Don't trust labels!!

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  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    When I started weighing food, I was delighted to see that I could be eating much MORE shredded cheese than I had been. If you fill a 1/4 measuring cup full of cheese, it only weighs close to half a serving size. :wink:

    On the other hand, the truth about oatmeal and peanut butter pissed me off. :explode:
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
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    If bread is marked "per slice" I'll take that, on the grounds it averages out over a loaf.

    But I always weigh cereal - even if I'm not trying to lose weight, because its so easy to pour double!. Also pasta is another one.

    OP instead of Pringles have a piece of cheese - more filling and nutritius. Equally nuts, or seeds - 25g of seeds is over 10 calories, and because they are small and fiddly to eat they seem to last a long time (unless you chug the whole helping).
  • LeanneGoingThin
    LeanneGoingThin Posts: 215 Member
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    Ya, most of them are a guide at best. If you aren't hungry don't eat just to meet the goal.

    Well considering I was only at 720 calories for the day and I am usually under by a lot on most days when I'm supposed to be eating 1200, I am trying to take the advice that all the MFP members gave me, which is that I need to be eating more, so I am trying to get closer to my goal.

    You did good, you definitely don't want to lose muscle.
  • Daphne1994
    Daphne1994 Posts: 32
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    Yep the piece of whole grain bread i just ate is labeled as 40g per slice is 100 calories, but the slices, even the smaller pieces are always a good deal over 40g. I always weight my bread and all my food.
  • SweetestLibby
    SweetestLibby Posts: 607 Member
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    eh, in the US the FDA allows for a margin of error in labeling on +/- 20%.
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    I ALWAYS weigh my pop tarts...
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    eh, in the US the FDA allows for a margin of error in labeling on +/- 20%.

    They also allow for a certain percentage of bug parts in food...
  • c8linmarie
    c8linmarie Posts: 358 Member
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    eh, in the US the FDA allows for a margin of error in labeling on +/- 20%.

    They also allow for a certain percentage of bug parts in food...


    Sadly, this is true ... and disturbing.
  • Joehenny
    Joehenny Posts: 1,222 Member
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    Weigh everything!! A prime example just happened to me. It's 11:00pm and I was left with 480 calories for the day so I went searching for something to eat because I have been under my calories way too much lately to just let it slide. Anyways, I found some Pringles (I hate turning to chips, but hey, I gotta get my cals in) and the serving size is 1 oz (approx. 16 crisps) according to the label. I weighed it because I know not to trust approximations on labels and an ounce only gave me 11 crisps, not 16. I know, I know, what's the big deal in being 5 chips off, right? Well it isn't really if you're like me and some others who typically eat under their calories, (I know, not smart but I'm working on it), but it could really hurt some people. Well I still needed something else to eat because the pringles were not enough so I got some goldfish. The serving size on that is 1 ounce (approx 55 pieces). I ended up with 45 pieces for 1 ounce. I did the math and if I would have trusted the label's approximations, I would have taken in an extra 72 calories and would not have known about it. If you go over on your serving sizes every meal of everyday and are borderline with going over on your calories, imagine how many calories you are truly taking in. So for those of you who are counting but aren't seeing any progress, this may possibly be your issue. Too many inaccuracies can make or break you. I would also advise to weigh things that are supposed to be measured in cups and spoons because everything settles differently and could result in yet another inaccuracy. I hope this is helpful to you:flowerforyou:

    I can't function without my food scale
  • marhattap
    marhattap Posts: 149 Member
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    Thank you! This is why I alwyas discard 10% of what I am eating. Its always safe to under-eat than overeat.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
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    I don't worry too much about being exact about things. I'm pretty sure I've underestimated my TDEE, I'm pretty sure Runkeep underestimates my calorie burn, and I'm pretty sure the nutrition information is somewhere +/-5-6%.

    Then again, I'm still in the "just lose weight" mode (I need to get in a normal BMI range), so I'm not working on maintenance yet, and not looking to build muscle or anything of that nature.

    But, I'm right on track so far: About 1.4 lbs per week average.
  • AlexThreeClaw
    AlexThreeClaw Posts: 73 Member
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    I realised this when I was eating chocolate last week. 25g per serving the label said. It's a 400g package and I've always assumed each block was one serving, but when I counted them out last week I was missing an entire block. Turns out every individual block was more than 25g!

    It's not a problem at the moment, I've got so much fat to burn that my margin of error is quite wide, but I'm glad I've learned this now rather than after a year of trying to lose that last 10 pounds without success.
  • shortie_sarah
    shortie_sarah Posts: 177 Member
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    Ya, most of them are a guide at best. If you aren't hungry don't eat just to meet the goal.

    Well considering I was only at 720 calories for the day and I am usually under by a lot on most days when I'm supposed to be eating 1200, I am trying to take the advice that all the MFP members gave me, which is that I need to be eating more, so I am trying to get closer to my goal.

    You did good, you definitely don't want to lose muscle.

    Thank you. I'm starting a mixture of cardio and strength training tomorrow so hopefully I can keep up with eating back my exercise calories.

    Also, I'm really glad that this has helped some people, like me, who were unaware of this
  • sukti
    sukti Posts: 17 Member
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    OMG! I need to get a weighing machine! Thank you so much for this observation.
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
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    I realised this when I was eating chocolate last week. 25g per serving the label said. It's a 400g package and I've always assumed each block was one serving, but when I counted them out last week I was missing an entire block. Turns out every individual block was more than 25g!

    It's not a problem at the moment, I've got so much fat to burn that my margin of error is quite wide, but I'm glad I've learned this now rather than after a year of trying to lose that last 10 pounds without success.

    You'll be consuming the same calories as you'll have had16 x 25 in total, even if its actually 12 x 30 (or whatever the math works out) by the end of the bar. Its just you won't have had it so many times.

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