For anyone serious about tracking their nutrition, accurately logging cooked meat is a common challenge. While chicken is an excellent source of lean protein, it undergoes significant changes during cooking. Crucially, the calorie count doesn't change, even though the weight decreases. Logging cooked chicken with the wrong entry can lead to consistent calorie underestimation, sabotaging your progress over time.
The Fundamental Rule: Raw vs. Cooked Weight
Cooked chicken weighs less than raw chicken because moisture is lost through evaporation. An entry for "raw chicken breast" in MyFitnessPal reflects the nutritional information for that food in its raw, uncooked state, including the water weight. When you cook it, the water leaves, but the protein and fat content—and therefore the calories—remain the same and become more concentrated in the smaller piece of meat. Failing to account for this can lead to tracking errors. For example, mistaking 4oz of cooked chicken for 4oz of raw chicken could lead to under-logging 40 calories and 12 grams of protein per meal, an error that compounds over time.
Method 1: The Gold Standard - Weigh Raw
For the highest level of accuracy, weigh your chicken before you cook it. This method eliminates all guesswork and accounts for moisture loss perfectly.
Step-by-Step Raw Logging
- Zero your food scale: Place a plate or bowl on your kitchen scale and zero it out.
- Weigh the raw chicken: Place your portion of raw chicken on the scale. Log this weight, preferably in grams, for maximum precision.
- Find the correct entry: In MyFitnessPal, search for a "raw chicken breast" or "raw chicken thigh" entry. It's often helpful to include the brand name if available, or search for a verified entry with a green checkmark.
- Cook and enjoy: Cook your chicken as desired. It doesn't matter what the final cooked weight is, as you've already logged the true nutritional content.
Method 2: The Meal Prep Expert - Use the Recipe Tool
If you're meal-prepping a large batch of chicken and plan to divide it into multiple portions, using the recipe tool is the most efficient and accurate method.
How to Create a Custom Recipe
- Create a new recipe: Navigate to the "More" section, then "Meals, Recipes & Foods," and select "Create a Recipe".
- Add all ingredients: Log the raw weight of the chicken and any other ingredients, such as oils, spices, or sauces. Don't forget to include fats, as they add significant calories.
- Cook the recipe: Prepare your chicken batch.
- Weigh the total cooked yield: After cooking, weigh the entire batch of cooked chicken. Enter this total weight as the number of "servings" in your recipe. This clever trick allows you to log a precise gram-based serving later.
- Log your portion: When you eat a portion, weigh it and log that weight as the number of servings. For example, if the total cooked batch was 500g and you eat 100g, you log "100" servings of your custom recipe.
Method 3: The Estimation Shortcut - Conversion Factor
If you only have access to the cooked weight and can't weigh it raw, you can use a conversion factor. While less precise, it's far better than logging incorrectly.
The Calculation
- Raw weight = Cooked weight / 0.75 (assuming a 25% moisture loss).
- For example: If your cooked chicken weighs 150g, divide 150 by 0.75 to get 200g. Log this amount as "200g raw chicken breast".
When to Use
This is ideal for quick logging at a restaurant or when eating leftovers where the raw weight wasn't recorded. It is not as accurate as the other methods, but it's a reliable estimation.
Comparison of Logging Methods
| Method | Accuracy | Effort | Best For... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weighing Raw | Highest | Medium | Single meals, precise tracking |
| Custom Recipe | Highest | High (Initial Setup) | Meal prep, leftovers, cooking in bulk |
| Conversion Factor | Moderate | Low | Quick logging, eating out, estimation |
| Custom Cooked Food | High | Medium | Single, repeated cooked item |
Handling Common Cooking Variables
- Added Fats: If you cook with oil, butter, or other fats, remember to log these separately or as part of your custom recipe. These can add significant calories.
- Skin-On vs. Skinless: Chicken with the skin on has a higher fat and calorie content. Be sure to select the correct entry in the database. If you remove the skin after cooking, subtract its weight before calculating your portion.
- Bone-In Chicken: For bone-in cuts, weigh the meat before cooking (if possible) or weigh the bones after eating to accurately subtract their weight from the total cooked weight.
- Marinades and Sauces: Logging the ingredients for your marinades or sauces is necessary for complete nutritional tracking. The recipe tool is the easiest way to manage this.
Conclusion
While it may seem complex at first, mastering how to log cooked chicken in MyFitnessPal is a fundamental skill for accurate calorie and macro tracking. The key is to remember that the weight changes, but the nutritional value doesn't. Whether you choose the precision of weighing raw, the efficiency of the recipe tool, or the convenience of a conversion factor, consistently logging your food correctly will lead to more reliable data and better progress toward your fitness goals. The effort you put into accurate tracking is an investment in your success. For more information on using MyFitnessPal effectively, visit the official MyFitnessPal blog for logging tips.
