Same food, different calories

honeylissabee
honeylissabee Posts: 217 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm learning that one of the things that really bugs me about tracking on here is that the same food item can be listed a hundred times with different calorie counts.

And what really baffles me is that this isn't just putting "pizza" in and getting information from different varieties of pizza. It happens if I put in 1 oz. of pistachios or 100 grams of brown rice or 1/2 a medium banana

I really don't think it should make a difference whether the nuts are Wonderful Brand or the generic Great Value brand from Walmart. Likewise, I really doubt there's something so different about whether the bananas are Dole or Chiquita.

So, how do you figure out what entry to use for these items, and why are the calorie counts so different at times? It just doesn't make sense.

Replies

  • RM10003
    RM10003 Posts: 316 Member
    I try to match it with what's on the package, if it's a packaged product. If it's something like a banana, I'll look it up once on a government or some such website and then use the entry that matches that. And you can always look for the entries without stars, as those are the ones provided by MFP, rather than other users.
  • Just_Scott
    Just_Scott Posts: 1,766 Member
    MFP isn't perfect, but, at the same time it is a great tool for many. Log regularly, eat fat and protein MACROS at or above minimums, watch carbs, workout, drop weight, enjoy life. Make one of your goals to be accurate with intake (calories) and try to avoid brand labeling--it will drive you crazy--meaning stay consistent with amount and type of food and save it in your food diary.


    Next....
  • Sycoholic
    Sycoholic Posts: 282 Member
    If I'm not sure, such as when I'm on the mobile app, I'll go with the one that has the higher calorie count. I'd rather be safe than sorry. If I'm that worried about it I'll sort it out when I get to my laptop..... but at least I have something logged in the meantime. I've not logged a food for that reason but forgot to when I got home. Caused me to overeat. One day is no biggie but I tend to think some people on here would cry themselves to sleep over it.
  • honeylissabee
    honeylissabee Posts: 217 Member
    I try to match it with what's on the package, if it's a packaged product. If it's something like a banana, I'll look it up once on a government or some such website and then use the entry that matches that. And you can always look for the entries without stars, as those are the ones provided by MFP, rather than other users.

    Actually, what I try to do is look for the produce entries with the most options. Like the one for apples that has 1 cup, small, medium, large, and weight measurements in grams and ounces. The banana entry I used has options for weight, 1 cup mashed, and small/medium/large.

    What's really bugging me is to save money (based on unit pricing), I bought a larger bag of pistachios. I knew the smaller bags of 2 different brands had 120 calories for 1.5 ounces and 80 calories per 1 ounce. Which makes sense, but there's no generic entry for in-shell pistachios by WEIGHT- and that information isn't on the package I bought (only weight for shelled, and I portion them out before cracking them open).
  • bethlaf
    bethlaf Posts: 954 Member
    i use which one seems the most logistic, what drive me to irritation is when someone adds something, and theres no nutrition at all, other than calories, or protein... thats a big GRRR for me , even if you are only tracking a single nutrient.. input complete information, its better for EVERYONE!
  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
    Use the one with fewest calories.......always........seriously........no really.
  • khall86790
    khall86790 Posts: 1,100 Member
    You need to be trying to select brands and/or bar code scanning wherever possible.
    Also, if in doubt, use the one with the most calories. That way you can't go wrong. Unless it sounds ridiculous, in that case find ones where they seem to have similar calories and choose one of those.
    E.g.
    Pizza slice = 100 cals
    Pizza slice = 30 cals
    Pizza slice = 90 cals
    Pizza slice = 300 cals
    Pizza slice = 110 cals

    Choose 100/110 cals in that instance as it seems the most correct.
  • Just_Scott
    Just_Scott Posts: 1,766 Member
    Honey do you have scale?
  • hazleyes81
    hazleyes81 Posts: 296 Member
    In that case it will depend on what size the pizza is. A slice from an XL pizza is generally a lot bigger than a slice from a small one.
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,658 Member
    I try to match it with what's on the package, if it's a packaged product. If it's something like a banana, I'll look it up once on a government or some such website and then use the entry that matches that. And you can always look for the entries without stars, as those are the ones provided by MFP, rather than other users.

    Blimey RM, are you sure you didn't read my mind, you have put almost an identical posting to what I intended writing LOL!

    Also to the OP, don't forget once you have logged something in your diary, you won't have to look up that particular food again as it will be under your "recent" tab.
  • AlyssaJoJo
    AlyssaJoJo Posts: 449 Member
    What I hate is trying to put white onion and having to scroll through 40 subway sandwiches first. Or heaven forbid trying to do salt the few times I use it.
  • _Danno_
    _Danno_ Posts: 165
    I always try to use the barcode scanner on my phone but if I'm out I always pick the highest calorie count just to be safe
  • froeschli
    froeschli Posts: 1,292 Member
    ever looked up the difference between homemade popcorn and movie popcorn? that's an extreme, but of course calories will vary on how a food item is prepared.
    as for fruits and vegetables - they are averages. i doubt even two medium zucchini from the same plant would have the exact same count.
    don't obsess over +-a few calories, you can always scratch your nose to make up the difference :-p

    ok seriously, just be consistent, and adjust your calorie goal, if the results are different from what you are aiming at.
  • Andrea8985
    Andrea8985 Posts: 107
    As someone else already said, if in doubt I go with the higher calorie content. Usually once I'm home I'll google it (if it doesn't have the info on the package) and pick the entry which seems most reasonable from that.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Some entries are obvious mistakes, and off by a factor of 10. Those are the big ones you have to watch for.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    google it = match it with live strong. then with mfp
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    i use which one seems the most logistic, what drive me to irritation is when someone adds something, and theres no nutrition at all, other than calories, or protein... thats a big GRRR for me , even if you are only tracking a single nutrient.. input complete information, its better for EVERYONE!

