Need some help with some food logging.

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JG762
JG762 Posts: 571 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have no idea how to log an item, I prepared a large boneless pork chop, baked, for dinner. When I tried to log it in my diary I realized that there are numerous choices for essentially the same pork chop in the database and they have huge differences in their calorie/sodium listings. So will somebody please tell me how to figure out what a reasonable/fair listing would be. Just for the record the cut in question had very little fat and what was visible was trimmed prior to cooking!
Thanks for any assistance!

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  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
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    You need to weigh the meat and find a data entry that matches the weight or will allow you to change the portion size to match what you ate. Sometimes I can find a one ounce portion size of, say, pot roast, and then multiply the serving sizes to match how many ounces I had.
  • JG762
    JG762 Posts: 571 Member
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    You need to weigh the meat and find a data entry that matches the weight or will allow you to change the portion size to match what you ate. Sometimes I can find a one ounce portion size of, say, pot roast, and then multiply the serving sizes to match how many ounces I had.

    Thanks but I guess I wasn't clear in my question...
    I do weigh everything I consume, the problem is there is such a wide range of calorie/sodium listings for the same foods such as pork chops, I have no idea what's correct.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,020 Member
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    Look for an entry that does not have an asterisk; those were drawn directly from the USDA nutrient database, and were not entered by other MFP users. (They also usually have multiple options in the pull-down menu for serving units, e.g., 100 g., 4 oz., one chop.)

    If you can't find one of those entries, I'd recommend going with the entry with the most user confirmations.
  • neveragain84
    neveragain84 Posts: 534 Member
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    Look for an entry that does not have an asterisk; those were drawn directly from the USDA nutrient database, and were not entered by other MFP users. (They also usually have multiple options in the pull-down menu for serving units, e.g., 100 g., 4 oz., one chop.)

    If you can't find one of those entries, I'd recommend going with the entry with the most user confirmations.

    This. Most people on MFP are really good with keeping the database accurate. You can also check a few entries to see if there is a difference in calories. For example, if there were multiple entries for your pork chop with calories ranging from 250-260 calories, you could roughly guess somewhere in between as a median. You could also toss out entries way off mark (like 50 calories for one and 600 for the other). Is it perfect? No, but it gives you a rough idea.

    ETA: user confirmations is also a great way to check as well. Good luck!
  • Swiftdogs
    Swiftdogs Posts: 328 Member
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    ^^ What they said. Add "USDA" to your search. Also look for details in the listing, like "roasted," "visible fat trimmed," "lean only," etc. Raw versus cooked and with or without fat (and bone) can be some of the differences. There may also be different pork chop cuts (steaks vary widely). It can be very frustrating to pick the right meat entry!

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