Do you count the weight/calories of food before or after cooking?

As far as calories go. Before I grilled my chicken breast last night, it was 1/2 pound. After, it was a 1/4 pound. Do I count calories for eating a 1/2 pound or a 1/4 pound of chicken? It is a big difference.

Fri. Jun 1, 10:55am

It probably depends on what your calorie source is - and whether it specifies "raw" or "cooked." I find it weird, though, that a chicken breast reduced by half while being grilled; it doesn't have that much fat!

Friday, June 1, 2007, 12:30 PM

its all the fluid they pump into it before selling it to make it plumper and jucier.

Friday, June 1, 2007, 12:40 PM

if it's fluid to make the chicken breast plumper & juicier, wouldn't you expect the plumpness and juice to stay in the chicken breast when cooked?

Friday, June 1, 2007, 12:43 PM

I'm not sure, but I'll take a shot that a lot of the broth they pump into it "cooks off" or evaporates when it encounters the high temps of cooking. Here's some exerpts from a news article that talks about it (the injecting, not the cooking)

"An industry video shows injection needles pumping a solution of saltwater and other agents into chicken. The ingredients are not normally found in the meat. That is legal, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Producers say the process makes the meat juicier...

Sanderson Farms, which does not inject chickens, wrote a letter to the USDA earlier this year, saying "Those consumers who seek to moderate their sodium intake will consume substantially more sodium due to the added ingredients found only in enhanced products."..."

The nutritional label on chicken containing no additives shows a serving has 75mg of sodium. Enhanced chicken contains 330mg, nearly four times the amount of sodium. That is more than a bag of chips, Landers reported...

Link

Friday, June 1, 2007, 1:03 PM

SO interesting! Thank you for the link! (not the OP)

Friday, June 1, 2007, 1:48 PM

I have always read that you weigh your food after you cook it and count the calories then otherwise you are wasting precious calories on the weight of your food that is not even there. I hope that made sense.

Saturday, June 2, 2007, 12:23 AM

they pump-the fluid into to the chicken breast as a preservative and so that the breast looks plumper in the store (so it appeals to us and we buy it) AND so it weighs more so they can charge X per pound. it's all crap!!! And who needs all that sodium???

Saturday, June 2, 2007, 12:45 AM

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