Accurate Calorie-Counting Technology?

timberowl
timberowl Posts: 331 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I find it very hard to believe that there's not more technology available for accurately counting your calories. Is there not a UV light or a radio wave that can track them? For example, why is there not a food scale available where you place your plate on it, and it "scans" your meal, and reports the exact number of calories in it?

I just find it very hard to believe that there's not a more accuate method available. Really, the only "sure" way to count your calories right now seems to be only eating from chain restaurants, or pre-packaged meals. Otherwise it's tons of measuring and weighing.

What I mean is even when the food is healthy, buying from a "family owned" restaurant seems to require too much guesswork.

Has anyone heard of more accurate technology for this?

Replies

  • just_Jennie1
    just_Jennie1 Posts: 1,233
    How can a scale "scan" your meal if there's not a bar code on it? How is it going to know what you have on the plate?

    Weighing and measuring isn't that difficult to do. If your scale has a tare feature you don't even have to remove the plate. Just hit tare, it zero's the scale back out and then add the next item to the plate.

    When I go out to eat I guesstimate on the high side what my calorie consumption is.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    It's all an estimate. They could probably make a scale that scanned your plate optically and tried to match the food to a database and make assumptions about the proportions and all but it'd probably cost $10,000 and need you to check its work, so no one's going to make it.

    I think it's probably more likely we'll have some sort of calorie tracker that is hooked to our body someday. Like an insulin pump or a really invasive Fitbit. :laugh:

    I don't think chain restaurants estimates are much better than ours at home, either. They base it on a spec recipe but the cooks don't really weigh out each ingredient to match the specs always.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Chain restaurants and prepackaged meals aren't really that "sure" either. MFP *is* the advanced technology for calorie counting. It was a lot harder when you didn't have the internet to look up foods and do the math for you.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    The technology does exist, but it's extremely expensive. You will only find it in places like university hospitals and such. There is no need to be 100% accurate if you are being careful and you are consistent.
  • timberowl
    timberowl Posts: 331 Member
    I see what you're saying.

    One of the more frustrating things is, for example, I go into my favorite restaurant, Greek City Cafe, and they have no nutrition facts. I order a rice bowl. I look on MFP and there is nothing for a Greek rice bowl anywhere in the database.

    I'm forced to make a wild guess (600 calories), and it creates an aversion to eating what I'm sure is a very healthy food.

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