Calorie Confirmations?

wannakimmy
wannakimmy Posts: 488 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am assuming I am doing something wrong here.

When searching the MFP database for correct calorie counts, I have a very hard time coming up with an entry that has a higher number of confirmations. I have seen people post the one about chicken and it having like 2000 confirmations... Most of them I can hardly find 50 confirmations.

How do you all find the highest entry? Do you enter just chicken breast for instance, or the brand and all? I tried entering USDA first... I was searching for beef tenderloin this morning and the highest confirmation I could find was 6?

I am trying to really crack down on the accuracy of my logging. I am weighing everything already, so I have accurate data to input, I just want to make sure I am entering it under the most accurate Item on MFP.

Any suggestions welcomed :)

Replies

  • bethlaf
    bethlaf Posts: 954 Member
    look for the ones without the STAR , those are added by the MFP database...
  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
    I was just about to say, look for entries without asterisks (*).
  • cbhubbybubble
    cbhubbybubble Posts: 465 Member
    I don't know if there's a trick to it. Hopefully someone will answer if there is. I often cannot find a starless option.

    What I do, if I can't find a lot of confirmations is double check it with other sites like USDA or something or check it against my package. If the #'s match I go with it regardless of low confirmations or I fix it accordingly. If all else fails I choose the higher estimate and try to leave a few calories every day to account for any things I may not have the perfect estimate for.
  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
    What are you looking for that doesn't have an option without an asterisk?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Why does it matter? If the package is in front of you, why would you even need a confirmation? Just use the numbers on it... they'll be the most accurate (99.9% of the time).
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    The iPhone app doesn't have asterisks or confirmations. I was searching for peanuts the other day. Searched " peanuts usda". Like four or five results came up with the same number. That's what I used :tongue: if so many people are that off in their entries, God help me. So I use a bit of popularity contest to determine which one I pick. (Edit: These were peanuts for a DQ salad, packaged in a 2oz condiment container)

    And of course above all, the package (yay, Franci!)
  • wannakimmy
    wannakimmy Posts: 488 Member
    Why does it matter? If the package is in front of you, why would you even need a confirmation? Just use the numbers on it... they'll be the most accurate (99.9% of the time).

    The beef tenderloin for instance does not have a nutrition label on it. So I have nothing to compare it to.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Why does it matter? If the package is in front of you, why would you even need a confirmation? Just use the numbers on it... they'll be the most accurate (99.9% of the time).

    The beef tenderloin for instance does not have a nutrition label on it. So I have nothing to compare it to.

    Search Beef - Tenderloin and an entry comes up without an asterik...it has 22 confirmations then there is another with 122 confirmations...

    To be frank tho I prefer to use my own entries...I go to the USDA site and create one for me with my initials so I can find it later.
  • jmv7117
    jmv7117 Posts: 891 Member
    I am assuming I am doing something wrong here.

    When searching the MFP database for correct calorie counts, I have a very hard time coming up with an entry that has a higher number of confirmations. I have seen people post the one about chicken and it having like 2000 confirmations... Most of them I can hardly find 50 confirmations.

    How do you all find the highest entry? Do you enter just chicken breast for instance, or the brand and all? I tried entering USDA first... I was searching for beef tenderloin this morning and the highest confirmation I could find was 6?

    I am trying to really crack down on the accuracy of my logging. I am weighing everything already, so I have accurate data to input, I just want to make sure I am entering it under the most accurate Item on MFP.

    Any suggestions welcomed :)

    Look for the entries without the asterisk as those were entered by MFP not users. If in doubt, check a known and trusted source then enter the values manually. It will show under your foods so you can use those values again.
  • jmv7117
    jmv7117 Posts: 891 Member
    The iPhone app doesn't have asterisks or confirmations. I was searching for peanuts the other day. Searched " peanuts usda". Like four or five results came up with the same number. That's what I used :tongue: if so many people are that off in their entries, God help me. So I use a bit of popularity contest to determine which one I pick. (Edit: These were peanuts for a DQ salad, packaged in a 2oz condiment container)

    And of course above all, the package (yay, Franci!)

    If you have the package then scan the code but use caution with that as well. Some manufacturers are changing their formulas resulting in a change in the nutritional value that isn't always reflected in the values brought up by the code so compare the scanned values to the nutritional value on the label. If they match, you are good to enter. If they don't match, enter the nutritional value from the label.
  • jmv7117
    jmv7117 Posts: 891 Member
    Why does it matter? If the package is in front of you, why would you even need a confirmation? Just use the numbers on it... they'll be the most accurate (99.9% of the time).

    The beef tenderloin for instance does not have a nutrition label on it. So I have nothing to compare it to.

