CONCERNED: MFP calorie tracking is wrong

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Replies

  • caroldot
    caroldot Posts: 388 Member
    I'm a little concerned that the nutrition info on some foods is incorrect. Not so much with a product such as yogurt or cream cheese where I can look at the side of the container and verify. More like if I'm building a recipe or adding produce, meat etc.

    For example: Earlier I looked at 2 submissions for avacados:

    1) Produce-Avacado-Half. (Note the serving size is 1/2 of avacado but I'm only using 1/4 so changed it to .25 svg size. Here's the calculation: 50 cals / 5g fat / 3 carbs.

    2) Generic - Avacado - 1svg of 1/4 amount. Here's the calculation: 80 cals / 7.5 carbs / 4.25 carbs

    That's a 30 calorie difference which is alot to me!!

    Here's another example:
    Earlier today, I posted a topic about a creamy chicken taco soup. With 6 servings it came out to 182 cal / 21 carbs / 3g fat / 23g protein. Just a few minutes later I saw where someone else had posted EXACT same recipe on their topic. Her recipe calls for 9 servings and if I remember correctly it was 216 calories / 24 carbs / can't recall rest. Anyway it was significant difference and the only difference in our recipes besides serving size was she had 3 chicken breasts and lite cream cheese. I had 2 chicken breasts and fat free cream cheese.

    I even tried recalculating mine as hers and it still came out way lower than what she entered.

    My concern is that I'm actually eating more calories than I think - even on exercise days when I eat them back! Anyone else have this concern? Sorry for the long post!!

    This was my recipe that I posted. :)
    I ALWAYS make my own recipes within the website, ie. I check every label and enter everything personally into a blank recipe. This way I know all my stats are equal to the packaged ingredients. I even said, "the ingredients I used".. I then take a measuring cup and scoop out the crockpot to see how many I have. I portion out, but my fiance doesn't lol.. at least I know when I scoop I'm getting exactly what I measured.
    I never add anything into my diary that I personally don't read the labels for, or input myself! The database is flawed sometimes! :) Also, I never add my recipes into the MFP database and I label them "Kerri's ____"
    Have you used this recipe feature before?
    recipewcc.png

    Hi! Yes I always put my recipes into the recipe builder as well. So when I saw yours I thought...huh??? Thanks!
  • caroldot
    caroldot Posts: 388 Member
    You entered it in wrong. If the base serving size is half an avocado and you ate a quarter, you need to enter 0.5. Because you entered 0.25 you got the information for 1/8th of an avocado.

    The database is built by users. There is no guarantee of accuracy unless you use the entries that do not have a star next to them when you search. Double check with your food labels. If you are using a fresh ingredient, use the MFP-generated entries.

    You're so right.....duh! can't beleive I did that!!:noway:
  • caroldot
    caroldot Posts: 388 Member
    I KNOW RIGHT? WE'RE PAYING ALL THIS MONEY TO USE THIS SITE THEY CAN AT LEAST GET THE CALORIES RIGHT.

    ROFL!!! :laugh:

    No need for haters! I just needed input....

    Thanks everyone else for the advice - makes sense!
  • Chibea
    Chibea Posts: 363 Member
    Bump
  • Chibea
    Chibea Posts: 363 Member
    As a Newbie, I found this thread really useful. Many of items in the database are wrong or incomplete.
  • srr6783
    srr6783 Posts: 8
    You have to remember that the food in the database are posted by other MFP memebers not the database itself so thier will be alot of different variations according to the way the different memebers read the labels it is best to go with the package for yourself.
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
    FOr produce use the entries without the * beside them.

    Users from all over the world enter information into the database. Different parts of the world have diffferent things and make their products differently.

    Use the information on the packages you have.

    Some people don't enter things correctly, miss information etc. Also, what they enter as 1 serving may be a lot different than what you are using.

