I found this interesting... Actual calorie counts

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Replies

  • mom9198
    mom9198 Posts: 83 Member
    Thanks for sharing this!
  • susiepet
    susiepet Posts: 68
    Very interesting!

    I would think that calorie counts for pre made food in supermarkets has a better chance of being accurate than restaurants simply because they are sold by weight and the different ingredients are controlled in the factory - and here in the UK you have to identify quantities of the main ingredients on the label by %, and it's all in quantity order. I can't see the financial gurus allowing over generous additions of cheese, say to cauliflower cheese.

    Having said that. of course, we have had the horse meat fiasco - so who knows! (and I daren't ask if horse meat has the same nutritional value as beef)

    S:ohwell:
  • youcantfoolme
    youcantfoolme Posts: 79 Member
    Just no truth in advertising as usual.
  • Sul3i
    Sul3i Posts: 553 Member
    Bump
  • nicsalt
    nicsalt Posts: 86 Member
    WOW! That's an eye opener. Thanks for posting.
  • shemama1
    shemama1 Posts: 30 Member
    bump
  • firstnamekaren
    firstnamekaren Posts: 274 Member
    bump
  • helyla
    helyla Posts: 162 Member
    My company blocks the site...bumping for when I get home tonight.
  • SniffyDoodle
    SniffyDoodle Posts: 129
    Great. Now I can never eat out again. Thanks. lol
  • Queen_Adrock
    Queen_Adrock Posts: 130 Member
    My company blocks the site...bumping for when I get home tonight.

    Me too.
  • TheRightWeigh
    TheRightWeigh Posts: 249 Member
    I'm not sure I want to read this...but BUMP anyhow
  • kbeech06
    kbeech06 Posts: 328 Member
    Great. Now I can never eat out again. Thanks. lol

    I said this to hubby last week! Not because of calories, but because you just never know what you're eating anymore! There was a show on BBC 3 last week called The Horsemeat Banquet and they were analyzing foods from takeaways. It was really gross. There was a lamb dish that when they tried to analyze the meat...they couldn't figure out what it was. It wasn't beef, it wasn't chicken, pork, horse, or lamb. I'll eat at home from now on thanks!
  • Doodlewhopper
    Doodlewhopper Posts: 1,018 Member
    Government at its very best. Welcome to the Nanny State.
  • McSpike
    McSpike Posts: 34 Member
    Even at home, you are at the mercy of the accuracy of your scale. Unless you have your scale tested and verified on a consistent basis, that is.

    I always wondered how calorie counts were computated. I'd imagine that multiple samples are taken, and are prepared to recipe. But human error creeps in.

    Just going to continue eating at a deficit, confident it will all work out in the end.

    Thanks for the great post!
  • sunnyskyjb
    sunnyskyjb Posts: 258 Member
    bump
  • Wen37
    Wen37 Posts: 218 Member
    Bump to watch later
  • warriorprincessdi
    warriorprincessdi Posts: 617 Member
    bump
  • bigbear167
    bigbear167 Posts: 39 Member
    thanks!!
  • pstaceyca
    pstaceyca Posts: 306 Member
    Bump
  • 2FatToRun
    2FatToRun Posts: 810 Member
    LOVE THIS!!! TY for posting it I try not to eat out of house more than once a week for a single meal. people worry about calories but the truth is...sodium is outrageous when you go to these places.
  • nomorebamboozles
    nomorebamboozles Posts: 73 Member
    Holy cow. Now my reasoning for over-calculating most of my calories (for accuracy's sake) on here is actually based on logic! lol...
  • autumnlily31185
    autumnlily31185 Posts: 279 Member
    very interesting and informative. thanks

    I have been wishing that we had the nutrition info on menus here in Massachusetts for the longest time. Now if we do, I hope that the info is correct
  • Shes1CraftyMama
    Shes1CraftyMama Posts: 152 Member
    If you noticed in the video, without even maybe realizing it; the author of the presentation made a fantastic point. He stated that maybe Starbucks just added an extra shot so when looking at a video like this, or counting the calories of websites verbatim, you have to take into consideration of human error or judgement. At chipolte and many other build your own meal places the ingredients are not measured but estimated (and generally if you get a great employee) they add extra and charge the same. How many restaurants actually measure perfectly to get the same calorie amount in each food item they prepare.

