You can use the info in the package (scan the barcode) the brand I use is a raw value, or if you're buying bacon from the deli section there is a Bacon - Raw choice and a Bacon - pan fried choice.

I use the pan fried choice.

I don't do the same quantities or proportions but the rendered bacon fat incorporates easily into a bacon cheese mix.

tinakegley wrote: »

For low carb you shouldn't need to record calories. Try counting carbs instead. Bacon is 0. Enjoy it!

Well, not 0... about 6g per pound (for normal bacon, possibly less for the no sugar added kinds). Still, I'm right there with you about not counting calories.

I think 100g of raw bacon sounds like a lot. But, it's really not much. It's about 2-4 slices, depending on how thickly cut they are. A full pound of the bacon in my fridge is estimate to have 16 slices. That would be 3.5 slices per 100g. No one would be very full after 3.5 slices of bacon.

I usually buy the no-sugar added bacon. It is usually branded as the "lower sodium" kind. Then, in small print it will also mention there was no sugar added. Even if I end up grabbing regular bacon (not one that is actually intentionally meant to be sweet), I don't stress too much. For the amount I eat, it works out to be 1-1.5 grams of sugar. That's low enough for me to consider it within the margin of error. If I ate a whole pound, it would be less than 6 grams. I will survive. When I eat out, I am sure there's more sugars in rubs and seasonings used on the dry ribs I usually eat.

Basically, my advice would be to know it's there, but you shouldn't stress about it.

Maybe I'm a weirdo, but I usually buy the packaged bacon. (No, the fact that it's packaged isn't the weird part...read on.) If the serving sizes on the nutritional label are "per slice" and there are x servings in the package, I actually count the slices and buy the package that has the stated number of slices! I've seen some of the 12 oz packages (1 slice = 1 serving) range from 8 slices to 14, depending on thickness!
I also tend to avoid unlabeled foods because I get really confused about which weight to log for meats when I look up stuff like "pork chops".
Some of the meat counters at grocery stores around here have bulk bacon. I kind of avoided that for a while, but it was on sale once and I couldn't resist. I found out it was Boar's Head brand, and was able to find a package of it with nutritional info to enter. That was a good day for me.
I just wish I knew how to figure out how to log things like those fancy giant slices of in-house pork belly slices turned into delicious flavoured bacons that they sell at the Whole Foods here. They look so beautiful.

Regarding sugar in bacon, there is usually "less than 1 carb" in a serving for the kind I eat. My fiance eats the kind that's solidly on the "1 carb per 2-slice serving" line.
I find that the amount of carbs is "negligible" for the amount that I eat as I'm still well under my daily net carb limit.
Pederson's makes a no sugar added bacon that I've seen at the stores. It even has a label proudly declaring that it's Paleo Friendly. It looks great, but I am not sure I want to drop $10 for a pack of bacon.

-T.

Teneko wrote: »

I also tend to avoid unlabeled foods because I get really confused about which weight to log for meats when I look up stuff like "pork chops".

Statements like this always make me sad for our society. It's a sad testament when people are afraid to eat real food, because it doesn't come with a 100% exact label.

I generally go by cooked weight, though I'm not all that picky about my meat measurements. That whole "3oz is about the size of your palm" type of thing. Like Goat said, it doesn't really matter (and there are entries for both in MFP), as long as you're consistent.

So please, please, don't be afraid of real food, just because there's not a label attached to it! The label isn't particularly accurate, anyway (there's as much as a 20% swing on them).

Well, I didn't eat any meat except for seafood (and eggs) for 26 years, so just eating meat is pretty new for me this century. Also not used to weighing and logging all the things. I guess it's not that I'm afraid to eat whole foods...it's that I'm afraid to log it wrong and then screw up the delicate balance I've found to stay in ketosis.
Sometimes the numbers I find for nutritional information on unlabeled foods vary SO much that I just get frustrated and decide to eat something else so I know I'll stay on track. Maybe once I get more comfortable with my new way of eating, it won't be such a big deal...but for now, lots of extra protein (for example) is going to throw my system off.
I guess you're right - consistency is the key so I can log it and see if I ended up gaining or dropping out of ketosis when, according to the numbers logged, I shouldn't have.

-T.

FIT_Goat wrote: »

It's just too much to stress about the details. Worry only about the big picture.

Good advice. I'll work on that. -_-

-T.

I've been buying from farmers as well, and it gives you control over how you want your meat processed. I do buy bacon though, because my daughter likes the very thin sliced, and our farm smoked comes thick. I love them both, so I'll eat whatever shows up out of the kitchen.

I love having a culinary student in my house.... LOL

Thanks Fit_Goat. I agree with what you say, and even though I'm trying not to stress over it, I do feel better now, knowing that others have the same situation. I find it is easier to track the bacon when I count it as raw. I like to chop up a couple of pieces of bacon and cook them up, then add eggs to the bacon and all the fat in the pan and eat it all.....then go straight to work smelling like bacon and drive my co-workers crazy.

Yep, I do that, too. I do try to find a "no bun" version, but if I can't, I don't worry about it, and I'll put a note just so I remember when I look back at it later. Since I'm watching calories a little closely, I do try to subtract a couple hundred calories, just so the tracker's not completely unnecessarily way over, but I generally ignore the carb count on the sandwich, or mentally estimate based on what was on it, especially if it's something like a California burger that has weird stuff like avocado on it or whatever.

2.5 oz? Did you really eat that little? That's like 70g! It's nothing.

But, yeah, it probably would be around 100 calories.

Here's my thoughts on the matter of unlabeled food:

The egg is not layed with a label attached, the cow does not have a label on it's ribcage, rump, or loin, and that pig that just got into my freezer, well it has never had a label. Labeling things like that, even for someone who counts calories, is a tad bit too wonky. Never look into the fat/dress out percentages on lambs and pigs and steers if variation bugs you.