The database is ridiculous

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  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    Its hardly surprising that entries entered by users can often be inaccurate, so as others have said dont use it , eneter your own or just edit the version. It annoys me when I find them to be inaccurate as well as incomplete becayse im one of those people who believe if you are going to enter something then you have a duty to consider those who will use it afterwards and to do ity properly. Not soemthing to fret over and its faster to just change it.
  • sunnyazgirl
    sunnyazgirl Posts: 271 Member
    I have a question about entering new foods. I have entered new foods mostly under "My Foods". Do those go nto the database? If not, how do I enter foods into the data base? I don't see that as an option. I usually am using my phone. I do know the actual website has more options. Is it there?
  • purpleposies
    purpleposies Posts: 90 Member
    edited July 2015
    I'm so appreciative of the database, even if sometimes I have to weed through a few bad entries to find the one that works for me. If that thing didn't exist, I'd have to enter every last bit of nutrition information myself and lord knows that ain't gonna happen.

    But yeah, edit the entries you can. Add your own if it makes you feel more comfortable/better. And after a while you'll have things in your Recent/My Foods list to select from over and over again without having to worry about finding the 'right' entry.

    ETA: Try weighing in grams, not ounces, I've found that easier to find things. Also, instead of letting your food get cold, write down the weight or type it in a notepad app so you can add it to MFP later after you've enjoyed your meal! :smiley:
  • sunnyazgirl
    sunnyazgirl Posts: 271 Member
    purpleposies wrote: »

    ETA: Try weighing in grams, not ounces, I've found that easier to find things. Also, instead of letting your food get cold, write down the weight or type it in a notepad app so you can add it to MFP later after you've enjoyed your meal! :smiley:
    Great suggestion for writing it down. Thank you. I just started really weighing everything and the time it takes has been my biggest concern. :)
  • sunnyazgirl
    sunnyazgirl Posts: 271 Member
    I always check the calories on the package when using the brands and when I have a package available. But, I like the dea of usng the USDA for whole foods, especially when don't have a package avalable or if I am havng a problem finding grams. Searching for foods using the word "grams" at the end of my search term often works, too.
  • geneticsteacher
    geneticsteacher Posts: 623 Member
    Is there any way to edit a "verified" entry? I know it is incorrect per the package label.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    themonstermash wrote: »
    You do know you can add things to the database yourself right? If its in the database wrong why do you care? Just dont use it. Create a new food item, log it, and move on.

    The problem with this is that other users can modify your entries. So, you even need to verify what you entered every time.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    themonstermash wrote: »
    You do know you can add things to the database yourself right? If its in the database wrong why do you care? Just dont use it. Create a new food item, log it, and move on.

    The problem with this is that other users can modify your entries. So, you even need to verify what you entered every time.

    Yeah unless you don't share it.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    HappyCampr1 wrote: »
    This is why I've mostly quit caring which brand I'm using and I just use the official entries. I know I'm using smucker's jam, but I use the preserves-jellies entry. I know I'm using Cabot extra sharp cheddar cheese. The cheese -cheddar entry is good enough for me. Same with olive oil, light sour cream.... The official Usda database entries may not match 100% accurate for what I'm eating in that particular meal, but the are "official" and apparently the average for the products tested and that's good enough for me. Plus, they always have the proper gram listings for me to use.

    How do you mean official, and how are you identifying these? Do you mean any entry that matches the USDA database, or MFP official non-asterisked entries? The asterisk for knowing which entries are MFP official went away with the introduction of verified foods. Only really matters when you're attempting to log a brand new food you've never eaten, and that isn't already saved in your foods/recents/frequents, etc...
  • Thoramann
    Thoramann Posts: 2 Member
    So it drives me nuts to want to add a new entry and find all measurements are in "pieces" (one piece of pie, one medium apple) , "package", "cups" (for example 1 cup of lasagna... seriously) and so on ... I can't believe there's a country where the food you buy is measured in package or cups, on all containers you find grams, ml, oz and so on to at least have an exact measurement unit of what you pay for. A piece, slice or a package is not a unit of measurement...

    How would people like to get paid the salary in random sizes of "piles" of money :)

    I don't think a recipe can be considered verified when the quantity is so ambiguous.

    Cheers
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
    I have got so much quicker at logging since my frequent foods selection has built up, but I am continually refining it. I have discovered that some of the entries I have trusted before are not reliable, and other random ones are. It is a bit of an art more than a science and you sometimes need to be prepared to google things yourself as well as develop an instinct about what looks right and wrong.

    The most annoying thing for me is when a barcode scan results in an entry without grams as I am normally relying on those when I am on the move. My tortillas are an example of this. I am only given the calories for one tortilla or a whole pack of tortillas. Not accurate enough for me.
  • Thoramann
    Thoramann Posts: 2 Member
    It seems the most reliable thing one can do is prepare his own food most of the time and save personal recipes with exact quantities and calories per each ingredient separate. You can't do this all of the time sadly but better than nothing. Personally i'm tired of dragging around with the pack of food homemade so I can eat it at work and actually know what i'm eating :)

    There are moments and moments, sometimes I just get frustrated :) like today. Spent one hour on the net trying to get a plausible number of calories for a Spinach Lasagna (200g portion) , in the end got frustrated and approximated from one entry I found and well that's it ... Since being at work means I actually need to work not spend all day researching calories for one meal :P
  • bluefish86
    bluefish86 Posts: 842 Member
    ohmscheeks wrote: »
    themonstermash wrote: »
    You do know you can add things to the database yourself right? If its in the database wrong why do you care? Just dont use it. Create a new food item, log it, and move on.
    Agreed, if you don't like it. Do the work yourself.

    Defeats the point of having a "database" if you have to look up everything you enter just to verify that it's correct.

    This website gets paid from advertising and is now charging for premium memberships... I can't imagine paying money to a site that expects me to do all their research for them.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    themonstermash wrote: »
    You do know you can add things to the database yourself right? If its in the database wrong why do you care? Just dont use it. Create a new food item, log it, and move on.

    The problem with this is that other users can modify your entries. So, you even need to verify what you entered every time.

    Yeah unless you don't share it.

    I didn't know you could do that. Thanks! I will have to check that out.
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