Do you trust the MFP food database

Options
2

Replies

  • MsJulesRenee
    MsJulesRenee Posts: 1,180 Member
    Options
    Nope, I match entries with a couple sources and keep everything organized for the future so I know exactly what I am entering into my diary.
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
    Options
    When having accurate entries is life and death for me (I base how much insulin I inject on how many carbs I consume), I can't fully trust the MFP database. I verify everything with the food's nutrition facts label (if it is packaged), the USDA database (if it doesn't have a nutrition label), restaurant's posted nutrition (when eating out), or my CalorieKing book (when all else fails). I also create my own recipes when applicable.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,472 Member
    Options
    well no one is perfect
  • 1mumrevolution
    1mumrevolution Posts: 269 Member
    Options
    Interesting guys, thanks for the input. I'm in Ireland and no idea what the USDA is though?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Options
    1mumrevolution wrote: »
    Interesting guys, thanks for the input. I'm in Ireland and no idea what the USDA is though?

    It's the United States Department of Agriculture. Although they have some significant faults, they are a good source for how many calories are in specific foods.
  • 100df
    100df Posts: 668 Member
    Options
    Nope. Already learned my lesson. Was eating 420 calories of a verified entry when I thought it was 205. Made a difference because I was eating it every day. Sometimes twice.

    I have been scanning my foods as I put groceries away. I don't think it saves time but makes it easier for me.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
    Options
    susan100df wrote: »
    Nope. Already learned my lesson. Was eating 420 calories of a verified entry when I thought it was 205. Made a difference because I was eating it every day. Sometimes twice.

    I have been scanning my foods as I put groceries away. I don't think it saves time but makes it easier for me.
    seska422 wrote: »
    BeerdedBuddy wrote: »
    Yeah I usually double check and I swear by the barcode scanner
    The barcode scanner just pulls user-entered data from the MFP database so it's not a guarantee of accuracy. You still need to check the results against the nutritional info on the container.


  • 100df
    100df Posts: 668 Member
    Options
    kami3006 wrote: »
    susan100df wrote: »
    Nope. Already learned my lesson. Was eating 420 calories of a verified entry when I thought it was 205. Made a difference because I was eating it every day. Sometimes twice.

    I have been scanning my foods as I put groceries away. I don't think it saves time but makes it easier for me.
    seska422 wrote: »
    BeerdedBuddy wrote: »
    Yeah I usually double check and I swear by the barcode scanner
    The barcode scanner just pulls user-entered data from the MFP database so it's not a guarantee of accuracy. You still need to check the results against the nutritional info on the container.



    Ugh! !! Didn't know that. Glad the past week was basic for me. Most of my entries I verified a while ago.

    Bad bad bad MFP. I am not a programmer but it seems like it wouldn't be too hard to verify entries for us.

    Thank you for telling me!!
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
    Options
    Just the other day a friend was complaining that they found a verified item that was very far off. It was a teaspoon of maple syrup for over 1,700 calories. I don't trust the scanner either and I have found several items that have been incorrect. I go by the rule of thumb to double check everything the first time I enter it.

    It doesn't surprise me when items are incorrect, but it does kind of surprise me when people log items that are way off and don't think twice about questioning it.
  • alias1001
    alias1001 Posts: 634 Member
    Options
    markrgeary1 wrote: »
    1mumrevolution wrote: »
    Am curious whether people trust it or not. I know a lot of them are user inputs so just wondering what the consensus is on how accurate they are. For me, I look for the verified entries or create my own entries and use labels as a guide. What do you guys think/do?

    Not sure why anybody would let end users create global data, never works well.

    Knowing that; h*ll no, I don't trust the data. I tend to use USDA data as it's easy to modify servings. I'll exclusively use it now.

    Crowd-sourcing! Efficient and cheap, but not necessarily accurate. And my students wonder why Wikipedia is such a sketchy source.

    Anyway, even for eating out, I choose USDA options whenever possible to get as close as possible and build meals each component at a time rather than entering "hamburger."
  • EzRemake
    EzRemake Posts: 128 Member
    Options
    Thank god for being able to enter in your own foods, amirite? (I'm wrong, everyone is too lazy)
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    Options
    EzRemake wrote: »
    Thank god for being able to enter in your own foods, amirite? (I'm wrong, everyone is too lazy)
    After trying to use the MFP database, I did end up just entering everything I used into My Foods with customized names and without sharing the items with the database. However, My Foods isn't exactly user friendly and it tends to hide items I've entered.
  • scorpcookie
    scorpcookie Posts: 113 Member
    Options
    Nope, I don't trust the numbers in here at all which is why I tend to eat at 100-200 calories below my recommended deficit.
  • 1mumrevolution
    1mumrevolution Posts: 269 Member
    Options
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    1mumrevolution wrote: »
    Interesting guys, thanks for the input. I'm in Ireland and no idea what the USDA is though?

    It's the United States Department of Agriculture. Although they have some significant faults, they are a good source for how many calories are in specific foods.

    Thanks for that. Will go have a look at it.
  • RiverMelSong
    RiverMelSong Posts: 456 Member
    Options
    No, I double check everything
  • angerelle
    angerelle Posts: 175 Member
    Options
    susan100df wrote: »
    Bad bad bad MFP. I am not a programmer but it seems like it wouldn't be too hard to verify entries for us.

    I am a programmer and I don't see how verifying everything would be less effort than prepopulating everything. It seems sometimes recently that the app has tried to check that the calories make sense with the input carbs, protein and fat masses at least.

    I think crowdsourcing is fine, it works really well for things like OpenStreetMap, but I do think MFP could make it easier to edit entries that you find are inaccurate, so that everything could slowly get better over time.
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    Options
    I like verifying entries on Wal Mart's website. They usually have the nutrient labels in grams.

    I'll also take pictures of the barcodes to compare when I get on the desktop. I get too hectic to do anything while scanning and paying
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Options
    No, it is like the cold war and the soviet union, trust but verify ..

  • 100df
    100df Posts: 668 Member
    Options
    I have been spending time building the list in my foods so that I just have to change the grams sometimes. It isn't too bad because I eat the same a lot. Next I am going to work on my recipes.

    Inaccurate MFP is better than keeping track with calculator, pencil and paper so I shouldn't *kitten*. Premium is off my Christmas list though.
  • steuartcj
    steuartcj Posts: 132 Member
    Options
    Would be a lot easier if people would enter weights and liquid volumes, rather than, 1bowl, 1 piece, 1 glass etc. These entries a waste of space and time. Trust, about 50% of the time at very most.

Categories