Food group logging

PepeDrat

Hi,
What do the numbers mean on my food group log?
They make no sense, and there's no explanation anywhere.
For instance, I apparently logged 3 vegetables last week.
I had 200 grams of sprouts with dinner everyday, so I don't understand why it says 3.
I had three good sources of protein everyday, but MFP has logged 7
Can anyone explain this?

Lietchi

It's a beta feature I think, definitely not working properly yet.
Looking at my own diary, I think it counts the number of different vegetables etc that you've logged during the week. It doesn't seem to look at the amount or frequency.

PepeDrat

I would expect it to at least log the number of veg servings I've had, which would be 7.
Or even better log the number of NHS recommended portions, which would be 17.5 for the week, at 80 grams per portion.
But for some reason it's logged 3.
And it gives no explanation.

Sorry for the rant.

Alatariel75

PepeDrat wrote: »

I would expect it to at least log the number of veg servings I've had, which would be 7.
Or even better log the number of NHS recommended portions, which would be 17.5 for the week, at 80 grams per portion.
But for some reason it's logged 3.
And it gives no explanation.

Sorry for the rant.

Given that the database is largely user added, and the info entered in is just nutritional numbers and a free-text name of the item, I'd wonder how it was recognizing the entry as fruit/veg, and would posit that it isn't, unless it is one of the MFP added (green checked, but not all green checks are MFP added) items. Meaning that if you use one of the user added items, then it's not going to count it, because how could it?

I'm guessing it also doesn't count items where it's a product which has multiple ingredients, some/many of which are veg, like logging a pre-made ratatouille or salad using the barcode.

barabaradem

Those numbers can be confusing, especially when it comes to food group logging. What you're seeing is likely a serving-based calculation, not a pure weight measurement.

For vegetables, a 'serving' is typically around 1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked. So even though you had 200g of sprouts daily, MFP might be counting that as 1-2 servings depending on their specific guidelines.

Similarly, with protein, they might be counting servings differently. A serving could be about 3-4 ounces (85-113g) of meat, which might explain why they logged 7 when you feel you had 3 protein sources.

I've learned over my weight loss journey that tracking can be tricky. Sometimes I'll look at a food and think I know exactly what I'm eating, but the app sees it differently. The key is consistency and understanding how the app calculates these groups.

Pro tip: Double-check your app settings and maybe manually adjust serving sizes if they seem off. Logging accurately is more important than getting hung up on the exact numbers.