Food Calories Inaccurate

musicmint
musicmint Posts: 469
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm frustrated with the amount of times MFP has gotten foods wrong with the amount of calories something has or the amount of carbs it has...seems unreliable.....because of the inaccuracy....Does anyone actually use the food search or do you guys go measure your own food down to the last detail?

Replies

  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    you can correct the wrong calories on my fitness pal
    i look on package and follow those caleries
    and i weigh food yes
    i use the food search too
  • musicmint
    musicmint Posts: 469
    you can correct the wrong calories on my fitness pal
    i look on package and follow those caleries
    and i weigh food yes
    i use the food search too

    ok yeah I have to double check everything now...just dont get why I have to do that in the first place and why everything is inaccurate...
  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
    Unfortunately a lot of things will be inaccurate because the entries are from users. Some users will only input certain macros... some will only do calories... some may mess up a number or two or enter something in the wrong place.. and some of the entries, while wrong for you may be right for the person who entered them. There are users from all over the world so sometimes the same item may be more or less calories/macro than the one you have. Also, some users will enter it based on a different serving size.

    The majority of the entries are not actually created by MFP. Anything with a * beside it was entered by a user of the website.

    I always double check the entries based on the package I have.
  • b0nnyd0g
    b0nnyd0g Posts: 84 Member
    Cant really blame MFP for users entering inaccurately. Annoying I know and cannot understand why people continue to share their own take on the values but as the site is free I dont really mind entering my own food accurately
  • musicmint
    musicmint Posts: 469
    Unfortunately a lot of things will be inaccurate because the entries are from users. Some users will only input certain macros... some will only do calories... some may mess up a number or two or enter something in the wrong place.. and some of the entries, while wrong for you may be right for the person who entered them. There are users from all over the world so sometimes the same item may be more or less calories/macro than the one you have. Also, some users will enter it based on a different serving size.

    The majority of the entries are not actually created by MFP. Anything with a * beside it was entered by a user of the website.

    I always double check the entries based on the package I have.

    that explains it thanks haha
  • Rarity2013
    Rarity2013 Posts: 196 Member
    This surprises me actually. I've double checked all of my common ingredients/foods and the database has always been right on the money.
  • EmilyWest1919
    EmilyWest1919 Posts: 25 Member
    I tend to think of MFP as more of a guide than a die hard accurate database anyway. Even if things are off a bit, I'm still doing WAY better than I was a year ago. I think it's more about the habits you develop than 100% accuracy on the part of the user-generated database. Just my take;0)!

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