How do we know which calorie count is correct when searching?

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pmg2000m
pmg2000m Posts: 44 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I seem to come across this mostly when I try to enter a meat. How the heck do I decide which one to choose? They're so different on calories, fat & protein. I don't want to over or underestimate on things I'm eating frequently.

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  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    edited August 2017
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    Check out the USDA database - they're generally good for this kind of thing.

    Boom: https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list?SYNCHRONIZER_TOKEN=0bee23f5-145f-4d73-b16b-3710117563bc&SYNCHRONIZER_URI=/ndb/search/list&qt=&ds=&qlookup=Ribeye+steak&manu=
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list?SYNCHRONIZER_TOKEN=98e5f8e7-355d-42de-b618-4f21aa0e3889&SYNCHRONIZER_URI=/ndb/search/list&qt=&ds=&qlookup=grass+fed+beef,+raw&manu=

    There are several different listings for grass fed beef in the usda database. Find one you like in that database, and then search for the description of that in the mfp database. Let's say you agree that you had " Beef, grass-fed, strip steaks, lean only, raw". Click on that in the USDA database. Then copy this "13000, Beef, grass-fed, strip steaks, lean only, raw" and paste that into the mfp food search. Using this method, I have always found a mfp database entry which exactly matches the 100g field in the USDA database. Just get your weight accurate, and log happily.
  • LynnJ9
    LynnJ9 Posts: 414 Member
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    I wish we could "woo" the ones that are way off.
  • MommaGem2017
    MommaGem2017 Posts: 405 Member
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    Is there a label on your package of meat? Or did someone prepare it for you? I would go with something that matches your label.

    Also, one of those entries is cooked and I assume the other two are raw - that's very important when choosing an entry. When did you weigh your steak?
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    J9LynnHelton wrote: »
    I wish we could "woo" the ones that are way off.

    It would be tedious beyond belief, but we can edit and correct them if they haven't been verified.

    When I do that, and I occasionally do, I calculate the amount of iron in it as the rda of a woman of child-bearing age, who have the highest iron needs.
  • LynnJ9
    LynnJ9 Posts: 414 Member
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    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    J9LynnHelton wrote: »
    I wish we could "woo" the ones that are way off.

    It would be tedious beyond belief, but we can edit and correct them if they haven't been verified.

    When I do that, and I occasionally do, I calculate the amount of iron in it as the rda of a woman of child-bearing age, who have the highest iron needs.

    I don't even know what that means :) so I better not try to correct them.
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
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    Since weighing in grams is most accurate, type "in grams" after item name. It will usually take you to those entries that have their serving sizes listed by weight in grams.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,209 Member
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    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    J9LynnHelton wrote: »
    I wish we could "woo" the ones that are way off.

    It would be tedious beyond belief, but we can edit and correct them if they haven't been verified.

    When I do that, and I occasionally do, I calculate the amount of iron in it as the rda of a woman of child-bearing age, who have the highest iron needs.

    It still would be awesome though if we could at least flag some for review. Especially when there are 20 entries of the same thing because of 15 different misspellings.
  • pmg2000m
    pmg2000m Posts: 44 Member
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    Thanks everyone! Those links to the USDA Database are definitely handy! I do prefer to weigh my meat raw, and I guess I need to pay attention to the lists when they say they are cooked.
  • VeronicaA76
    VeronicaA76 Posts: 1,116 Member
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    I just go with the highest one. It gives me a buffer in case I underestimate my calories in or overestimate my exercise.

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