dont trust entries for calories

kathymosley9

I have double checked ( when possible) the calorie content of many of the foods on here. Either people want to fool themselves or they are getting misinformation! Also the other way around... the exercise totals on here tend to say higher than an independent search , or the # on the machine when I am done. Find a site to double check against.

stephaniemejia1671

I came across the same findings myself, should that be the case, then who or what can you trust? I rather enter low numbers or none at all then lie to myself about the work I did.

aefallis

Agree! I ALWAYS look at the calories listed on whatever I'm eating or find the entry with the HIGHEST calories listed for the foods I do not know. Its worth using google for those too.

liya368

I have taken to either scanning my foods or checking the entry against the label because there is so much variation in calories with certain items. I try to opt for the higher calorie choices.

I totally agree with you on the exercise. While I am not currently exercising when I did it seemed like the calories expended were way too high.

slimviv2012

Are the foods over or underestimated? At least if I know then I can adjust accordingly. I would rather keep some sort of log than none at all X

Mamalea32

Yes. THe calories for food reporting seems correct, but some of the cardio exercises are not given appropriate values; however, calorie burn is soooo dependent on how much resistance and how fast and hard you are working-- so of course it may be a little high or a little low. On the elliptical I bust my butt, and the calories counted on the app are always too low. But when I use the stair climber, the calories on the app are always too high.

johloz

This is why you can't blindly select one -- usually there are multiple entries for the same food. Read through the calorie counts, and there's usually a trend. There's usually also an outlier that's ridiculously low. Save that for people who want to lie to themselves eat more, and wonder why they're not losing.

d2footballJRC

For exercise I use either my HRM and I have a bodymedia. I don't know how anyone can expect a mathmatical formula based off just your height and weight without any other data to be 100% accurate. If you want those to be accurate on here you need to get a HRM, fitbit, of bodymedia.. some device to make it more accurate.

Food, yeah I try to avoid the ones that seem way too low.

khall86790

This is why you can't blindly select one -- usually there are multiple entries for the same food. Read through the calorie counts, and there's usually a trend. There's usually also an outlier that's ridiculously low. Save that for people who want to lie to themselves eat more, and wonder why they're not losing.

^ this.

Nitocris017

I also double check my calories cause I notice the same.

PaulaJPatrick

For exercise I use either my HRM and I have a bodymedia. I don't know how anyone can expect a mathmatical formula based off just your height and weight without any other data to be 100% accurate. If you want those to be accurate on here you need to get a HRM, fitbit, of bodymedia.. some device to make it more accurate.

Food, yeah I try to avoid the ones that seem way too low.

What is "bodymedia"? I know about HRM and own a fitbit but never heard of bodymedia before.

summer8it

Keep in mind that EVERYTHING in the food database is entered by members, and people make mistakes. Even the items that you scan in the barcode are listings originally created by other members, so keep a careful eye out.

UsedToBeHusky

You know, occassionally, companies change their recipes. That doesn't mean the food entry gets updated on the website. It's a user-created database!

Katrinadionne1808

I always double check the calories becomes sometimes the manufacturer also changes ingriedients that can impact on the calorie count - even by just a few calories so always worth doing and updating.

I have also found from doing MFP how widely different brands that offer the same thing differ. e.g we had a korma the other night (jar sauce) i went to order again the other day but another brand was on offer so I looked up the calorie content and it was almost 100 calories per serving lower!!!!

Just a note though - it's not always possible to check calorie count before adding to your diary on the mobile application, but is on the website so if you have to use the mobile - always worth doubling checking on the site when you get a chance.

mprat210

When there are multiple entries for the same food, I usually pick the one that has the most confirmations. I also check most of the calories on the packaging against what is listed on MFP. I have found a few mistakes but usually the right one is there. It just takes some searching.

For exercise, I go on the treadmill everyday. The calories list on my treadmill are usually higher than what is on MFP. But I figure MFP doesn't take into account incline levels plus I vary the pace and use handwieghts. So for calories burned I take an average of what is listed on MFP and my treadmill and try to stay somewhere around that. It seems to be working so far.

d2footballJRC

For exercise I use either my HRM and I have a bodymedia. I don't know how anyone can expect a mathmatical formula based off just your height and weight without any other data to be 100% accurate. If you want those to be accurate on here you need to get a HRM, fitbit, of bodymedia.. some device to make it more accurate.

Food, yeah I try to avoid the ones that seem way too low.

What is "bodymedia"? I know about HRM and own a fitbit but never heard of bodymedia before.

Bodymedia is a device you wear all day, it tracks the calories you burn all day. You wear it on your arm, it has a couple sensors that measures different things and then keeps a read out of: calories burned, steps taken, activity, moderate activity, and sleep.

They use them on biggest loser I think. They have them on sale and I think I got my Bodymedia Link for around 100 dollars last christmas.

PaulaJPatrick

For exercise I use either my HRM and I have a bodymedia. I don't know how anyone can expect a mathmatical formula based off just your height and weight without any other data to be 100% accurate. If you want those to be accurate on here you need to get a HRM, fitbit, of bodymedia.. some device to make it more accurate.

Food, yeah I try to avoid the ones that seem way too low.

What is "bodymedia"? I know about HRM and own a fitbit but never heard of bodymedia before.

