Stop mucking up our food database!
MooseWizard
Posts: 295 Member
I see a trend of people adding *special* entries to the food database just for themselves, usually marked with their initials. If you are entering something special for yourself, stop mucking up the database we all use and do not share it. It is annoying searching though 8 different variations of something trying to find the "true" item. I'm not talking about those entries for things such as prepared sandwiches that specifically lay out the various ingredients in the title--those are great! But if I see an entry that says something like "Subway - 6" Turkey Sub (skd)" and then has some oddball calories that are not accurate to the description, I'm editing it!
/soapbox
*sigh* Ok, I feel better now that's my chest. Hope everyone's have a great day!
/soapbox
*sigh* Ok, I feel better now that's my chest. Hope everyone's have a great day!
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Replies
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I know. Do people not realize that the "my foods" option is there for a reason?0
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too right I found a dairy milk chocolate bar which had far less cals than are actually in it think someone was trying to cheat the system when the only person they are really cheating is themselves x0
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Amen!
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agreed!0
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Yes Lord!!0
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I see a trend of people adding *special* entries to the food database just for themselves, usually marked with their initials. If you are entering something special for yourself, stop mucking up the database we all use and do not share it. It is annoying searching though 8 different variations of something trying to find the "true" item. I'm not talking about those entries for things such as prepared sandwiches that specifically lay out the various ingredients in the title--those are great! But if I see an entry that says something like "Subway - 6" Turkey Sub (skd)" and then has some oddball calories that are not accurate to the description, I'm editing it!
/soapbox
*sigh* Ok, I feel better now that's my chest. Hope everyone's have a great day!
I agree. When I create a food I leave it as that - My Food. I don't add it to the database. Now - the only thing I have done with those foods is minus out natural sugars when needed and added potassium since no nutrition labels seem to want to add potassium and there is a direct connection between potassium and sodium.0 -
bump0
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I agree! I read a post on here the other day. Someone had order a sandwhich at a resteraunt not realizing the entry on MFP was one that the person made for themselves. She thought she was eating 550 calories and later found out it was 1440. I wish it could be more controlled!0
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You can edit the foods already in the database? I thought that we could only enter things we entered in My Foods and Recipes.
Keep in mind that 100% of my food logging and food database usage is via the iPhone app, so I never knew that was an option. I just thought it was stuff that people entered into My Foods and it populated to the database. (since whenever I enter something in My Foods it verifies that the same brand/product name combo isn't already being used)0 -
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for bringing this up! I was thinking the same thing yesterday. It takes me forever to find something that I know is in the system because of the all of the "special additions" that should NOT be shared.
If I put in a recipe, it's for me. I don't share it.0 -
I always edit when I click something and see it's not right. I know I will type in something and it won't pull up but then when I go to add it they go "something similar is already entered" of course it's what I was looking for...lol.0
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I just stumbled on this after having to week through a lot of this garbage. I'm thinking of inputting everything on my own and keeping it all in my foods just so I don't get the wrong stuff in there. I found several versions of my protein bar with the wrong data, and stuff like 1,000 "grape nuts" entries, etc.0
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I never noticed this!! Probably because I enter in the brand or create a recipe! This would drive me crazy though.0
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Agreed! If I am eating a "common food", i.e. milk, eggs, etc. I look for the entry without the * beside it, because that it what Mike and others put into the database when they created the website. If I am entering my own food, I put it my food with the nutritional information from the packaging!0
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Agree!!0
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agreed there are many items in the list that dont have any where near as many calories as they have! who are these people kidding0
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Wait a minute. If I add something to My Foods, and it then populates to the database, does that mean that people can edit it and mess up my entry?
For example, I can use the meal builder option on the website for places like Panera and Red Robin and create a custom tailored meal of exactly what I plan on ordering. I enter this into My Foods to be entered for that meal (I.e. Bacon Turkey Bravo with no sauce or BLTA Sandwich with no mayo and no fries) and also any future times I may have to go to those restaurants with friends.
Does what this thread is saying mean that someone else can then go in and edit those entries because they think they're wrong or don't like what it says?0 -
i have even had to add to my food list a snickers bar with the correct calories, i dont know where these people are getting low calorie snickers from but if the sold them they would advertise them0
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Using the barcode reader on the Android is helpful when you don't want to enter all the nutrition info.0
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Thank you!
I couldn't agree more! I found that the other day and then realised that maybe I'm eating more calories than I realise when I use some of the database that members have added... I looked up something one day that was a cake with a brand name and there were about 10 options and all with a * beside them... when I added it to my food diary I realised that there wasn't any sugar or carb or fat content added by the members who added it!!! Lol! Cake with no sugar and no carbs or fat???!!! Yeah.. I wish!!!
I checked the package and entered the correct info.. and then wished I hadn't eaten it! Lol!
