Is anyone else getting incorrect calorie, fat (g), protein (g) and carbohydratye (g) totals?

wmeyerbill455 · February 2017

Hi MFPers,

I have a general question and would like to know if others are experiencing the same problem. I am recording the foods that I eat based on selecting that item from the pick list or selecting an item from the pick list which closely approximates the food I have consumed based on the grams of Fat, Protein and Carbs listed in the nutrient information for the food source that I consume.

The problem is the totals that MFP returns are -+ 20% to 290% different based on grams per serving. I have been using the following % distribution; 45% carbs, 40% protein and 15% fat. I am also working with a registered dietician who calculates the nutrients and total calories of the foods I consume. When I load in my foods for the day based on what the dietician has calculated which is approximately 7 grams of protein per serving (14 to 16 servings), 15 grams of carbs (grains/starches 10 to 12 servings) and 5 grams of fats (5 servings per day) the difference between what the dietician calculates and what MFP calculates is +- 20% to 290% different. MFP under records total calories by 20%, over records TTL fat grams by 290%, under records TTL carb grams by 15% and under records TTL protein grams by 35%. Anyone else have this kind of problem??

tapwaters · February 2017

Are you referring to the database? The entries can be edited by users and are not always accurate. You should double check the entries. I don't fully understand what you mean about a dietician calculating.

AliceDark · February 2017

Can you provide an example of an MFP-recorded day vs. what your dietician would record?

Make sure you double-check the entries you're using, because the MFP database is user-edited and some people enter information incorrectly or fail to enter it altogether. If you're seeing wildly different totals, it's likely because you're using incorrect entries.

deannalfisher · February 2017

also if your RD is calculating your food - have them give you a reference list with info that you can use - and make yourself individual entries for food

I do (personally) find searching USDA and food to be more accurate than some of the user entries - but you always need to verify

scotthva5 · February 2017

Echoing what deanna said above, I have found many inaccurate user entries that can really mess up the calculations. I usually enter my own based on USDA or the manufacturer's label.

Nikion901 · February 2017

wmeyerbill455 wrote: »

Hi MFPers,

The problem is the totals that MFP returns are -+ 20% to 290% different based on grams per serving.

I have been using the following % distribution; 45% carbs, 40% protein and 15% fat.

I am also working with a registered dietician who calculates the nutrients and total calories of the foods I consume. When I load in my foods for the day based on what the dietician has calculated which is approximately 7 grams of protein per serving (14 to 16 servings), 15 grams of carbs (grains/starches 10 to 12 servings) and 5 grams of fats (5 servings per day) the difference between what the dietician calculates and what MFP calculates is +- 20% to 290% different. MFP under records total calories by 20%, over records TTL fat grams by 290%, under records TTL carb grams by 15% and under records TTL protein grams by 35%. Anyone else have this kind of problem??

Regarding your MFP returns ... I cannot follow what you are comparing to get your determination that the grams are incorrent per gram servings. What are you comparing, specifically?

I think I know what you are talking about ... looking at my food log for today, I can see that the total calories I have showing don't mathematically add up to what the maco's will add up to based on the per gram weight guidelins of 4 calories per gram for carbohydrates and protein, 9 calories per gram of fat. I have noticed this before and tried to find an answer on the MFP Help forum, but couldn't. Sometimes I think it might be coming from the labels on food reporting net carbs instead of gross carbs but haven't been able to tie back into that either.

But hey, I gotta thank you ... cause when I was looking more closely at my log today to prepare to answer your questions, I noticed that one of my entries only had calories and no macros ... so that was throwing my whole log off today. So, thanks

PS ... do you realize that your registered dietician is recommending a diet for you that averages out to only between 1209 and 1393 calories per day? ... That is below the medically advised calorie intake for a male, who usually is said to not go below 1500 calories a day.

CyberTone · February 2017

Are you calculating Total Calories using the 4 Cals/gram carbs, 4 Cals/gram protein, and 9 Cals/gram fats? If not, that would be the main issue.

