Accurate Calorie-Counting Technology?

timberowl

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?

just_Jennie1

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

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

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

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

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.