    Don't use generic or homemade entries.
  • Hadabetter
    Hadabetter Posts: 942 Member
    You entered it in wrong. If the base serving size is half an avocado and you ate a quarter, you need to enter 0.5. Because you entered 0.25 you got the information for 1/8th of an avocado.
    Exactly!
  • MountainMoverJosh
    MountainMoverJosh Posts: 134
    You must remember that this website is hosting millions of people on 2 continents. Food is always made differently one place than it is in another place. You may scan the barcode, and it will not give you correct info. Best thing I can recommend is if there are brands of foods you know you eat all the time, save them into your favorites so that you know you have put in the right content.
  • MountainMoverJosh
    MountainMoverJosh Posts: 134
    You entered it in wrong. If the base serving size is half an avocado and you ate a quarter, you need to enter 0.5. Because you entered 0.25 you got the information for 1/8th of an avocado.
    Exactly!

    yes, and proper math skills always help lol! 0.25 x 0.5= 0.125
    That sorta thing.

    When you calorie count, you had better know your fractions and decimals to the basic levels, at least. Not for just this site, but anywhere. Good luck!
  • sunman00
    sunman00 Posts: 872 Member
    it's mostly all close enough so you won't be too far wrong

    the main thing to concentrate on is to remember that 7,000 calories is one kg lost or added; SO, if you net consume 1,500 a day (I'm taking this cos you're female) then after 14 days, or 2 weeks you'll lose a kg

    try not to weigh in very often, every 2 weeks is fine, just stick to the net intake; exercise is great to give you some calorie credits

    getting used to your new lifestyle of less intake and more exercise is much more important than worrying about the odd 30 calories here and there :-)

    good luck
  • CLDKess
    CLDKess Posts: 40
    This site is free
  • SuperstarDJ
    SuperstarDJ Posts: 441 Member
    heres something that will really mess with your head then...

    the calories on the package could be up to 20% off.

    Recent investigation showed that they are often off by considerably more than 20%.
  • snrhea
    snrhea Posts: 8
    Avocados vary a lot in size--I can get large, medium, or small avocados. Hass avocados website estimates that there are about 50 calories per ounce. I slice it and weigh the portions I'm eating. The pit of an avocado along with the skin can weigh an ounce or more by itself so don't weigh the entire avocado to calculate the calories. I find weighing my food is the best option, especially for things that vary in size by so much.
  • zhvah18
    zhvah18 Posts: 158 Member
    I'm a little concerned that the nutrition info on some foods is incorrect. Not so much with a product such as yogurt or cream cheese where I can look at the side of the container and verify. More like if I'm building a recipe or adding produce, meat etc.

    For example: Earlier I looked at 2 submissions for avacados:

    1) Produce-Avacado-Half. (Note the serving size is 1/2 of avacado but I'm only using 1/4 so changed it to .25 svg size. Here's the calculation: 50 cals / 5g fat / 3 carbs.

    2) Generic - Avacado - 1svg of 1/4 amount. Here's the calculation: 80 cals / 7.5 carbs / 4.25 carbs

    That's a 30 calorie difference which is alot to me!!

    Here's another example:
    Earlier today, I posted a topic about a creamy chicken taco soup. With 6 servings it came out to 182 cal / 21 carbs / 3g fat / 23g protein. Just a few minutes later I saw where someone else had posted EXACT same recipe on their topic. Her recipe calls for 9 servings and if I remember correctly it was 216 calories / 24 carbs / can't recall rest. Anyway it was significant difference and the only difference in our recipes besides serving size was she had 3 chicken breasts and lite cream cheese. I had 2 chicken breasts and fat free cream cheese.

    I even tried recalculating mine as hers and it still came out way lower than what she entered.

    My concern is that I'm actually eating more calories than I think - even on exercise days when I eat them back! Anyone else have this concern? Sorry for the long post!!

    This was my recipe that I posted. :)
    I ALWAYS make my own recipes within the website, ie. I check every label and enter everything personally into a blank recipe. This way I know all my stats are equal to the packaged ingredients. I even said, "the ingredients I used".. I then take a measuring cup and scoop out the crockpot to see how many I have. I portion out, but my fiance doesn't lol.. at least I know when I scoop I'm getting exactly what I measured.
    I never add anything into my diary that I personally don't read the labels for, or input myself! The database is flawed sometimes! :) Also, I never add my recipes into the MFP database and I label them "Kerri's ____"
    Have you used this recipe feature before?
    recipewcc.png

    Not relevant to the topic, but this recipe sounds delicious! I must make it!
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
    heres something that will really mess with your head then...

    the calories on the package could be up to 20% off.

    the people labeling the product get to self regulate their nutrition info.. the FDA doesnt have the resources to check everything... but theres HARSH penalties for selling something for less then the posted weight.. so they often sell it a little over... meaning theres MORE in there then what the package says.

    so yea. you're often eating more then you think.

    but it doesnt matter. just like you dont know EXACTLY how much you're burning.... just keep track, and it'll be close... for produce you can look it up elsewhere too.