If I add something to the database I always make sure I only let others use it if I can fill in ALL the boxes and give the correct info.. otherwise I make it private for my own use... I wish others would do the same0 -
I agree. it makes it hard for me to log my meals which is why i havent been doing it as often as I should. As much as I love this site I'm not sure I trust it to help me lose wieght by counting calories if I'm not sure the calories logged are accurate.0
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Wait a minute. If I add something to My Foods, and it then populates to the database, does that mean that people can edit it and mess up my entry?
For example, I can use the meal builder option on the website for places like Panera and Red Robin and create a custom tailored meal of exactly what I plan on ordering. I enter this into My Foods to be entered for that meal (I.e. Bacon Turkey Bravo with no sauce or BLTA Sandwich with no mayo and no fries) and also any future times I may have to go to those restaurants with friends.
Does what this thread is saying mean that someone else can then go in and edit those entries because they think they're wrong or don't like what it says?
As long as you have chosen the ' do not share with MFP pals ' then I don't think it can be changed... if you have said for it to be shared on the MFP database then yes it can be changed... if it's specific to you then you need to not share with the MFP database!0 -
Hells to the yes!0
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Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for bringing this up! I was thinking the same thing yesterday. It takes me forever to find something that I know is in the system because of the all of the "special additions" that should NOT be shared.
If I put in a recipe, it's for me. I don't share it.
I totally agree. But I thought when you put in my foods it added to the database. I'm glad if it doesn't. I have added a bunch of things to the my food section on my husbands page b/c I don't want to retype the recipies I just made for my page. We really shuold be able to share our recipies with our friends. This is espically helpful when people in the same household are using teh site.0 -
I am seeing this as well and I just started tracking my food two days ago. I don't get why there are like 5 different entries for strawberries. I would like to think that I am eating: Fruit-Strawberries, but I picked them up at a local farmers market, so I might actually be eating Generic-Strawberries.0
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i have even had to add to my food list a snickers bar with the correct calories, i dont know where these people are getting low calorie snickers from but if the sold them they would advertise them
I've had to correct numerous entries, with the box sitting next to me showing thigns are wrong, when I do, I put a notation of whenI corrected it. . but it truly is amazing the differences from 'like' items.. .0 -
I agree! Nothing more annoying than to see like 10 listings and almost every one of them with wrong info. It makes me question if people can read labels. Not only that, is it really that difficult to enter in just a few more items so it's a COMPLETE listing? I understand people aren't tracking all the same things, but a complete and CORRECT entry is nice...just rare to find. UGH!!!0
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But I thought when you put in my foods it added to the database.
When you use the "Create Food" button, at the bottom of the form is an option:Help us grow our food database!
Yes, let other MyFitnessPal members use this food
If you click that box, it goes into the shared database. If you don't, it is only available to you.
Glad to see my rant rings true with many others. Was hoping I was not alone!
Ultimately it is a trade off for functionality. Would be much fewer items in the database if it wasn't shared. Just wish people were a bit more responsible with the power in which they have been invested.0 -
But I thought when you put in my foods it added to the database.
When you use the "Create Food" button, at the bottom of the form is an option:Help us grow our food database!
Yes, let other MyFitnessPal members use this food
If you click that box, it goes into the shared database. If you don't, it is only available to you.
Glad to see my rant rings true with many others. Was hoping I was not alone!
Ultimately it is a trade off for functionality. Would be much fewer items in the database if it wasn't shared. Just wish people were a bit more responsible with the power in which they have been invested.
That option doesn't appear on the app. You just enter everything and press Save. No clue at all what the default setting is to whether it appears in the database or not.
I'm rarely on a computer unless I'm at work so even though I knew MFP had a connected website I didn't really look around it until last month when I was Googling questions and it led me to this message board via one of the results. (I'd never known this board existed until then). So I really know nothing about options available or not outside of the app itself, and now I'm concerned about my entries.
As far as whatever's already in the database, I've never added something to my log without comparin it down the exact nutritional label in front of me or the actual restart info directly from their site, so I'm not too concerned with having gotten incorrect entries over the last year. And if a fruit or veggie entry ever looked weird, I'd always verify it with google searches or other nutritional databases. Sometimes being a little OCD about stuff has it's advantages. lol
But, if my entries have been making it to the database for this last year, I apologize. Though, I do always put exactly why/how it's different from the generic restaurant meal (I.e. No mayo, no croutons, etc)0 -
Hear, hear!!!
I get really annoyed when I see entries and all that's in there is the calorie count and maybe fat content. Well, people, just because YOU don't care how much sugar or fiber or sodium is in something, doesn't mean everyone is that way. Please enter the ENTIRE nutrition content so other people can benefit from it, otherwise DON'T ADD IT TO THE DATABASE PLEEEEEEEEASE!0
This discussion has been closed.
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