Enter your raw meat weight and cooking method to get the expected cooked weight, yield percentage, and adjusted calorie density — so your macro tracking stays accurate whether you weigh before or after cooking.
BiteKit automatically accounts for raw vs. cooked weight when you log food. Just tell it what you ate and it handles the math.
One of the most common sources of error in calorie counting is using raw calorie values for cooked meat (or vice versa). A chicken breast that weighs 200g raw will weigh only about 150g after roasting — a 25% reduction. If you weigh your cooked chicken and look up “chicken breast calories” and find 120 kcal/100g (a raw value), you will significantly undercount your calories.
The correct cooked value for roasted chicken breast is approximately 160 kcal/100g. This calculator computes that adjusted figure automatically so you always have the right number for the state you are measuring in.
Both approaches are valid — the key is consistency. Here is a comparison:
| Approach | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Weigh raw | Most food databases use raw values. Simple for batch cooking — weigh everything before it hits the pan. | Requires weighing before cooking. Harder if cooking for others. |
| Weigh cooked | Convenient when eating out or portioning already-cooked meat. Useful for meal-prep containers. | Must use the cooked calorie figure (higher per 100g), not the raw one — this is where errors occur. |
Fat and collagen content are the primary drivers of yield loss. Fattier cuts render more fat during cooking; tougher, collagen-rich cuts cooked low-and-slow lose the most weight overall.
| Cut | Yield Range | Weight Loss | Primary Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shrimp | 83–85% | 15–17% | Low fat, moisture loss only |
| Salmon | 78–80% | 20–22% | Moderate fat render + moisture |
| Chicken breast | 73–76% | 24–27% | Mostly moisture loss |
| Beef sirloin | 76–78% | 22–24% | Lean, mostly moisture |
| Pork tenderloin | 78% | 22% | Lean, minimal fat render |
| Ground beef 93/7 | 74–76% | 24–26% | Low fat render |
| Chicken thigh | 72–76% | 24–28% | Higher fat than breast |
| Ground beef 80/20 | 68–70% | 30–32% | Significant fat drip |
| Brisket | 60–62% | 38–40% | Heavy marbling + long cook time |
| Pork shoulder | 55% | 45% | Maximum fat render + moisture |
If you cook a large batch of chicken breast at the start of the week, weigh the entire raw batch before cooking. Record the total raw weight, then weigh the cooked batch. Your actual yield factor for that specific cook will be more accurate than the generic estimate in this calculator.
Restaurant menu items typically list “6 oz grilled chicken breast” — that is the cooked weight. Use the cooked calories per ounce figure (from this calculator) to convert that directly to calories: 6 oz cooked chicken breast (roasted) ≈ 6 × 45 kcal = 270 kcal.
These cuts have the highest variance in yield depending on cooking time, temperature, and whether you trim fat before or after cooking. Use the 55–62% yield range as a starting point and adjust based on your actual measured results. Always weigh the cooked, shredded meat — not the unshredded roast — for the most accurate portion tracking.
When making dishes like tacos or bolognese with ground beef, weigh the raw meat before browning. Fat that drains away during cooking carries calories with it, so the 70% yield of 80/20 ground beef already accounts for this. Do not add back the calories from drained fat.
Most meats shrink 20–45% of their raw weight. Lean cuts like shrimp (15–17% loss) and salmon (20–22%) shrink the least. Chicken breast loses about 24–27%. Fatty slow-cooked cuts like brisket (38–40%) and pork shoulder (45%) shrink the most due to fat rendering combined with extended moisture loss.
Either works — you just need to use the matching calorie figure. If you weigh raw, use raw calories per 100g. If you weigh cooked, use the higher cooked calories per 100g shown in this calculator. Mixing raw weight with cooked calories (or vice versa) is a common tracking error.
Water has no calories. When cooking drives off moisture, the remaining protein and fat is packed into fewer grams, so the calorie density per gram goes up. The total calories in your serving are approximately the same — they are just concentrated into a smaller weight.
Boiling and braising in liquid retain the most weight because the meat can reabsorb some liquid. Shrimp boiled retains 85% vs. 83% grilled. Baked salmon retains 80% vs. 78% grilled. However, the differences between methods for the same cut are usually only 2–5%.
Total calories are nearly constant regardless of cooking method. All methods lose primarily water (which has no calories) and possibly some fat drip on a grill. The total caloric content stays roughly the same — only the weight changes, so calorie density per gram increases. This calculator shows this in the comparison table.
Brisket is heavily marbled and typically cooked for 10–18 hours at low temperature. This extended cook time renders a large proportion of intramuscular fat and drives off significant moisture. Slow-cooked brisket yields only 55–62% of raw weight — a 5 lb raw brisket produces about 3 lbs of cooked meat.