Okay, I googled and found the body media site. Why would you need all three items? Which do you feel is most accurate? I would imagine a HRM but I find the fitbit is pretty accurate. I have been thinking about getting an HRM, which do you have/use? Thanks!

JennDoesKeto

i check the labels vs what is on the site if it doesn't match i create my own entry. as for the exercise calories..i don't count those as cals to use i just like to track what i do.

explainsitall

I cross reference food labels and websites for calorie count. That's just a smart idea in general so you know what you're consuming.

However, I cross reference calorie burn over four or five websites and have found they're all pretty consistent with MFP. I haven't found any major discrepancies at all. I don't go to a gym so I don't have equipment to tell me calorie burn, but if more than two sources confirm something I generally trust it.

kristy6ward

You know, occassionally, companies change their recipes. That doesn't mean the food entry gets updated on the website. It's a user-created database!



^^This. And there are also various package sizing.

krystina_letitia9

I have double checked ( when possible) the calorie content of many of the foods on here. Either people want to fool themselves or they are getting misinformation! Also the other way around... the exercise totals on here tend to say higher than an independent search , or the # on the machine when I am done. Find a site to double check against.

Nutritional Information changes on prepackaged foods. This probably accounts for the discrepancies you're seeing. I don't think people are fooling themselves, they just aren't looking for the most recent verified entry.

Good for you for doublechecking.

leigh8679

I've also found the food counts are sometimes off. I always check the label of whatever I eat. Since there are multiples of foods on here I can usually find the right one.

d2footballJRC

For exercise I use either my HRM and I have a bodymedia. I don't know how anyone can expect a mathmatical formula based off just your height and weight without any other data to be 100% accurate. If you want those to be accurate on here you need to get a HRM, fitbit, of bodymedia.. some device to make it more accurate.

Food, yeah I try to avoid the ones that seem way too low.

What is "bodymedia"? I know about HRM and own a fitbit but never heard of bodymedia before.

Okay, I googled and found the body media site. Why would you need all three items? Which do you feel is most accurate? I would imagine a HRM but I find the fitbit is pretty accurate. I have been thinking about getting an HRM, which do you have/use? Thanks!

I have a polar FT80 that I got before I got a bodymedia. I don't own a fitbit. Depends on your goals, I like lifting and the polar ft-80 was designed with weight lifting in mind and actually cut down on my time at the gym as it lowered my time between sets as I found I was resting too long. A great start out HRM is the FT7 by polar. I started with that HRM and loved it.

I went with the bodymedia because I was curious what my total daily expenditure was, not just my workouts. I looked at both the fitbit and the bodymedia and I chose the bodymedia because of the sensors and I felt it would be a bit more accurate in the long run. I don't think any of the devices you can go wrong with. The big thing they are just tools, and we still need to be using them properly to get our weight loss!

donna_glasgow

I have stored all of my own foods and added my own entries onto MFP, I always know that my entered foods are exactly what it says on the lables of the foods I buy ... way too many entries here are totally off

as for excercise, I only ever log half the work I do .. theres no way I can believe those numbers for some of the activities ...

Espressocycle

I have found most of them to be correct, actually. It's tough with some packaged foods that come in many sizes though.

3foldchord

even scanning my food labels myself is WRONG half the time!

I often do a Quick Add of 50 to cover for it, and round down any cardio burn calories. I figure that should be good enough to even things out.

Pixi_Rex

I have double checked ( when possible) the calorie content of many of the foods on here. Either people want to fool themselves or they are getting misinformation! Also the other way around... the exercise totals on here tend to say higher than an independent search , or the # on the machine when I am done. Find a site to double check against.

Calories are also geographically different. I looked it up online one time because what I had in my hand didn't match what was in the data base, turns out the american food (I do not remember what it was ) had more calories the Canadian one as per the labels... so yes watch the labels.

If I can't find what I am looking for than i just enter my own.

As for the exercise totals - never used them, I have an HRM for that. I never trust the machine either - those things give either way to many calories burned or far to little calories burned.

bumblebums

Sure, but keep in mind that EVERYTHING on MFP is an estimate. This includes your BMR and TDEE, calorie burn from exercise (which depends on your weight and level of fitness and many other factors, so it can't be a single number for everyone), and foods. There was a nice article in the NYT about calorie labels being grossly inaccurate, when tested against one of them calorie burn machines.

This is why it's silly to flip out about going "over" your MFP goal or consistently hitting it "under" by a few calories. There is a large margin of error in this process. But it works for many people, so I suspect it can't be that far off the mark when done consistently.

GoffGirl1029

I have taken to either scanning my foods or checking the entry against the label

This. And as far as calories burned durin' exercise, I wear a HRM. May not be 100% accurate, but it's more accurate for me and the effort that I have put into that workout than estimation used for everyone.

Stdavis53

I agree with you on the food entries on here. I have seen raw almonds that go from 5 each all the way to 15 each. I personally don't enter my exercise on here though. I use a Fitbit and enter my exercise on the Fitbit website and allow it to auto transfer over here. While it might not be as accurate as a HRM, I truly believe it gives a much more accurate number than the general entries MFP gives.

NLKatherine

curious - are you referring to packages foods with nutrition labels or things like fruits and veggies?