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GlindaGoodwitch
GlindaGoodwitch Posts: 157 Member
in Getting Started
I had atlantic salmon for lunch. Grilled. I weighed it before I ate it, and it was 9oz. When I put it in the database, there were so many options, I have no idea which is correct, and they range from 300 cals - 1900 cals. I'm starting to question the accuracy! Which do I believe? I know which one i WANT to believe, but you know. I'd like to be honest with myself, and know what my true calorie budget is.

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  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
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    Search for raw Atlantic salmon... as you weighed it raw. Find the entry without the asterisk since those are most accurate (asterisk ones are entries members have entered). Then you'll have your calorie count. :flowerforyou:
  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
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    I don't know where it came from, so... I rank my nutritional info like this:

    1. use the info on the packaging
    2. use the info on the Web site if it's a restaurant
    3. use a close option in the database (I look for similar items with the most confirmations from other users
    4. forget the nutritional info and just add a description in the "notes" section of the diary so I can at least look back and see what I had

    Also, if you're cooking you should weigh your meats raw. The cooked weight will vary because of juices lost. I don't eat fish, so I don't know if it makes that much of a difference.
  • sdr2015
    sdr2015 Posts: 14 Member
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    I would go with homemade or generic. I was getting about 400 calories.
  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
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    If you weighed it after cooking enter this into the search:

    Fish - Salmon, Atlantic, wild, cooked, dry heat

    Its 182 cals per 100 g (I am European for my sins) and you will notice there is no * before the name so is an MFP rather than a user entry
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Never go for homemade - that's someone's recipe and you have no way of knowing the ingredients

    There's 208 calories per 100g in raw Atlantic salmon

    9oz is 255g so that's 530 calories
  • juliet3455
    juliet3455 Posts: 3,015 Member
    edited March 2015
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    I have posted this before, it is a bit of a compilation of multiple different posts. The links included at the bottom are great reads. I was using MFP for at least 6 months before I stumbled across them so it is a personal goal to pass them onto newer users. I Never select Homemade or Generic.
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    There are always a range of choices and one inevitably has by weight
    5eatrrxlfipm.jpg

    If I can't find an existing Food Database entry in grams I pick one that has Nutritional Values closest to the food based on Manufacture Label - cross referenced to un-biased nutritional information from the USDA web site at and then edit it by adding a 100 gram reference and confirm the nutritional values based on Manufacture Label again cross referenced to USDA database ( MFP seems to automatically add a 1 gm value in the database). HINT if 2000 people have confirmed the nutritional value of an item it's a good choice, if 4 people have its questionable.

    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search

    @ blankiefinder and @ ‌arditarose Nailed it when it comes to Logging accurately and selecting food using the search feature.
    blankiefinder wrote: »
    if I haven't found an entry that lists the grams, I keep looking for a different entry. This [ Enter Food ] item is already listed a bunch of times. Better to edit and correct one that is already there than add to the database mess that exists now. :)
    arditarose wrote: »
    Weigh your eggs and find the appropriate entry. Two eggs at 50 grams is typically 140 calories. If you cooked them with olive oil, add that as well.
    Don't log 2 eggs as it is a subjective number, where 50 gm. is very concise.

    Read the information at these MFP post. They have links to multiple very good reads.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/833026/important-posts-to-read/p1

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/10118-eat-train-progress

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1069278/acronyms-and-terms-for-new-mfp-members-v-6/p1
  • GlindaGoodwitch
    GlindaGoodwitch Posts: 157 Member
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    Thank you all! Yes, I weighed it raw. I am just getting into the precisions of the tracking. I've always done the packaged items well, but meats or items that could be weighed are a new territory for me. I'm just glad it's not the 1900 calories I originally got when I plugged it in. I was like, 'how am I going to live off of this piece of fish all day.' lol.
    Thank you for the MFP education :)
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
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    Another good trick is to pre-log your food wherever you can. If you log something before you eat it, then you won't have any surprises and you can adjust your portions or your choices if need be. In this case it seems like it worked out, but there can still be things you eat that have WAY more calories than you expect and then you're forced to eat less for the rest of the day and/or workout more and/or just live with an overage. It's just a good habit to plan ahead. As you get more and more used to logging and have a better idea of how many calories things are, especially things you eat frequently, it might not be as important, but if I don't know how many calories are in something off the top of my head I ALWAYS look it up before I eat it - and I've been logging for almost 3 years.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    sdr2015 wrote: »
    I would go with homemade or generic. I was getting about 400 calories.

    NEVER use the homemade or generic, they're inaccurate.
  • godswill206
    godswill206 Posts: 48
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    Lasmartchika wrote: »
    Search for raw Atlantic salmon... as you weighed it raw. Find the entry without the asterisk since those are most accurate (asterisk ones are entries members have entered). Then you'll have your calorie count. :flowerforyou:

    Good to know!
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Great advise here, and a ton of info from @juliet3455 You can look up a food on the usda here. This is what you find when you search for "Atlantic Salmon"
    tjmsasxx6pmv.png

    Click on the one that best matches what you ate (farmed, wild, etc). It's best to weigh in grams, as the math is so easy. so if your fish came to 244g, you would put in 2.44 servings of 100g. Let's see how fast you can do that in ounces o:):D

    Anyway, when looking in the MFP database, put in the name along with usda and the code #, you will find it easier in the database, and then just make sure it has the right calorie count per 100g.

    So for farmed:
    4mjdt3jcu2cx.png
    You can see in the lower left it has 208 calories per 100g. Look up "15236, Fish, salmon, Atlantic, farmed, raw" (the exact name at the top of the page, and the second result that comes up has the correct name and calorie count.

    nnh50dc2nyz5.png


    More than you ever wanted to know, probably, but I hope that helps!
  • GlindaGoodwitch
    GlindaGoodwitch Posts: 157 Member
    Options
    Thank you!!
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    Lasmartchika wrote: »
    Search for raw Atlantic salmon... as you weighed it raw. Find the entry without the asterisk since those are most accurate (asterisk ones are entries members have entered). Then you'll have your calorie count. :flowerforyou:

    No need to avoid the entries with an asterisk, just look for those with confirmations also. User entries may or may not be correct. Those that have had a number of people confirm that the info is correct will be accurate. I look for those with at least 5 confirmations. There are many that have 50 or more confirmations (the most I have seen is 125).

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