MFP Macro/Calorie Count OFF

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SleepMoveEatRepeat
SleepMoveEatRepeat Posts: 26 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey guys, I had never counted macros before until recently. I am on a reverse diet as of right now, so I have to try to hit my macros every day, as much as I can. Problem is, I am counting on MFP's calorie count.. and when I put on my excel spreadsheet, I realize that MFP's count is off.
For example, today MFP said I ate 1,785 calories (I wanted to eat around that amount). When I went to my spreadsheet to break down that number into macros, I looked at the "Nutrients" on MFP and said I had 115g protein, 278 carbs, and 44 grams fat. Well, (115x4) + (278x4) + (44x9) = 1,968. So there, MFP messed up my diet... AGAIN.
I'm so freaking annoyed with this. Is there a way that we can contact MFP so that they can fix this problem? Is there a way that I fix this on my end? Or am I gonna have to count my calories another way/find another app to do this for me correctly?

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  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
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    I never even checked the accuracy. Mine today was 200 calories under which means in theory I ate less than I thought and also less than I should. But, I don't have an answer for you.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    The data base is largely user entered, so full of errors. You can correct entries (as long as they don't have a green checkmark). I try to find accurate entries, because some of the differences are because the product is in a different country (Canadian Oreos may have different nutritional information than European Oreos, due to ingredient differences or serving size differences), I would feel bad if I changed someone else's entry that they use regularly. Another option would be to create your own entries. Third option would be to enter USDA into the search bar along with your item, it tends to be more accurate, but still sometimes off. So if you are adding broccoli type in "broccoli, raw, usda."

    Another difference could be coming from fractions and rounding errors. For example you have two items that come to 4.4 grams of protein, those will round down to 4 grams in the diary, but when added together, they are actually 8.8, which would round up to 9. This shouldn't account for a nearly 200 calorie difference though.

    Hope that helps.
  • Tankiscool
    Tankiscool Posts: 11,105 Member
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    Could be a few reasons.
    One could be that the foods you added to the database were incorrect in the first place. Did you double check everything before adding it?

    Did you eat alot of foods with insoluble fiber? I believe here in the US at least the manufacturer can count them in carbohydrates but not in calories on the label.

    Another reason it could be due to simply rounding. Each label isn't 100% accurate there is some wiggle room. Like the fat could be 9.7g and they would round it up to 10g and so on for every food that you ate today. Could that attribute to the 183 calorie difference? Quite possibly. I mean its only a 10.25% increase, ideally I imagine you'd like it to be plus or minus 5% but the main thing here is you are doing something and tracking and as much as I'd like to be 100% accuracy on everything, that's just not the way the world works is it?
  • Julieelliott12
    Julieelliott12 Posts: 68 Member
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    Another option could be the exercise factor. MFP subtracts the calories you burn from the calories you’ve entered. So let’s say you eat 2000 calories and macros are on point, but you burn 200 calories through exercise. MFP will report 1800 calories, but the macros won’t add up because they’re based on the 2,000 that you actually ate.
    I hope this makes sense..

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