Calories in grilled chicken breast

Francl27
Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I know there was another thread about this but the search is broken for me, sorry...

Anyway, how can entries vary so much for such a thing as grilled chicken breast? I've been buying frozen ones (because it's convenient) and the package says it's 160 calories for 170 grams. But the entries in the database are all over the place, from 1 to 2 calories per gram... it's a huge difference. And that's for skinless too. Unfortunately I have yet to see any nutrition information on a package of fresh chicken breasts, so my question is... what entry do you use?

I've been using an entry that's close to 1 calorie per gram, as it's really the only confirmed data I've seen anywhere, but I eat a lot of chicken so it's annoying not to know for sure, even though I've been losing weight fine this way...

Replies

  • daftthoughts
    daftthoughts Posts: 88
    There's a possibility that the entries in the database account for the usage of oil/butter. Perhaps the chicken for those entries has a different muscle/fat ratio and causes the chicken to have more calories due to the additional fat. Some people don't clean the fat chunks from their chicken breasts and some do.

    I recommend going by what the package says because that's the chicken you're eating, so it doesn't make sense to rely on an entry that might be using different chicken. If you notice your weight loss stalling without a significant change in your diet (accounting for an adjustment to your TDEE for the weight you lost) then you might want to be more generous with the calories you log, otherwise it's best to be as accurate as possible!
  • traceyfunk
    traceyfunk Posts: 86
    I'd use the package too. A lot of times frozen chicken has been plumped up with water, hence the lower calorie / gram ratio. If the package says "seasoned" it's been injected with water or broth.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    The problem is that fresh chicken breast doesn't give nutrition information here... so when I buy fresh, what do I use?
  • traceyfunk
    traceyfunk Posts: 86
    Then I would use MFP's entry. If you enter "chicken breast" the top of the list will show MFP's nutrition content. Any item with an asterisk before it is an entry made by a MFP member. I try to only use the values that don't have the asterisk, if at all possible.
  • igotabulletproofheart
    igotabulletproofheart Posts: 104 Member
    With things like chicken and prawn I always measure the meat before I cook it and then use words like "raw" when searching for them in the database so I can add the raw weight's nutritional info to my diary. Like, if I'm having chicken breast then I always use the item that says "Chicken - Breast, meat only, raw,".

    At the end of the day the nutrition info of all foods on the packaging and on MFP can't be 100% accurate. As long as you're on a caloric defict you'll still see results so try not to get too wound up on specific numbers. Add what the items you think might be right and just keep calorie counting!
  • ZealousMissJJ
    ZealousMissJJ Posts: 454 Member
    Type USDA at the end of every product :) (for example: chicken breast USDA). Apparently this is pretty accurate!

    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/
  • flab2fit_30
    flab2fit_30 Posts: 66
    I use the chicken breast listed as <b>Chicken Breast (Skinless/boneless)/w Rib Meat - Chicken Breast (Skinless/boneless)/w Rib Meat</b>. Search that exact way and it will come up first in the list. per 1oz its 28 calories, 1g fat, 6g protein. I dont buy the prepackaged chicken in a bag, only the raw chicken breast packages in the meat department. I used the mfp phone app and scanned the packed once and this came up so I have been using ever since. To me, it seems the most accurate.
  • kirkor
    kirkor Posts: 2,530 Member
    Whichever one you do end up using, as long as you are consistent over time you'll see results.

    It's like when people ask about how to count the oil they use to stir fry --- "ya but there's some left in the pan" "ya but some of that in the pan is water and some is oil"
    doesn't matter: measure the full amount, measure a %, or measure none ... but pick 1 method and stick to it, then over time you'll know if the scale is moving in the direction you want and whether you should change which method you use.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    You could just use the generic entry here for "Chicken - Breast, meat only, cooked, roasted" The chicken doesn't care if you roast it or grill it.
  • dakitten2
    dakitten2 Posts: 888 Member
    I buy fresh skinless boneless breast tenderloins , specifically: Perdue - Fit & Easy Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast Tenderloins, Raw. They are 30 calories per ounce according to the package. They are in the database.

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