    This. Don't get so hung up on it. Just log what seems reasonable, people are dumb idiots and they it all kinds of crazy numbers in there. They'll put one serving, when they mean the whole container, or visa versa. I wish MFP had their database, and then there was a separate user community database, and you could exclusively search the MFP one, or just the user community one, or both together. This is easy to do. But, whateves.
  • Cp731
    Cp731 Posts: 3,195 Member
    maybe one of the advocados was on a diet. Just kidding
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    LET'S REVIVE A YEAR OLD THREAD.
  • purplecharm
    purplecharm Posts: 446 Member
    bump
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
    LET'S REVIVE A YEAR OLD THREAD.
    2DDEE13D-A711-4972-B3ED-A8103B91B2A0-9015-000007ED28E9AFF5.jpg

    It's not like this same subject hasn't cropped up more than once in the last year.
  • volume77
    volume77 Posts: 670 Member
    sometimes you have to use common sense and also not freak out about 30 calories
  • volume77
    volume77 Posts: 670 Member
    I KNOW RIGHT? WE'RE PAYING ALL THIS MONEY TO USE THIS SITE THEY CAN AT LEAST GET THE CALORIES RIGHT.

    I know. It's so criminal, those jerks.







    hahahahahhahahahhahha
  • lorna1002
    lorna1002 Posts: 185 Member
    If the serving size listed for the avocado was 1/2 an avocado, and you were using only 1/4, you should have put in .5 of a serving, not .25. Half of a half. That may have accounted for the difference there--on the other stuff...I don't know! : )

    yes, this
  • Hbazzell
    Hbazzell Posts: 899 Member
    This website will tell you if it is a user entry or a USDA approved one. Maybe double chekc with this site
    http://www.fitwatch.com/phpscripts/viewfoodresults.php
  • MsLilly200
    MsLilly200 Posts: 192 Member
    The best way to get accurate calories is by weighing and/or entering the food yourself.

    Fruit and vegetables come in many sizes so one avocado can be double the amount of calories as another.
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    I'm a little concerned that the nutrition info on some foods is incorrect. Not so much with a product such as yogurt or cream cheese where I can look at the side of the container and verify. More like if I'm building a recipe or adding produce, meat etc.

    For example: Earlier I looked at 2 submissions for avacados:

    1) Produce-Avacado-Half. (Note the serving size is 1/2 of avacado but I'm only using 1/4 so changed it to .25 svg size. Here's the calculation: 50 cals / 5g fat / 3 carbs.

    2) Generic - Avacado - 1svg of 1/4 amount. Here's the calculation: 80 cals / 7.5 carbs / 4.25 carbs

    That's a 30 calorie difference which is alot to me!!

    Here's another example:
    Earlier today, I posted a topic about a creamy chicken taco soup. With 6 servings it came out to 182 cal / 21 carbs / 3g fat / 23g protein. Just a few minutes later I saw where someone else had posted EXACT same recipe on their topic. Her recipe calls for 9 servings and if I remember correctly it was 216 calories / 24 carbs / can't recall rest. Anyway it was significant difference and the only difference in our recipes besides serving size was she had 3 chicken breasts and lite cream cheese. I had 2 chicken breasts and fat free cream cheese.

    I even tried recalculating mine as hers and it still came out way lower than what she entered.

    My concern is that I'm actually eating more calories than I think - even on exercise days when I eat them back! Anyone else have this concern? Sorry for the long post!!

    Not all avocados or chicken breasts are the same size by a long chalk, so those servings sizes are nothing more than a guesstimate. Calories and macros are by weight, you want accuracy use a scale and the entries that are by weight. Check the accuracy of every entry you use, there is a function to amend any user entered ones that are incorrect.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
    This website will tell you if it is a user entry or a USDA approved one. Maybe double chekc with this site
    Or, just go straight to the source:

    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list
  • Danni1585
    Danni1585 Posts: 250 Member
    It's free and it's a guide, if everyone wants personalised stuff get a personal chef or nutritionist. Also add to the database if you don't agree with your own options, help put it right .....
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