New Member--Database Practically Useless!

lorenhorn

I have had pretty good success with the data base. Yeah some of the entries are way off base. You just gotta keep your eyes open and use your own judgement. If it looks like it is way off then question it and if it is then dont use that entry.

anifani4

Takes time to learn the ropes. Look for items with no asterisk. Those were originally put in by mfp and are accurate. Searching by specific brands sometimes helps. Look for items that have been verified. Eventually you have the foods you use most often already on your own list so they are quick to find. I like to put in my own recipes too but don't share them so I dont' have put in all the directions...It will just be there under my recipes.

It is frustrating at times when there are multiple entries for the same food. Good luck

88meli88

you dont have to do it perfectly for it to work. these are small differences compared to what most people would eat without tracking. so not worth sweating it. It is more important for me to track every day even if there are mistakes than aim for perfection, make it time consuming and then not do it bc it is too hard. \

that said, when im tracking on the internet and not through my cell app, i can see MFP added rather than member added items and I use those. for a few items, i have double checked also but only if it is calorie dense, if it is fruits or veggie, I dont sweat it.

and finally, i think of my calorie target as a rnage, not as a hard number. I try to eat between 1400 and 1600 so that has some cushion in there in case i dont estimate portions right or get the wrong number.

so in sum, dont sweat it too much if you can

powrwrap

OK, I'm getting some good ideas. I'll scrutinize the entries with * next to them. Also might use the word generic when looking up produce or, well, generic foods.

joet60

No....it's not perfect, you do have to do some research for yourself.....but once you enter and save foods that you eat, and recipes you use a lot, it becomes much more accurate. I use this database too http://nutritiondata.self.com/, as well as the usda site. stick with it....it works....even if the numbers are slightly off....you can still see what you're putting in your body and that helps to cut those portions! good luck!

Andyandyandyandyandy

I just check the database against the nutritional info on the package.

If it doesn't have it I a) seriously consider eating it because if it isn't there that is automatically a red flag and; b) use the company's website. If I really cannot find it at all I average the amounts that the database gives and choose one in the middle. I've only had to do that once.

If it is scrambled eggs, which seems to be a big culprit of this - and rightfully so since everyone makes theirs a little different. I just add my own recipe : 2 large eggs, 1/8 cup of milk, seasoning, etc. and add it on my own.

SDHudgins1976

Yes, the database is inconsistent... Not useless...

making good choices and taking care of ourselves isn't always "easy" (if it were I wouldn't be at 263 pounds) but at some point you just gotta say I'm doing this no matter what it takes...

We all have the same number of hours in a day, and we all have to decide how to spend them....

Just sayin'

jackpotclown

luckily the site, information, suggestions, and support etc is all free, so if you choose to leave you won't be out much \m/

CallMeCupcakeDammit

You should just read the nutrition labels on your food and enter it in that way. The database isn't perfect, but people eat a lot of different things and enter them in. If you have the app you can also scan barcodes. Which is accurate. Where there is a will there's a way.

The scanner isn't always accurate. My bottle of Fuze iced tea came up as a chicken wrap.

Also, people use different ingredients to make things (like your scrambled eggs, for example), so if you're not looking up a whole or pre-packaged food, you should just enter the ingredients separately, or create a recipe or meal so you have it for the next time.

Scan it again. That has happened to me too, but if I scan it again it will usually come up correct. I think it may misread on the fist attempt. But if the nutrition info is on the back of the item and the barcode doesn't work a manual search will still produce the right one - just match up the calories and macros!

I did scan it again, because I wanted to show my friend how it worked.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

OK, I'm getting some good ideas. I'll scrutinize the entries with * next to them. Also might use the word generic when looking up produce or, well, generic foods.

I would look up "raw" when searching produce. That's where you're going to find the items that MFP has input and not the users.

Nitro2310

its free stop complaining do your own research or add it to the data base

carrieous

the egg thing is annoying. Every egg wrap is egg WHITES. How about those of us who eat the WHOLE egg

fussnboots

Something that helps me is putting in the actual food instead of how it was prepared. I enter 2 eggs instead of scrambled eggs..... If I use any additional ingredients I add them. The same with sandwiches, etc. I just break it down.

carrieous

luckily the site, information, suggestions, and support etc is all free, so if you choose to leave you won't be out much \m/

Oh burn

powrwrap

It seems there are some here that want me to eat crow. Funny, I can't find that in the database. LOL.

babymariss33

With things like eggs, fruits, etc. I dont expect the counter to be spot on every single time. It being off by 5 or 10 calories isnt going to kill your diet or make you lose less weight. Seriously.

babymariss33

Then create a food entry with WHOLE eggs....

KenosFeoh

While I've seen variation, it usually isn't enough to throw my whole calorie count off. There isn't much difference between 75, 78, 80, 84 calories, for example. I just do the best I can to find the closest match to what is on the labels of the foods I used.

There's always looking up one thing at a time. 1 large egg, 1 pat of butter, 1/8 cup 2% milk (for a scrambled egg, for example).

I've tried several databases for logging, and this one is the fastest.

erikacole

I agree that it can be a little frustrating at times....but dude--it's FREE.

cmriverside

It seems there are some here that want me to eat crow. Funny, I can't find that in the database. LOL.

You can enter it. You'd be surprised.....at least you have a sense of humor.

I didn't read every reply but you asked how you enter stuff into "your" database?

If you choose an entry already in the database and you EDIT it, OR if you enter a new food yourself, it will then appear in MY FOOD. You can then just search that (much shorter) list.

Those foods will ALSO be in the main database list with no asterisk ( * ), just like the admin-entered ones. Easy peasy.

