I wish our status could have a nutrition grade

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  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    I totally agree! I definitely wish this site was more nutrition oriented. I've seen a lot of peoples food diaries here, and I bet people would think twice before they ate crap if they saw its nutrition grade. A lot of people think it's all about staying under a certain amount of calories, but if you aren't getting what you need nutritionally, then why bother?

    You should PM those people and tell them what you think about their nutritional choices.
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
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    At CalorieCount when you put foods in it not only gives you the calories, protein etc. but, it also give you a grade on the different foods depending on what the nutrients they have and how much sugar etc.

    I love getting the status report saying that you are under calorie, but I've noticed in my own diary and others that doesn't always mean a good thing. If I drink 100 oz of coke during the day and nothing else I will still be under calorie, but have nothing going for me nutritionally.

    I know some people have their diary open to other people, but if you have enough friends it could be a pain to open it up, look through it and comment. Other days I am just proud of people logging when they''e had a rough day. And then for some of you who no longer need to lose weight being under calorie isn't going to be your goal.

    So it would be really nice if somehow MFP generated a status of "PattyYung" logged her calories, came under goal and got a B+ in nutrition today. To take it a step further it would be nice for it to show up on your food page and update things as you added them. It would give you an incentive. For example if you breakfast had you had a D and then you ate carrots for a snack you could now raise your overall grade for the day up to a C-. Then for lunch you could raise it further.

    An overall grade is meaningless, every nutrient is important and in many cases balance is key - the relationship between omega-3s and omega-6s or between calcium, magnesium and vitamin D for example. There is no point in giving someone a top grade because they consumed high doses of most micronutrients yet are risking scurvy or osteoporosis. We'd all have to start logging sunlight exposure and exercise.

    Also how would you account for antioxidant phytonutrients for which there is no recommended intake save the seven to nine servings of produce in the full rainbow of colours and so on? You can't give someone who takes a multivitamin/ mineral the same grade as someone who eats wholefoods.
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
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    I totally agree! I definitely wish this site was more nutrition oriented. I've seen a lot of peoples food diaries here, and I bet people would think twice before they ate crap if they saw its nutrition grade. A lot of people think it's all about staying under a certain amount of calories, but if you aren't getting what you need nutritionally, then why bother?

    You should PM those people and tell them what you think about their nutritional choices.
    And decide on a grading scale yourself. You could reply to all of their status updates about completing their diaries for the day with a grade. That would be rad as hell.
  • liltenji
    liltenji Posts: 69 Member
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    I totally agree! I definitely wish this site was more nutrition oriented. I've seen a lot of peoples food diaries here, and I bet people would think twice before they ate crap if they saw its nutrition grade. A lot of people think it's all about staying under a certain amount of calories, but if you aren't getting what you need nutritionally, then why bother?

    Cause sometimes its fun to say yes to something with no nutritional value. This is just patronising. One of my daily foods is 70calorie noodles. Total processed junk. do i care? do i heck.

    People focus on other peoples diets too much.
  • DouMc
    DouMc Posts: 1,689 Member
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    I think this is a great idea but maybe not to make it public. i would like to know myself how nutritious the food i am eating is but I don't think I would want others to know to when I have had a really bad day!
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
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    I think this is a great idea but maybe not to make it public. i would like to know myself how nutritious the food i am eating is but I don't think I would want others to know to when I have had a really bad day!

    Too bad there's no other way besides a grading system to determine what nutrients are held in the foods we eat. Too damn bad.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I'd probably get a good grade ...

    ... if it weren't for the wine.

    But who needs a grade on MFP? Medical tests show my diet is healthy.
  • mkookies
    mkookies Posts: 67 Member
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    Cause sometimes its fun to say yes to something with no nutritional value. This is just patronising. One of my daily foods is 70calorie noodles. Total processed junk. do i care? do i heck.

    People focus on other peoples diets too much.
    I totally agree! I definitely wish this site was more nutrition oriented. I've seen a lot of peoples food diaries here, and I bet people would think twice before they ate crap if they saw its nutrition grade. A lot of people think it's all about staying under a certain amount of calories, but if you aren't getting what you need nutritionally, then why bother?

    You should PM those people and tell them what you think about their nutritional choices.
    And decide on a grading scale yourself. You could reply to all of their status updates about completing their diaries for the day with a grade. That would be rad as hell.

    Har har. :P

    Look, all I am saying is that people take the calorie thing a little too seriously, when it's the nutrition that they should be taking a lot more seriously. Nothing is wrong with a little treat or two, but if your whole day is crap, then what's the point? You'll just gain back all the weight you lost when you stop calorie counting. Maybe a nutrition grade IS taking it a little too far, especially if you like a treat or two, BUT I think that having a graph underneath your food diary letting you know if you're up to par on the nutrition scale would be a great idea. :)
  • liltenji
    liltenji Posts: 69 Member
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    Look, all I am saying is that people take the calorie thing a little too seriously, when it's the nutrition that they should be taking a lot more seriously. Nothing is wrong with a little treat or two, but if your whole day is crap, then what's the point? You'll just gain back all the weight you lost when you stop calorie counting. Maybe a nutrition grade IS taking it a little too far, especially if you like a treat or two, BUT I think that having a graph underneath your food diary letting you know if you're up to par on the nutrition scale would be a great idea. :)

    You do realise that one day of bad eating wont make you gain back ALL the weight you've lost?

    My weightloss is coming off slowly because i am allowing myself crap days and crap food. These are lifestyle changes, not a diet.
  • mkookies
    mkookies Posts: 67 Member
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    Look, all I am saying is that people take the calorie thing a little too seriously, when it's the nutrition that they should be taking a lot more seriously. Nothing is wrong with a little treat or two, but if your whole day is crap, then what's the point? You'll just gain back all the weight you lost when you stop calorie counting. Maybe a nutrition grade IS taking it a little too far, especially if you like a treat or two, BUT I think that having a graph underneath your food diary letting you know if you're up to par on the nutrition scale would be a great idea. :)

    You do realise that one day of bad eating wont make you gain back ALL the weight you've lost?

    My weightloss is coming off slowly because i am allowing myself crap days and crap food. These are lifestyle changes, not a diet.

    Of course - I didn't mean after one day. One day of crap food isn't going to kill you. But I meant if someone were to just stop calorie counting altogether and leave MFP indefinitely. It's probably going to all come back. If we had a nutritional profile, people would make better eating choices to get their daily nutrition, and as we make better choices, those choices have the potential to become habitual. And I think that healthy eating would be a good habit. There isn't anything wrong with snacks and treats, as long as you balance it all out with a relatively good healthy lifestyle.
  • threeohtwo
    threeohtwo Posts: 153 Member
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    I'd be sending back peer reviewed literature cited criticisms of the grade received all the time...

    Basically I would constantly judge the judger...
    hahahaha.
  • TurquoiseSky
    TurquoiseSky Posts: 42 Member
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    I think the addition of a nutrition grade would be great... I love the CalorieCount format. The system isn't perfect, but it serves as an overall reminder that the healthfulness of foods is just as important as plain old calorie counting. It's all about balance.
  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,721 Member
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    Would milk be good or bad? What about bananas?

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