New Member--Database Practically Useless!

124

Replies

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • FTClown
    FTClown Posts: 181
    What do other members do to get accurate calorie and nutrition counts?

    I SCAN everything.
    No need to guess or to google a random number which is probably not right anyways, just scan it.

    Eggs for example, my eggs from publix a70 cals, but winn dixie show 76cals

    Just SCAN whatever you eat and you will be fine.

    **When you go out to eat, ask what the cals and such are for your meal, if they dontknow you eating at the wrong place, but letssay you have zero way of scanning, thats when you google it, butonly then.
  • NinjaJinja
    NinjaJinja Posts: 147 Member
    I had a much bigger problem with chicken breast. There's an option for the calories for the "yield of 1 lb" of chicken breast and it is GROSSLY low on calories. Like it says 132 calories for 1 lb of chicken breast. In reality a pound of chicken breast is 500 calories! Very annoyed when I figured out that the calories in my recipes were being grossly underestimated and I had likely been overeating the entire time!

    I've also had trouble finding the entries for full fat things. Like cream cheese. I just wanted to enter regular, full fat cream cheese. Almost every single entry was for reduced fat cream cheese. UGH.

    If I could enter my own nutritional information I would, but so far I haven't figured out how to do that.
  • cordianet
    cordianet Posts: 534 Member
    Most foods from the USDA is already in the database. If you notice at the bottom it says " * = Nutritional information provided by another MyFitnessPal member"

    So look for foods that don't have the * next to it.

    This. Everything else is user entered.
  • Taraanne76
    Taraanne76 Posts: 111 Member
    I haven't read all the posts but in regards to generic items, they usually just list calories and not any macros. I like to see how I'm doing with those too.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,225 Member
    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. :)

    Never never never scan the barcode and hit enter without checking what comes up. I scanned preserved mango with chili yesterday and it came up as a MacDonald's mango pineapple shake. And yes, I also scanned it again... and again... I scanned it four times and every time it came up as a shake. Not the first time something completely different has come up. The scanner is awesome, but not perfect. Always double check.
  • Inshape13
    Inshape13 Posts: 680 Member
    I just seem to find that people enter the item into the database regardless if it is in there alot of other times which is irritating. Normally what I do is enter in the item and then adjust the size to hit the correct calories based on label information or I save the correct listing under my foods so that it is easily accessed.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • runrunjohnny
    runrunjohnny Posts: 10 Member
    Most foods from the USDA is already in the database. If you notice at the bottom it says " * = Nutritional information provided by another MyFitnessPal member"

    So look for foods that don't have the * next to it.

    That's one feature request I'd like to see: a check-box to filter out the *entries
  • RedHotRunner
    RedHotRunner Posts: 850 Member
    I've noticed that there is a message "nutritional information confirmed" and the number of members that have confirmed it so I use that information when making entries.

    I wouldn't go by how many people confirmed something, either. I looked up a food that was confirmed by 13 people, and I knew there was no way the numbers were right (and according to the package they were not). If you find something that isn't correct, you can edit it in the database where you would confirm the information. Just say "no" and it will give you the option to edit.
    One thing to know is that the nutritients also vary by location. A lean cuisine in California might have a different number of calories than the same lean cuisine in New York. That's why some will confirm the calories, but it will be different than what your package says.
  • taiyola
    taiyola Posts: 964 Member
    Well, duh - people make things differently. Enter your egg, mil, butter, whatever individually. It's not hard.

    Warburtons Toastie
    Linda McCartney sausage
    Asda ketchup

    Rather than 'vegetarian sausage sandwich'

    *rolls eyes*
  • petstorekitty
    petstorekitty Posts: 592 Member
    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?


    I read the labels. Even on my eggs! Size and type make a difference. The eggs I buy are 80 cals. Most eggs have less. But mine come from sexy happy veggie chickens!

    For things I cannot measure - I guess.
    I've been counting calories long enough to guess when necessary.
  • cattrill
    cattrill Posts: 74 Member
    You've also got to bear in mind that different countries have the same brands etc.

    Im from the UK and from personal experience our small, medium etc is not the same as US, so I would deffo try to remember to read the packet to get the most accurate number :)
  • CharliesInCharge
    CharliesInCharge Posts: 278 Member
    it is what it is ;)
  • ginijor
    ginijor Posts: 13 Member
    Since I eat pretty much the same things, I just load the info into my food category. Makes it a lot easier to find something. I also scan the foods I eat, then enter the calories into my food category. I have found a lot of inconsistencies with the database, but have found ways around it.
  • dobenjam
    dobenjam Posts: 232 Member
    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?

    I get accurate calorie counts by entering what I eat, not just generic things that are "close". Takes out the guess work.

    The database seems pretty good to me actually. Not exactly sure what you are expecting out of a free app/website/database but obviously your expecting something to read your mind and enter it for you. Look at the package, enter the data if you can't find something close. I'm sorry you had to do all the work of typing it into google to get what you needed, but really? Was it that bad?
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
    Search for "eggs, raw, whole". That will be your accurate system (rather than user-entered) entry. Then you can customize with whatever you add to your eggs when you scramble them.