    i do the same. i also spot check a few items. since i tend to eat the same things over and over, once the right thing is in my recent list, it's going to be easy to find the right one again
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,658 Member
    What I hate is trying to put white onion and having to scroll through 40 subway sandwiches first. Or heaven forbid trying to do salt the few times I use it.

    I usually stick into the search something like "onion generic" and it cuts through all the other stuff you mentioned.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    For the most part, I've found the data base to be fairly accurate...keep in mind that much of what goes in there is from members, so there is some user error in there. For the most part though, even when things aren't dead on, I find that they're really not substantially different in calories. A few calories here and there isn't going to break anything. Also remember that this is all estimates...even the numbers of the packaging, etc aren't 100% accurate.
  • ssdivot
    ssdivot Posts: 193
    Is there a way to filter the search results so that only the MFP entries without stars show up. Trying to find onion or carrots etc is a pain sometimes. I like to use the generic MFP entries for things like this because it always has the "per 100 gm" option. I get tired of having to scroll through, as someone else said 25 subway sandwhiches with onions on them to find the onion entry i'm looking for.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Honey do you have scale?

    how would a scale help?
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    This is my current favorite entry: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/homemade-carrot-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting-52568881

    34-calorie serving of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is possible, but woe to anyone just picking it as a standard carrot cake with cream cheese.

    Potassium tracking is a total crapshoot. Wildly variable and often simply not entered.
  • DoingThiisForMe
    DoingThiisForMe Posts: 31
    Its not really an issue for me as i dont put in generic food like pizza slice.. i'd put in pizza hut large super supreme pizza.. i'd usually visit the website first or look at the package so i already have an idea, then click on a couple if they are mostly simular choose it...

    I stay away from homemade generic stuff like the cheesecake link posted above! Medium Banana, Large Banana etc you should pretty much already have an idea of the calorie content and how to define an item before you consume it imo...
  • MysticRealm
    MysticRealm Posts: 1,264 Member
    There are odd times when I have this problem, but most of the time if I can't scan it I search for it by brand name. There is the odd time when it doesn't come up the same as what the packaging says in which case you can either add it, or you can choose something close and adjust the amount till it equals the cals it should. Such as I have tortilla shells that are 140 cals, and couldn't find one with the correct cal count (even when looking at the same brand). I did find one at 100 cals so I entered it that I had 1.4 of those so it came up to 140 cals.
  • JessieTangerine
    JessieTangerine Posts: 91 Member
    What I hate is trying to put white onion and having to scroll through 40 subway sandwiches first. Or heaven forbid trying to do salt the few times I use it.

    I usually stick into the search something like "onion generic" and it cuts through all the other stuff you mentioned.

    Then woe to me every time I need to enter buttermilk. I always forget the wonderful word combination that allows me to skip the +100 entries of buttermilk pancakes. I wish there was some way to sort by MFP added versus user added
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    Once you have the correct food/calories/info add it to your "my foods" tab. Then you are only sorting through your entries. This is def. a problem. I realized this week that the boneless chicken breast I've been using had the incorrect sodium and calories listed. :noway:
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    i cross check what the MFP database says against nutritionselfdata.com...
  • KBSwinger
    KBSwinger Posts: 160 Member
    I'm learning that one of the things that really bugs me about tracking on here is that the same food item can be listed a hundred times with different calorie counts.

    And what really baffles me is that this isn't just putting "pizza" in and getting information from different varieties of pizza. It happens if I put in 1 oz. of pistachios or 100 grams of brown rice or 1/2 a medium banana

    I really don't think it should make a difference whether the nuts are Wonderful Brand or the generic Great Value brand from Walmart. Likewise, I really doubt there's something so different about whether the bananas are Dole or Chiquita.

    So, how do you figure out what entry to use for these items, and why are the calorie counts so different at times? It just doesn't make sense.

    I do not track for this specific reason. I rather watch my portions then pull my hair out with number crunching. Saying that though when I did track I would just take the average calories of the choices listed and pick the middle one.
  • honeylissabee
    honeylissabee Posts: 217 Member
    Yes, I have a scale and I use it.

    I understand the differences when it comes to pizza or pancakes or even popcorn- to an extent. What I don't understand is the varying calorie counts for the same portion size of whole foods: dry roasted nuts, rice, apples, bananas, carrots, spinach, eggs, etc. I'm sorry, but it really should not matter if you bought your brown rice from the local grocery store or the Asian market. 100 grams of rice should have the same calories regardless.

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