Was my dinner really that few calories?

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trybabytry
trybabytry Posts: 181
in Food and Nutrition
My boss at work cooked me dinner tonight, and I felt I couldn't refuse because it's a new job and he's an AMAZING cook -- so I just accepted that I'd be going over my calories or at least toeing the line, and ate what he gave me: a big fried chicken leg, a cup of buttery mashed potatoes, and a cup of bechamel sauce as gravy. It was, in a word, delicious. And insanely rich! I figured 1,000 calories, at least.

But when I got home and entered it into the diary, it was only 687 calories! I chose the highest calorie content I could find for each item, too. How is this possible? Can anyone help me figure out whether this is accurate? Have any of you had experiences like this?

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  • mrs_deg1983
    mrs_deg1983 Posts: 157
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    My boss at work cooked me dinner tonight, and I felt I couldn't refuse because it's a new job and he's an AMAZING cook -- so I just accepted that I'd be going over my calories or at least toeing the line, and ate what he gave me: a big fried chicken leg, a cup of buttery mashed potatoes, and a cup of bechamel sauce as gravy. It was, in a word, delicious. And insanely rich! I figured 1,000 calories, at least.

    But when I got home and entered it into the diary, it was only 687 calories! I chose the highest calorie content I could find for each item, too. How is this possible? Can anyone help me figure out whether this is accurate? Have any of you had experiences like this?



    Did you count the butter, oil, milk and flower that was in all of it?
  • jbrynn82
    jbrynn82 Posts: 5
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    When I eat at home, I can either scan or measure everything to keep a very accurate record. However, when I work, I get food from our hospital cafeteria and feel like I am playing the guessing game when it comes to plugging in my calories. Sometimes I feel like I have chosen a terrible meal and given in to the urge to eat cruddy... I feel bad before I even plug it in to MFP! Often I am surprised by how few calories it says these meals are, and I wonder also if it is accurate..? Since there is no surefire way to be truly accurate when entering meals like these, I just base it on what TYPE of calories I am taking in and how I will feel after I eat it. Of course, the occasional homecooked splurge of a meal is great, too, but even then I just remember how hard I'm going to have to work to burn off all that unecessary 'goop.' Sometimes, still worth it. :) I'm curious to see what others say about these immeasurable, high-cal meals...
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
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    I'm not sure how it was that little tbh. I have chicken drumsticks and they are about 300cals each (without being fried and with no skin). Then at least 150 for the mashed potatoes (plus butter), then adding in the sauce...

    Your numbers might be right, but my initial instinct is with yours that it should be higher.
  • trybabytry
    trybabytry Posts: 181
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    No, I have absolutely zero idea how many of each ingredients he put in -- I just chose "mashed potatoes, homemade with milk and butter" in the food counter (the highest calorie one I could find), and same with "fried chicken leg" and "bechamel sauce" -- looked at all the choices, chose the ones with the highest calories.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
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    Probably about right. Chicken legs are not that high in calories... Fried? Yeah, that adds some. Make sure you accounted for any GENEROUS proportions.
  • tayteetots
    tayteetots Posts: 114 Member
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    Lots of chefs also put egg yolk into their mashed potatoes to make them extra creamy. Also cream not milk is often added.
  • jbrynn82
    jbrynn82 Posts: 5
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    That's what makes it so hard with meals we don't prep ourselves - no way of knowing for sure how it was cooked. I'm obsessive about it at home so I plug in even my calorie-free components. Like tonight, we had tacos with turkey, fat free cheese, low-cal tortillas, etc... My husband makes homemade shells in canola oil and sprinkles them with garlic salt, so I even scan the garlic salt.
  • trybabytry
    trybabytry Posts: 181
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    For the record -- if anyone's interested, LOL -- this is what my diary says:

    Chicken - Leg, meat and skin, cooked, fried, flour, 1 unit (yield from 1 lb ready-to-cook chicken) 170
    Potatoes - Mashed, home-prepared, whole milk and butter added 1 cup 237
    Home Made - Bechamel Sauce 1 cup 280
  • patranus
    patranus Posts: 61 Member
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    ---
  • mrs_deg1983
    mrs_deg1983 Posts: 157
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    I'm not sure how it was that little tbh. I have chicken drumsticks and they are about 300cals each (without being fried and with no skin). Then at least 150 for the mashed potatoes (plus butter), then adding in the sauce...

    Your numbers might be right, but my initial instinct is with yours that it should be higher.


    I agree it should be higher. I made home made fried chicken for a ladies group. for a fried drum stick it was like 542 just for the drum stick.
  • poodlepaws
    poodlepaws Posts: 269 Member
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    It all comes down to portion control..... I eat mashed potatoes A LOT because not only do I have a love for them but as long as I stick with a normal portion, I stay in line with my calories. Just because it tasted fattening doesn't always mean it :-)
  • patranus
    patranus Posts: 61 Member
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    I'm not sure how it was that little tbh. I have chicken drumsticks and they are about 300cals each (without being fried and with no skin). Then at least 150 for the mashed potatoes (plus butter), then adding in the sauce...

    Your numbers might be right, but my initial instinct is with yours that it should be higher.


    I agree it should be higher. I made home made fried chicken for a ladies group. for a fried drum stick it was like 542 just for the drum stick.

    KFC has a 51g drumstick at 150 calories and a 96g thigh at 250.
    Can't be *that* much worse.
  • poodlepaws
    poodlepaws Posts: 269 Member
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    I'm not sure how it was that little tbh. I have chicken drumsticks and they are about 300cals each (without being fried and with no skin). Then at least 150 for the mashed potatoes (plus butter), then adding in the sauce...

    Your numbers might be right, but my initial instinct is with yours that it should be higher.


    I agree it should be higher. I made home made fried chicken for a ladies group. for a fried drum stick it was like 542 just for the drum stick.


    That's an awfully big drumstick! Chicken breasts would have less calories than that. Even KFC chicken has less calories than that
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
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    I was going to say... 500 something for a drumstick?! No way. Even KFC Extra Crispy is 150 calories.
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
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    whoops, let me retract that... I was looking at my serving of 2 when I checked my diary :blushing:

    Carry on :drinker:
  • bergsangel
    bergsangel Posts: 131
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    An individual side of mashed and gravy at KFC has only 120 calories...I was so stoked when I found that out!
  • cozmosis77
    cozmosis77 Posts: 7 Member
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    I agree it should be higher. I made home made fried chicken for a ladies group. for a fried drum stick it was like 542 just for the drum stick.

    What did you put on that thing? I'm with everyone else -- there is no way a normal drum stick (or *any* piece of chicken, for that matter) should rack up 500+ calories.
  • mrs_deg1983
    mrs_deg1983 Posts: 157
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    when i eat dinner out i pic the second highest just in case lol
  • trybabytry
    trybabytry Posts: 181
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    I feel like the overall consensus is, "Yes, it might have actually been that low!" in which case, I AM GOING TO EAT FRIED CHICKEN ALL THE TIME NOW.

    Just kidding. If only that were in any way okay, LOL.

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