Calorie count issues

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debjef989
debjef989 Posts: 1 Member
in Chit-Chat
Just wondering why there are so many different calorie counts for the same item and weight? It can be off as much as 50 lbs which is slot when you're trying your best to stay on target!! Hoping someone can help. Thanks.
Deb

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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Because most of the entries are user entered and people are really good when it comes to human error.
  • deneenae
    deneenae Posts: 97 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Because most of the entries are user entered and people are really good when it comes to human error.

    Yeah, for real.

    OP Use the items with a green check mark next to them or type in "USDA" when you enter your food item. That will narrow it down to USDA items, which are more accurate.

    When in doubt, slightly overestimate.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,161 Member
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    If you are like most people, your overall diet will be a relatively small group of foods. Find the correct ones and they will start to populate your recent and frequent food lists. That makes things much easier. When you find incorrect ones that are not verified and check their nutrition info, mark then as wrong to help others.

    The other factors that come into this are 1) Regional differences in pre-made food items which can sometimes be quite large. 2) Changes in formulations of pre-made food items. I had one premade snack I really enjoyed and ate regularly, usually 3 or so a day as desert of a quick snack. I had verified the database entry I was using was correct when I first started eating them. Then one day several months later, I looked at the label and though, that calorie number doesn't look right. Sure enough they had reformulated the product and the calories for the same serving when up by about 20 or so. Not a big issue if only eating one, but that adds up pretty quickly.

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