    It is a great video and makes us think, but there won't always be a perfect balanced amount.... even when measuring your own. There is going to be a few calories off here and there. It may be positive, it may be bad, It's all about eating a balanced meal and not eating until you are full but content.
    I do know at Subway because of cost efficiency they are very picky about measuring. Most of their meats and cheeses come pre-measured and they charge for extra no matter what. The only thing not measured is the sauce. This may be why it was accurate. But I must say I completely agree with this comment! If you want total control of what you eat, eat whole foods and cook yourself. That way you are getting more accurate measurements, but also of foods that you really can't eat too much of.... THANKS for sharing this video!
  • ValMartin79
    ValMartin79 Posts: 65 Member
    Such a great video. Love that people take the time to do this. In conclusion, I think we are all just f**ked,
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Not at all surprising.

    None of this is an exact science.

    Unless of course you want to live the rest of your life in a lab.
    This. Everything is an estimate, nothing is exact. Even your calculated calorie goal is just an estimate that could be off by several hundred calories. Generally, food labels have an error margin of 20%. Why? Because food is agricultural, it is IMPOSSIBLE for every single food ingredient to have the exact same number of calories, every time. Even meats, fruits and vegetables are just estimates. You can have 2 identical looking carrots, identical size and weights, and they can have radically different calorie and nutritional counts.

    Unless you only want to eat synthetic, lab created food (which doesn't exist, anyway,) you will never get 100% accuracy, and it's laughably unrealistic to expect it to be.
  • MikeInAZ
    MikeInAZ Posts: 483 Member
    I guess the gist of it is, ALWAYS leave some food on your plate. I wish he would have also done a McDonalds BigMac too since he was comparing everything to a BigMac. Although I have a feeling that McD's took the time to really test their food for accuracy.

    I'm glad they will be putting calories on the menu's nation-wide. I like it when I travel to CA where they require that. It really does make you stop and think before ordering something.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    and one more reason to cook your own food, and / or not eat anything that didnt come from the ground or directly an animal.
    Even those calorie counts can vary by over 20%. Depends on the soil, or exactly what the animal ate, rainfall, fertilizers, and everything else that goes into growing food. Free range, cage free, and organic foods will honestly have the least amount of consistency in actual values.

    The point is, everything is an estimate, just be reasonable and don't stress so much about perfection.
  • rce884
    rce884 Posts: 47 Member
    facinating!
    we dont have calorie counts on our menues in toronto, but i can only imagine they are coming. for right now i tend to check websites for fast food calories and of course mfp. but can you really trust that? according to this , no not really
  • 2FatToRun
    2FatToRun Posts: 810 Member
    If you noticed in the video, without even maybe realizing it; the author of the presentation made a fantastic point. He stated that maybe Starbucks just added an extra shot so when looking at a video like this, or counting the calories of websites verbatim, you have to take into consideration of human error or judgement. At chipolte and many other build your own meal places the ingredients are not measured but estimated (and generally if you get a great employee) they add extra and charge the same. How many restaurants actually measure perfectly to get the same calorie amount in each food item they prepare.

    It is a great video and makes us think, but there won't always be a perfect balanced amount.... even when measuring your own. There is going to be a few calories off here and there. It may be positive, it may be bad, It's all about eating a balanced meal and not eating until you are full but content.
    I do know at Subway because of cost efficiency they are very picky about measuring. Most of their meats and cheeses come pre-measured and they charge for extra no matter what. The only thing not measured is the sauce. This may be why it was accurate. But I must say I completely agree with this comment! If you want total control of what you eat, eat whole foods and cook yourself. That way you are getting more accurate measurements, but also of foods that you really can't eat too much of.... THANKS for sharing this video!

    I worked at subway for many years and I can verify that even the meat like chicken teriyaki was measured. I hated preparing that crap lol That is why you will see some meats is those little cardboard dishes because we had to weigh them. As for the other sliced meats/cheese we had a count for how many slices go on each sandwich. Even the olives have an amount you are supposed to put same as tomatoes and so forth. The funny part is....you would think they would focus on doing that for the dressings. No matter how great you measure all that other stuff you put on the sandwich as soon as that sandwich artist adds mayo/mustard etc it wont matter much lol I can make a better sammich at da house anyways. ;)
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Very interesting! I think I was most surprised that its so unregulated.

    Unregulated? That's really what you believe?

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