Can you temporarily change your Diary setting to public so that someone can take a look at a day in question?

https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/en/portal/articles/201687-how-do-i-make-my-diary-visible-to-other-users-

wmeyerbill455 · February 2017

Nikion901 wrote: »

wmeyerbill455 wrote: »

Hi MFPers,

The problem is the totals that MFP returns are -+ 20% to 290% different based on grams per serving.

I have been using the following % distribution; 45% carbs, 40% protein and 15% fat.

I am also working with a registered dietician who calculates the nutrients and total calories of the foods I consume. When I load in my foods for the day based on what the dietician has calculated which is approximately 7 grams of protein per serving (14 to 16 servings), 15 grams of carbs (grains/starches 10 to 12 servings) and 5 grams of fats (5 servings per day) the difference between what the dietician calculates and what MFP calculates is +- 20% to 290% different. MFP under records total calories by 20%, over records TTL fat grams by 290%, under records TTL carb grams by 15% and under records TTL protein grams by 35%. Anyone else have this kind of problem??

Regarding your MFP returns ... I cannot follow what you are comparing to get your determination that the grams are incorrent per gram servings. What are you comparing, specifically?

I think I know what you are talking about ... looking at my food log for today, I can see that the total calories I have showing don't mathematically add up to what the maco's will add up to based on the per gram weight guidelins of 4 calories per gram for carbohydrates and protein, 9 calories per gram of fat. I have noticed this before and tried to find an answer on the MFP Help forum, but couldn't. Sometimes I think it might be coming from the labels on food reporting net carbs instead of gross carbs but haven't been able to tie back into that either.

But hey, I gotta thank you ... cause when I was looking more closely at my log today to prepare to answer your questions, I noticed that one of my entries only had calories and no macros ... so that was throwing my whole log off today. So, thanks

PS ... do you realize that your registered dietician is recommending a diet for you that averages out to only between 1209 and 1393 calories per day? ... That is below the medically advised calorie intake for a male, who usually is said to not go below 1500 calories a day.

wmeyerbill455 · February 2017

I appreciate all the replies. You all provided useful information in regards to the nuances of MFP. Looking back over my entries I noticed that the foods I was selecting from the pick list was wildly incorrect. So, my new plan is if I can't scan the nutrition in then I have to ask my RD what her evaluation of nutrient content is for the food and I will use that. In response to the question on not getting enough calories, I didn't include that I also get 3 servings of fruit and 6 servings of veggies. This schools place me at about 2100 calories a day. Yes, I was using the 4-4-9 calorie conversion when calculating from Grams to Calories. So many, many thanks to all. I have decided though to stop using MFP and just going back to the old pen and journal method supported by food lists supplied by my RD. The nutrition incongruity with MFP is only half of my problem. I use the polar V800 to track my exercise and it is very difficult to transfer the data from my polar to MFP. The only work around I could find was to download my polar to Training Peaks and let Training Peaks transfer the data over. Even with that approach it sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. In the end it is just easier to read the data from my V800 and write it into my activity journal. Takes 5 secs tops to accomplish not 10 minutes like it does using MFP etc. etc. etc. Again Many Thanks! Keep on Training. Bill

prashim21 · May 3

Logged 3 XL eggs , and MFP total protein = 19 grams; Google says 33grams

AnnPT77 · May 9

Might matter how you Google or which results you pick in Google or MFP? For example:

I didn't go fishing to get these specific results, just ran the search and picked sources in each case that looked like sensible choices.

Like people above said, the MFP database is crowd sourced, entered by regular MFP users . . . and some of them aren't meticulous. Google . . . well, there's a lot of nonsense on the web to be found, not Google's fault.

I hope you didn't pick a recipe-type entry for eggs, such as scrambled eggs. No way to know what people have put in those entries, could be milk or cheese or something else protein-y besides eggs.

Is anyone else getting incorrect calorie, fat (g), protein (g) and carbohydratye (g) totals?

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