It takes a few weeks to get acclimated and to get your food entered, but I've looked all over the Internet for a better system, and there isn't one.

Good luck.

ldrosophila

I just go with my best guess and experience. I often use the USDA database (heck even that is not 100% accurate), and use whatever is closest. I never thought the database would be accurate the minute I learned members were entering it in. That would be pretty silly to expect since humans screw up and get lazy.

I go with the closest and always over estimate. Like many other things this is usually the best guess.

ldrosophila

My first post.

I have found using the database to enter foods I've eaten to be virtually useless. The numbers are wildly inconsistent. Don't believe me? Just try looking up Scrambled Eggs. The basic egg including yolk, no milk, no cheese, nothing else. I'm seeing 69 calories, 70 calories, 75 calories, 100 calories, 169 calories. I believe the consensus is 75 calories.

I ran into the same inconsistencies with many, many other foods. I end up Googling the USDA to get the official government info. This causes unnecessary further time spent tracking my foods. (BTW, 1 large egg = 70 calories)

Besides the inconsistencies there's just too darn many listings in the database!

I'm thinking I'll have to create my own list of foods using USDA stats. I do have a food scale and use it frequently.

What do other members do to get accurate calorie and nutrition counts?

Why would you use something like scrambled eggs (since how people prepare them varies widely) instead of simply using the ingredients. Frankly I would like a lot of those entries removed, but then again if multiple members from a family are logging here, it is the only way to share recipe numbers between them without both having to enter the whole recipe. Other variations are because the nutritional information for products varies from country to country. Finally, if you are using this with a web-browser, just look for the stuff without a * beside it. The ones with an * are entered by other users while the ones without th e* are entered by MFP.

I have never had any real problems with the database and I have been here a long time. Maybe the issue is not the database but expecting something it was not designed for.

I do the whole ingredients too. It's a bit time consuming and will almost always put you over especially when you do the whole item when you only ate part of it in the menu, but until this hinders my progress I dont mind doing it this way. Keeps my accountable for EVERYTHING I eat!

maricash

For something like scrambled eggs, which can be prepared any number of ways, you are better off either entering each ingredient you used separately or else using the Recipe feature to create an entry that you can use repeatedly. The database is only really good for ingredients, it's not that helpful for a dish that includes multiple ingredients. I make scrambled eggs with half and half, someone else might make them with butter or milk or both. That's probably why there are so many different calorie counts.

da_bears10089

My first post.

I have found using the database to enter foods I've eaten to be virtually useless. The numbers are wildly inconsistent. Don't believe me? Just try looking up Scrambled Eggs. The basic egg including yolk, no milk, no cheese, nothing else. I'm seeing 69 calories, 70 calories, 75 calories, 100 calories, 169 calories. I believe the consensus is 75 calories.

I ran into the same inconsistencies with many, many other foods. I end up Googling the USDA to get the official government info. This causes unnecessary further time spent tracking my foods. (BTW, 1 large egg = 70 calories)

Besides the inconsistencies there's just too darn many listings in the database!

I'm thinking I'll have to create my own list of foods using USDA stats. I do have a food scale and use it frequently.

What do other members do to get accurate calorie and nutrition counts?

Why would you use something like scrambled eggs (since how people prepare them varies widely) instead of simply using the ingredients. Frankly I would like a lot of those entries removed, but then again if multiple members from a family are logging here, it is the only way to share recipe numbers between them without both having to enter the whole recipe. Other variations are because the nutritional information for products varies from country to country. Finally, if you are using this with a web-browser, just look for the stuff without a * beside it. The ones with an * are entered by other users while the ones without th e* are entered by MFP.

I have never had any real problems with the database and I have been here a long time. Maybe the issue is not the database but expecting something it was not designed for.

exactly! If i make a deli style chicken sandwich, i add the individual ingredients rather than search for a chicken sandwich.

ldrosophila

No....it's not perfect, you do have to do some research for yourself.....but once you enter and save foods that you eat, and recipes you use a lot, it becomes much more accurate. I use this database too http://nutritiondata.self.com/, as well as the usda site. stick with it....it works....even if the numbers are slightly off....you can still see what you're putting in your body and that helps to cut those portions! good luck!

This is a great site I love the grading features and the nutrient graph!

Ange34

I have encountered inconsistencies and when I have a chance there's a way to edit them to include the correct info so I do but usually I just pick the average between the low and high or else the high one - better safe than sorry.

Otherwise, I create my own foods and meals and the info is correct so no more searching. Taking the time to set up your own database is time consuming at first but SAVES in the long run. Just like everything else, if it's not worth working hard for, then it's not worth anything.

Ramberta

My thoughts exactly! Typical, we can't find the exact number of calories, better turn to my daddy, the government, to help me! People are such babies.

Erm, I'd just like to point out that if OP didn't trust the MFP entries, turning to the USDA website is a perfectly reasonable way to be sure >> every third person on here is agreeing that researching your own diet choices can and will help... so how does that make us babies, exactly?

ldrosophila

yeah, yeah, we all know, your perfect.

So how many calories in shot of Jack Daniels?

Have you exceeded your daily calorie limit?

Is it 97kcals for a 1.5oz jigger? I was looking up rum the other day.

KarenisPaleo

yeah, yeah, we all know, your perfect.

*you're

txbutterfly69

With time, you get to know how many calories in your frequent foods. I like to scan barcode whenever possible and create my own meals or recipes, this way you don't have to be searching through database. Say for example you eat scrambled eggs, toast, and milk. Scan when possible and save under "Scrambled Egg Breakfast" or something like that. Then you can use it whenever.