500 calories? Really?

MaiLinna

Is one boneless skinless chicken breast really almost 500 calories? I wanted one whole breast with some rice and veggies for dinner, but according to calculations it's almost 500 calories for one breast? What?

Please tell me it's just water weight.

AsaThorsWoman

Did you weigh it?

TNSLB

Did you weigh it? I've never had a BS breast cost that much, but ours aren't huge.

AmyRhubarb

I just had a boneless skinless breast at lunch - weighed it before i cooked it - 162g for 178 cals.

Either the one you ate was one big chicken breast, or the entry you're using is incorrect. Look for the entries that do NOT have an asterisk, and usually give you the option in the drop down menu of cups, ounces or grams, etc for logging.

MaiLinna

Yeah I weighed them. Each one is about 13.5 ounces average. This is uncooked so I'm assuming it HAS to lose some water weight when cooking because that's ridiculous.

starsandowls

It really depends on how you cook it. Raw, boneless skinless chicken breast is 31 calories per ounce, and a lot of the chicken breasts in the US are 8-10 ounces each, which is about 250-300 calories. If you just in put "chicken breast" in MFP, you're going to get TONS of people's additions to the database, which are going to range from what it is raw up to chicken fried chicken smothered in gravy and everything in between.

Try some other chicken breast entries, or make your own recipe with exactly how you're going to cook your exact chicken breast. Good luck!

ETA: chicken breast doesn't lose much weight in cooking. When I cook beef, it usually reduces in weight by about 25%, but chicken tends to stay the same.

MaiLinna

I was just going to fry it in my nonstick pan without oil or butter or anything. Guess I'm eating only half a breast. Jeez this is stupid.

MaiLinna

They're 380g each btw. Are they huge or something?

smn76237

380g of raw chicken breast = 418 calories. Pretty big breasts, but I'd have no problem eating the whole thing!

redwoodkestrel

Yep,smn is right. Make sure you're looking in the food database for entries WITHOUT an asterisk by them - those will be official USDA nutrition information entries. And then make sure if you're weighing something raw, that the database entry you're using also indicates that it's raw weight.

TheGymGypsy

380g of raw chicken breast = 418 calories. Pretty big breasts, but I'd have no problem eating the whole thing!

Teehee you said big breasts

cwolfman13

They're 380g each btw. Are they huge or something?

Yeah, that's pretty big. I'm calculating around 420 calories or so for your particular serving. The recommended serving of boneless skinless chicken breast is 4 oz raw and around 120 calories. Most of the whole breasts I buy are in the neighborhood of 8 oz or so and I cut them in half lengthwise and will generally have roughly a 4 oz serving or more if I happen to have the calories...

ETA: I swear this is where so many people go wrong and good on you for measuring OP...many an MFP member would have sucked down that whole entire 380 grams (without weighing it) and then just logged it as a "4 oz serving" of chicken breast 'cuz the package says, "serving 1 breast 4 oz". I swear this is why it doesn't work for so many people who think they're doing everything right.

defauIt

That's nearly a pound of meat... that's quite a large serving.

I usually have 8oz of chicken breast in a sitting which is around 250 cals.

MaiLinna

They're 380g each btw. Are they huge or something?

Yeah, that's pretty big. I'm calculating around 420 calories or so for your particular serving. The recommended serving of boneless skinless chicken breast is 4 oz raw and around 120 calories. Most of the whole breasts I buy are in the neighborhood of 8 oz or so and I cut them in half lengthwise and will generally have roughly a 4 oz serving or more if I happen to have the calories...

ETA: I swear this is where so many people go wrong and good on you for measuring OP...many an MFP member would have sucked down that whole entire 380 grams (without weighing it) and then just logged it as a "4 oz serving" of chicken breast 'cuz the package says, "serving 1 breast 4 oz". I swear this is why it doesn't work for so many people who think they're doing everything right.

Thank you! I wanted to make extra sure because I have to bake tonight and that's going to end up with a hefty 300 calorie + price tag because my mother loves sweets. So yeah I'm definitely cutting the buggers in half.

I also found out today after fixing my scale (I couldn't find the balance resetter and it's a hard to read analog scale) that I had actually lost 5 whole pounds! And this whole time I thought I was doing all this work for nothing. :P

AwesomeGuy37

Yeah, that is 2.5 oz. shy of one pound. That is crazy big for a breast, whereas normal is about 8 oz. It most likely has some salt water added for some girth. Look up the calories for enhanced chicken breast in the USDA search. 3 oz. (84g) is an average serving.
500 calories isn't much. Eat it.

GelasiaT

Another thing you could try is the chicken breast tenderloins instead, they're approx. 100-120 calories for 4 ozs.(which is usually about 2 pieces). They are just as filling and easier to pan fry in my opinion. I usually spray my pan with Pam and then cook them on medium heat about 10 minutes each side.

Mrsfreedom41

I usually fix the chicken breast how I want it - then only eat half of it with a huge portion of veggies and a pretty big salad. The left over piece I put in a salad the next day for lunch. Works out well for me.:drinker:

PikaKnight

Not sure how you are cooking them but 4oz boneless, skinless and boiled is 186 calories. Sometimes I'll throw some garlic powder in there for flavor.

MyChocolateDiet

it's just water weight.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Yeah 380 grams is large. I usually take one that size and butterfly it, and it feeds myself and my husband once I've added sides.

Cameron_1969

Yeah. .that's one HUGE breast!. . which. . now that I've said it. . sounds pretty good actually. .