Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

10

My Trader Joe's Center Cut Seasoned Uncured Bacon says 2 strips= 80 cals, 5g fat, 4g protein.

Question: Is that counting the liquid fat not contained in the cooked bacon strips?

So, if I cook me some bacon, then use the remaining bacon fat to fry up the eggs, do I simply count the eggs and bacon strips because the cooking fat was already accounted for in the bacon strips above?

Thanks, Mike

edited Apr 26 2012 at 2:55

asked Apr 26 2012 at 0:28

CaveMan_Mike
4,643●13●52

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+1 for asking, because apparently what I thought was wrong! Doesn't it make much more sense to label the facts of the whole, raw, food? Cooking is far too variable to assume! – raney Apr 26 2012 at 0:57

Nutrition facts also has a separate entry for bacon grease: nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fats-and-oils/7186/2 – Nemesis Apr 26 2012 at 1:05

No. I you really want to count calories you should study my answer below! I've given up trying to count calories when I eat fatty food. For example, if I eat a piece of fatty meat I have no clue how many of its calories are fat. – Sol Apr 26 2012 at 3:35

This is something that I've been trying to figure out on my own, as I'm counting calories to lose fat. I also use the Trader Joe's bits and pieces, and generally eat half of the pound. :/ I read the nutrition info and freaked out a bit. – SarahH May 11 2012 at 2:10

Mike T · Accepted Answer · 2012-04-26 00:40:34Z UTC

Nutrition facts would be for the prepared bacon (assuming "normal" cooking method) so it should not include the fat that would have been left in the pan. Here is one source which seems credible enough:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110113103035AAOLbyz

Marie · Answer 2 · 2012-04-26 00:41:12Z UTC

Most bacon nutrition facts are labeled: two (or whatever) PAN COOKED slices. Which leads me to believe that analysis is down to cooked strips which would not include the run-off. But that would probably vary depending on how crispy you cook them.

Sol · Answer 3 · 2012-04-26 03:31:36Z UTC

According to the US Nutrition Database, a pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts has 472 calories.

http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/1070?fg=&man=&lfacet=&count=&max=&qlookup=&offset=&sort=&format=Abridged&_action_show=Apply+Changes&Qv=4.54&Q2484=0.5

The USDA database also tells us that a slice of bacon weighs 29 grams (about an ounce).

http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2665?fg=&man=&lfacet=&count=&max=&qlookup=&offset=&sort=&format=Abridged&_action_show=Apply+Changes&Qv=4.54&Q4929=1.0

If one Trader Joe's bacon strip weighs an ounce and has only 40 calories then a pound of bacon would have only about 640 calories or only about 1/3 more calories than a pound of that boneless skinless chicken breast. I don't think so.

The USDA database says a pound of bacon has 2,079 calories and a one ounce slice has 233 calories. That sounds right to me.

If you really wanted to know how many calories of bacon you were consuming you could collect the runoff fat and guesstimate 100 calories per tablespoon and subtract those calories from what you consume.

CaveMan_Mike · Answer 4 · 2012-05-10 23:40:57Z UTC

2

I just did some cooking and measuring:

I cooked 5.4 oz of bacon,

It yielded 1.7 oz of bacon strips,

There was 1.1 oz of fat in the pan.

2.6 oz vanished ( I guess water evaporation)

Mike

answered May 10 2012 at 23:40

CaveMan_Mike
4,643●13●52

ecks · Answer 5 · 2012-04-26 03:29:27Z UTC

1

Who cares? Fat is your friend! I keep a jar of bacon fat in my fridge so I can cook stuff in it and it's awesome!

answered Apr 26 2012 at 3:29

ecks
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Yes, but if you are trying to lose weight and think the two slices of bacon and the 1/3 cup of oil = 80 kcal you are in for a big surprise as you start gaining weight. 1/3 cup of of fat is what 600 kcal...Vs. 80? – Satchmo Apr 26 2012 at 5:07

Mike · Answer 6 · 2012-12-30 17:31:03Z UTC

If you are truly Paleo with your diet you should not need to count calories to lose fat. You eat to satiety (not gut-busting fullness) and your body does the rest. The MAJORITY of your calories should be coming from FAT anyways, not protein, so why would you want to limit it? Besides, your body processes fat much differently than protien or carbs - not all calories are the same. When you talk about counting/limiting calories you are operating under the old USDA thought process. Read Nora Gedgaudas's book Primal Body Primal Mind for the actual science behind it all. Calories in versus calories out is old hat, and seriously flawed.

Bacon Label Nutrition Facts: does that include the fat left in pan?

6 Answers