Milk calories, whole and skim
Whole milk is 61 calories per 100 g and nonfat is 34. Protein barely differs — 3.15 g against 3.37 g — so the entire gap is the 3.25% milkfat, and the choice is about 27 calories per 100 g and nothing else nutritionally load-bearing.
| Per 100 g | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole, 3.25% milkfat | 61 | 3.1 g | 4.8 g | 3.2 g |
| Nonfat, with added vitamins A and D | 34 | 3.4 g | 5.0 g | 0.1 g |
Per cup, which is how anyone drinks it
USDA puts a cup of nonfat milk at 245 g — 83 calories. A cup of whole milk is around 244 g, so about 149 calories. Both carry roughly 8 g of protein.
| Serving | Weight | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 fl oz | 31 g | 10 | 1.0 g | 1.5 g | 0.0 g |
| 1 cup | 245 g | 83 | 8.3 g | 12.2 g | 0.2 g |
| 1 quart | 980 g | 333 | 33.0 g | 48.6 g | 0.8 g |
Nonfat, fluid.
The coffee problem
Milk is the classic untracked calorie, because it arrives in small amounts many times a day. A tablespoon of whole milk is 9 calories, which is nothing — until it is four coffees, which is 37, plus a bowl of oats made with milk instead of water at 200 g, which is another 122. It adds up quietly and it is easy to fix: log the oats and the milk separately.
Milk as a protein source
8 g of protein per cup is real, and skim milk delivers it at 0.10 g per calorie — weaker than Greek yogurt at 0.17 or cottage cheese, because milk is mostly water and lactose. It is a decent contributor and a poor primary source.
Plant milks are not comparable
Almond, oat and soy milks differ from dairy and from each other by large margins — oat milk is typically much higher in carbohydrate, almond much lower in protein, soy the closest to dairy. Do not use this page for any of them. Scan the carton.
Source: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy release 2018-04. Figures are per 100 g as published; serving weights are USDA’s own. Records used: Milk, whole, 3.25% milkfat, with added vitamin D (FDC 171265), Milk, nonfat, fluid, with added vitamin A and vitamin D (fat free or skim) (FDC 171269).
Common questions
A cup of nonfat is 245 g, about 83 calories. A cup of whole milk is about 149. Both carry roughly 8 g of protein.
No — slightly more per 100 g, 3.37 g against 3.15 g, because removing fat concentrates everything else. The difference is negligible in practice.
A decent contributor at 8 g per cup, but weak per calorie — 0.10 g per calorie for skim, against 0.17 for nonfat Greek yogurt.
No. Plant milks vary enormously — oat is much higher in carbohydrate, almond much lower in protein. Scan the carton.
Compare it with
| Food | Per 100 g | Protein | The page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egg | 143 kcal | 12.6 g | Every size — a jumbo is 66% heavier than a small |
| Chicken breast | 120 raw | 22.5 g | Raw against cooked, and which to weigh |
| Turkey breast | 147 kcal | 30.1 g | Leaner than chicken, by a small real margin |
All twenty-four are on the food macros index.
Log it without doing this arithmetic
Scan the barcode or weigh it in grams and EatSleepRep does the conversion. The scanner is free forever, there are no ads, and every entry exports as CSV whenever you want it.