    Personally, I've been on here almost two years and the DB has worked fine for me.

    This.
  • SRH7
    SRH7 Posts: 2,037 Member
    1. MFP is free - what exactly were you expecting?
    2. The database is only as good as the people who input the information - i.e. people who are not paid to update the database, live all over the world with different food types, brands etc
    3. Not happy? Input your own food and create your own food/recipes etc

    Bit narky to have a go about the database being "practically useless" when you are not paying a penny for it.

    I find you have to arm yourself with a bit of knowledge (which, to your credit you have said you are thinking of doing) so that you don't just blindly add food to your diary while assuming that whoever inputted it got it 100% right.
  • Cliffslosinit
    Cliffslosinit Posts: 5,044 Member
    What data-base are you talking about??
  • SRH7
    SRH7 Posts: 2,037 Member
    You've also got to bear in mind that different countries have the same brands etc.

    Im from the UK and from personal experience our small, medium etc is not the same as US, so I would deffo try to remember to read the packet to get the most accurate number :)

    Agreed. Even products with the same name vary wildly between countries (for example there seems to be a lot more sugar added to products in the USA than the UK). I never trust that brands sold internationally will be right in the database when compared to the ones available in the UK.
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    Well, duh - people make things differently. Enter your egg, mil, butter, whatever individually. It's not hard.

    Warburtons Toastie
    Linda McCartney sausage
    Asda ketchup

    Rather than 'vegetarian sausage sandwich'

    *rolls eyes*

    This. Enter the components and not the final product and you're fine. The recipe tool is also great. I make a batch of chili or stew every week. Just enter all the raw components and divide by the number of servings you end up with.

    I also understand that this is just a tool to give me a good approximate idea of my calorie consumption and burning. I'm not looking for exact number nor do I expect them. I figure the tradeoff of using this site vs. compulsively weighing and measuring my food is worth it.
  • pspetralia
    pspetralia Posts: 963 Member
    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.

    Well said!
  • powrwrap
    powrwrap Posts: 85 Member
    My thread headline was a bit provocative but I wanted to get readers. It appeared to work. I'm not that 'in your face' in person. Obviously the database is not "practically useless". In fact, in a way its biggest strength, sheer number of entries, is also its biggest weakness--misleading or inconsistent entries.

    Thanks again to everyone that posted their suggestions. For sure this is a healthy community forum!
  • nroth57
    nroth57 Posts: 21
    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 have a bag of chips that continuously scans as chicken soup, on both my app and my husbands. Some foods really are coded wrong. it's sort of hilarious.
  • SRH7
    SRH7 Posts: 2,037 Member
    My thread headline was a bit provocative but I wanted to get readers. It appeared to work. I'm not that 'in your face' in person. Obviously the database is not "practically useless". In fact, in a way its biggest strength, sheer number of entries, is also its biggest weakness--misleading or inconsistent entries.

    Thanks again to everyone that posted their suggestions. For sure this is a healthy community forum!

    Hope we weren't too rough on you - the database drives us all a little mad at times but we'd rather have one that's a bit wonky than none at all (and doesn't charge us for the priviledge like slimming clubs etc). Welcome on board! :smile:
  • SRH7
    SRH7 Posts: 2,037 Member
    I have a bag of chips that continuously scans as chicken soup, on both my app and my husbands. Some foods really are coded wrong. it's sort of hilarious.

    The ones that get me are things like "Glass of Red Wine: 64,000 calories".

    I swear some evil people have planted massive calorie counts in the database on purpose to scare the crap out of us when logging. It's usually the morning after the night before when I check my calories and have a fit thinking I've eaten an entire kebab shop.
  • TheNewDodge
    TheNewDodge Posts: 607 Member
    Unfortunately, the database is cluttered with a lot of poorly/inaccurately entered foods. However, it doesn't take too long to find correct entries. Also, if you're anything at all like most people, you'll find yourself eating many of the same foods over and over. Once you've successfully logged proper foods they will appear on your "frequent" and "recent" lists.
  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
    If you think that is bad you should try tracking sodium. Apparently a lot of my UK friends (I'm in the UK myself) do not know the difference between g and mg or potassium and salt! Funnily enough I never felt the need to create a topic about it. I just correct it and move on :flowerforyou:
  • Anthonydaman
    Anthonydaman Posts: 854 Member
    I agree it can be very conflicting, I generally just look for the one that is the average of several. Like you i will out source the info if I can't find one that i am comfortable with. Start scanning the bar codes on foods you eat regularly and they will store in your searches. Remember, this is not an exact science so don't get too hung up about 15 calories either way, it will drive you nuts.
    Good Luck
  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
    If I were making scrambled eggs, I would enter in the components separately because everyone has their own variation of the recipe. Also, instead of searching for "eggs," try "eggs whole raw" and it really narrows down the results.

Categories