    Use the value from the USDA http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list or Calorie King http://www.calorieking.com/foods/ or the Calorie King app. There are several apps with a trusted database as well.
  • asciiqwerty
    asciiqwerty Posts: 565 Member
    if in doubt - check the entry for completeness yourself against a national food database like the USDA one:
    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/

    is you search for the words they use in the ufp database you will usually find an unstarred entry

    if you're gettign something out of a packet then use the details on that to check the entries (per weight, not per serving)

    if your tech minded there are some scripts around that you can use to filter mfp database results to hide user submitted (*) entries, and to sort the list by confimrations
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    The iPhone app doesn't have asterisks or confirmations. I was searching for peanuts the other day. Searched " peanuts usda". Like four or five results came up with the same number. That's what I used :tongue: if so many people are that off in their entries, God help me. So I use a bit of popularity contest to determine which one I pick. (Edit: These were peanuts for a DQ salad, packaged in a 2oz condiment container)

    And of course above all, the package (yay, Franci!)

    If you have the package then scan the code but use caution with that as well. Some manufacturers are changing their formulas resulting in a change in the nutritional value that isn't always reflected in the values brought up by the code so compare the scanned values to the nutritional value on the label. If they match, you are good to enter. If they don't match, enter the nutritional value from the label.

    Great point! This definitely happens. I scan the chicken thighs and rather than 160 calories for 4 oz it comes up as 130. In this case, since I have to do math anyway to come up with total calories, I just fudge the decimals on the scanning results until I get the total calories I need. If I were a strict IIFYM eater, this could screw with some of the macro numbers, but for just tracking calories, it works well

    I'm with the OP though, I have noticed beef packages (not the ground ones) do not have nutritional info, whereas most other meats do. What's with this?
  • jmv7117
    jmv7117 Posts: 891 Member
    The iPhone app doesn't have asterisks or confirmations. I was searching for peanuts the other day. Searched " peanuts usda". Like four or five results came up with the same number. That's what I used :tongue: if so many people are that off in their entries, God help me. So I use a bit of popularity contest to determine which one I pick. (Edit: These were peanuts for a DQ salad, packaged in a 2oz condiment container)

    And of course above all, the package (yay, Franci!)

    If you have the package then scan the code but use caution with that as well. Some manufacturers are changing their formulas resulting in a change in the nutritional value that isn't always reflected in the values brought up by the code so compare the scanned values to the nutritional value on the label. If they match, you are good to enter. If they don't match, enter the nutritional value from the label.

    Great point! This definitely happens. I scan the chicken thighs and rather than 160 calories for 4 oz it comes up as 130. In this case, since I have to do math anyway to come up with total calories, I just fudge the decimals on the scanning results until I get the total calories I need. If I were a strict IIFYM eater, this could screw with some of the macro numbers, but for just tracking calories, it works well

    I'm with the OP though, I have noticed beef packages (not the ground ones) do not have nutritional info, whereas most other meats do. What's with this?

    None of our meat and most of our fish do not have nutritional info because they are directly from the farmer or locally caught fish. Any meats we buy from the abattoir have not nutritional labels. I was under the impression that meats bought at a conventional grocery store had nutritional labels and/or bar codes that can be scanned to get the information. At any rate, if the nutritional information is not on the package and there is no bar code, use a trusted database.
  • wannakimmy
    wannakimmy Posts: 488 Member
    Thank you, guess I have to dig a little deeper. I thought I was searching wrong, just not hard enough. Sure wish there was a way to clear out all the nonsense data.

    Thanks again All!
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Thank you, guess I have to dig a little deeper. I thought I was searching wrong, just not hard enough. Sure wish there was a way to clear out all the nonsense data.

    Thanks again All!

    "if your tech minded there are some scripts around that you can use to filter mfp database results to hide user submitted (*) entries, and to sort the list by confimrations"

    Perhaps asciiqwerty could simplify it to mouse crumb steps for us?
  • asciiqwerty
    asciiqwerty Posts: 565 Member
    for example: search the forum for "search confirmations" or "search filter"

    but there are lots of other codes/scripts/add-ons/extensions available that you can install in your browser, some work out net calories, or adjust macros in more detail

    it isn't a good idea to install anything on your computer or in your browser unless you understand it as doing so could compromise the security of your system
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    for example: search the forum for "search confirmations" or "search filter"

    but there are lots of other codes/scripts/add-ons/extensions available that you can install in your browser, some work out net calories, or adjust macros in more detail

    it isn't a good idea to install anything on your computer or in your browser unless you understand it as doing so could compromise the security of your system

    Sweet! Thanks for responding! :flowerforyou:

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