whats up with MFP adding calories wrong?

40 Carbs x 4 = 160 .....54 fat x 9 = 486...... 199 protein x 4 = 796 total = 1446 , MFP is saying im at 1398 total for the day with those exact macros, do they not count carbs protein and fats as 4, 4, 9.... which would be sort of wrong lol..

Replies

  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    They're independently adding up the calories, proteins, fats, carbs. You must have noticed that the entries in the database often aren't complete, right? You'll get entries with just calories, or calories and a couple of macros, that kind of thing? Because they allow the partial entries, it means they can't run the kind of crosscheck you're describing.

    Take it as a lesson - lots of typos in the database. Best to verify the numbers if you can, and if you can't, don't take them as gospel.
  • its actually mostly labels rounding calories up or down thats the problem, not so much invalid entries by people, I just went threw my cupboards and fridge and rarely anything adds up macro wise, it seems food labels are actually accurate with macros, but not calories, so your better off doing the math based off their macros for an accurate calorie measure, for example a serving of butter = 8grams of fat, 70 calories, when it should be 72, and by the fact the fat content is exactly 8 grams, versus an even number such as 70, its safe to assume macros are correct, calories are rounded up or down. thus making MFP rarely accurate for macro to calorie counting, because even if a user is copying the exact label, it rarely ever will be the 4-9-4 measure

    all in all, for MFP your better off keeping track of macros, just make sure the entry has the correct macros, then times your macros by 4-4-9 method, and thats your real caloric intake, sorry for the post guys I ended up finding the answer/solution on youtube threw bodybuilding dudes, and im sure this question has been asked on here before so I apologize for that, but I didnt have the time to scan the forums back much
  • Brad805
    Brad805 Posts: 289 Member
    Did you look at the quantity of fiber in the items? Fiber carbs are not 4cal/g
  • Don't fret over 50 calorie's, fact is at the end of the day you are going to be within -100/100+ everyday no matter what, and your TDEE is constantly changing.

    It's all about consistency.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    Food nutrition info is user entered. You'll find a lot of errors.