss all the chicken in a tupperware container. I pull out chicken when I need it and weigh the chicken then as a "cooked chicken" entry.
    Check this out: http://www.ontheregimen.com/2013/08/28/how-to-weigh-meat-cooked-or-raw/

    The author suggests "When weighing (cooked) well-done meat, multiply the weight by 1.5 and use the meat’s raw nutrition facts".

    I don't really get why you think freezing something increases its weight. Also, if something weighs less because water came out of it, that will not affect how many calories it is because water does not have any calories.
  • ktekc
    ktekc Posts: 879 Member
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    Whatever you do log it with the right entry..if i weigh it raw i use the usda entry for raw if i weigh it cooked i log it with the usda entry that matches..ie. grilled,roasted or broiled. As long as you use the right entry it wont matter much in the long run.
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
    edited April 2017
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    I don't really get why you think freezing something increases its weight. Also, if something weighs less because water came out of it, that will not affect how many calories it is because water does not have any calories.

    Because if you measure it without the water content, it will "look" like a smaller raw piece. In other words, if you have a 300g raw chicken that has (for the sake of argument) 480 calories, then cooked it - if you measure after cooking, it's going to be less. Let's say you lose 100 g in water while cooking. You would then weigh it at 200g and deduce that that same piece of chicken had 320 calories. In reality, it would still have the 480 it always had, but you would be logging an inaccurate lower number.**


    [ETA} I agree with the post above, but the illustration is only meant to augment what others have said...just in case it wasn't clear (I have a knack for that...)

    **Note - the numbers used were illustrative - just to show the math.
  • heiliskrimsli
    heiliskrimsli Posts: 735 Member
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    I don't really get why you think freezing something increases its weight. Also, if something weighs less because water came out of it, that will not affect how many calories it is because water does not have any calories.

    Because if you measure it without the water content, it will "look" like a smaller raw piece. In other words, if you have a 300g raw chicken that has (for the sake of argument) 480 calories, then cooked it - if you measure after cooking, it's going to be less. Let's say you lose 100 g in water while cooking. You would then weigh it at 200g and deduce that that same piece of chicken had 320 calories. In reality, it would still have the 480 it always had, but you would be logging an inaccurate lower number.**




    **Note - the numbers used were illustrative - just to show the math.

    Which just makes it a method of recording fewer calories than actually consumed, doesn't it, which makes the games of wringing water out of it before weighing and logging counter to actually losing or maintaining weight.
  • ktekc
    ktekc Posts: 879 Member
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    Basicaly a piece of raw chicken at 4 oz. Will have the same calories as the same piece cooked that now weighs 3oz..barring oil and stuff of course.
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,575 Member
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    I never weigh my chicken until after cooking. (This is for just plain grilled chicken breast, no oil.) I cook 2 or 3 breasts for the week, and stick them in a container in the fridge. I cut off what I want (around 4oz) each morning when I make my lunch. That's when I weigh it. Works fine for me.
  • need2belean
    need2belean Posts: 356 Member
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    ktekc wrote: »
    Whatever you do log it with the right entry..if i weigh it raw i use the usda entry for raw if i weigh it cooked i log it with the usda entry that matches..ie. grilled,roasted or broiled. As long as you use the right entry it wont matter much in the long run.

    This is all I'm trying to say. I'm just saying it wrong. I do realize water has no calories. However, 4oz of frozen chicken is not the same as 4oz of raw chicken. 4oz of frozen chicken, thawed is only like 3oz or whatever of raw chicken so therefore, 3oz of chicken is less than 4oz of chicken. That's all I'm getting at. Just log it with the correct entry.
  • need2belean
    need2belean Posts: 356 Member
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    I don't really get why you think freezing something increases its weight. Also, if something weighs less because water came out of it, that will not affect how many calories it is because water does not have any calories.

    Because if you measure it without the water content, it will "look" like a smaller raw piece. In other words, if you have a 300g raw chicken that has (for the sake of argument) 480 calories, then cooked it - if you measure after cooking, it's going to be less. Let's say you lose 100 g in water while cooking. You would then weigh it at 200g and deduce that that same piece of chicken had 320 calories. In reality, it would still have the 480 it always had, but you would be logging an inaccurate lower number.**


    [ETA} I agree with the post above, but the illustration is only meant to augment what others have said...just in case it wasn't clear (I have a knack for that...)

    **Note - the numbers used were illustrative - just to show the math.

    Thank you for explaining this better than I!
  • heiliskrimsli
    heiliskrimsli Posts: 735 Member
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    ktekc wrote: »
    Basicaly a piece of raw chicken at 4 oz. Will have the same calories as the same piece cooked that now weighs 3oz..barring oil and stuff of course.

    But what about that would invalidate the raw weight if it is raw and frozen?
    4oz of frozen chicken, thawed is only like 3oz or whatever of raw chicken so

    What about freezing something materially changes how much mass there actually is?

    Raw frozen chicken should weigh the same amount as raw thawed chicken.