Calories in Hamburger

I don't think so. Because if you knew, you'd probably never enjoy the otherwise mouth-watering dish ever again. So finish your hamburger and enjoy every little bite, because if you're on a weight loss diet, and you proceed with reading this article, it is probably the last one you'll have for a long time!

Hamburger Calories

OK, I admit I may have been a little dramatic here, but there is no denying that a hamburger does add a lot of calories to your daily intake. More worryingly, quite a bit of those are from fat. So the hamburger may be fine once in a while, but it will be a terrible idea to have it regularly.

Hamburger Nutritional Value

A regular sized, single patty hamburger supplies your body with around 279 calories with an estimated 121 calories from fats. A large, single patty hamburger, on the other hand, adds a whooping 426 calories, from which 206 are from fat. On an average, there are 120 calories in the bun itself! The calories in the meat are nearly 200 for an 85 gm serving.

The worrying part here is that a regular sized hamburger gets you 13.5 gm of fat (22.9 gm fat in a large hamburger), out of which 4.1 gm (8.4 gm for large) are dangerous saturated fats. More worries coming your way as the cholesterol content in a regular hamburger is 26 mg (71 mg in a large burger), while the sodium content can be anywhere between 475 to 500 mg.

On the up-side, a hamburger gets you quite a few proteins, 12.9 gm from a small one and 22.6 gm from a large serving. Quite a good consolation prize indeed!

Lean Hamburger Nutritional Value

But then again it's going to take a herculean effort to stop eating your favorite delicacy isn't it? So why not try the lean variety. Pretty good on taste and touch better for health as well.

Ground hamburger, boasts a healthier alternative to the traditional hamburger. 145 calories, 50 of which are from fat don't sound all that bad. So this a fairly good option which I recommend you try out if you're on a weight loss diet. Lean hamburger calories are really much lower and hence live up to the expectations, created by the word 'lean'.

A lean hamburger with ground beef has 'only' 5.6 gm of fat, out of which only 2.5 is saturated fats. The sodium levels are also drastically lower, standing at a somewhat acceptable level at 55 mg respectively. Better yet, the protein count still remains robust at 22.3 gm of proteins. Furthermore, your lean hamburger will also add a good amount of phosphorus, selenium and zinc, making it a mineral fest! Not to mention a respectable amount of niacin and vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.

And as you have doubtless concluded by the end of this article, the traditional hamburger is not the best food item to have if you are on a diet. Perhaps you may opt for the lean one as the calories of this variety are a lot lesser while the taste will remain more or less the same.