Can't be right? Can it?

INjerry

Thanks, CaseyJO, I'll try the USDA tip. Others: when the label-scanned nutritional info doesn't match the label, is the scan always the one that's wrong?

INjerry

Ok, I tried it. The grilled salmon entries that contain usda in their descriptions also have asterisks. First one said 321 calories for 8 oz, second one said 491. Still disappointed with reliability of member-logged nutritionals. Creating my own library. Thanks, all! Congrats on your progress, CaseyJO!

Wiseandcurious

I know how frustrating it is when you first find out about user submitted entries and I also use the app. It does get better with time. If I scan, I always double-check the label for serving size, protein cals etc, and sadly I do find mistakes, but once you log something with the correct information it stays in your frequent or recent foods. I mostly cook so use USDA entries and the first time I log an ingredient, check with the USDA website itself, then just consult my frequent foods.

As a tip to find better USDA info submitted by users, look for entries that have the USDA number code - I usually find those are correct (not sure if they are user submitted or no but when I have to create an entry based on USDA that's what I do too, copy the number code as an indication that it's a correct entry).

lemurcat12

If you are cooking with whole foods, the trick is just to use the USDA entries that MFP has in there or, at least, USDA entries that others put in with lots of confirmations (or confirm them yourself).

For something like salmon you can find the right one with fish-salmon raw (although then pick the right kind of salmon from the options). The best entries have no asterisks. As an added bonus, those entries have lots of measurement options including always my preferred 100 grams.

earlnabby

CaseyJ0 wrote: »

Thanks, I'm going to look for the star.

Don't automatically discount something with the star. Look for confirmations. Many user entered items have info taken directly off the manufacturers label, then other users buy the same thing and confirm that the info is correct by comparing their labels with the database info. My general rule is to not use an entry that has less than 5 confirmations. Some have upwards of 50 or more!

StephanitelyD

I try to scan most of my stuff if I'm on the go, but do a double check for it when I get home and can do more research on my laptop. A lot of times if I don't have the packaging in front of me, when I get home, I look to see if there are pictures of the nutrition info - I just google the image. That way I can see if the nutrition label and my entry on MFP are jiving.

Something to remember if you DO accidentally go over is that our metabolisms aren't on a 24 hour schedule like MFP is. If you make a mistake in calculating something you can make up for it the next day by reducing calories to make up for the overage. Depending on how fast your metabolism is, and how many calories you went over, you can even make up for the overage over two days. So if on Monday you went over your goal by 300 calories, and don't have the option of exercising it off that day, you can reduce your overall Tuesday calories by 150 and then the same amount on Wednesday.

Anyways, just my two cents' worth.

obscuremusicreference

Insane, when you google it there's everything from 680 to 425.

Personally, I will check the entry against the package (or write down the calories/sodium if I don't have my phone--if those are right, everything else probably is too). There are probably more good user-generated ones than bad.