Calorie Count Discrepancies

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JuneBugSue
JuneBugSue Posts: 3
in Food and Nutrition
I just started with MFP and am logging religiously! But I have some confusion regarding calorie counts. When I look up an item, it seems there are so many different options that have been saved and entered by many different people. Are all these calorie counts verified by MFP? Like today, I wanted to enter "chicken wing, baked", and there were calorie counts anywhere from 30 to 300! They were all called something different, different portion sizes, etc....Is there a way to filter out just the ones that have been verified?

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  • OneBryteSmile
    OneBryteSmile Posts: 808 Member
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    Unfortunately no there isn't. This drives me crazy too so I verify a lot of my things outside of MFP and try to find the closest item in the database. Also, I try to stick with MFP added items (the ones without an asterisk) for things like fruits and veggies especially. But for the most part I always compare my nutrition labels with the database item before I add it to my diary.
  • nothankscake
    nothankscake Posts: 15
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    You can also "quick enter calories" if you can't find the right thing. But yeah, you'll have to measure your portion sizes pretty accurately or it won't help.
  • csoul27
    csoul27 Posts: 53
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    I have had that same problem. I usually leave myself with around a 100 calories left over for the day .Just in case something wasn't calculated correctly.
  • wickedcricket
    wickedcricket Posts: 1,246 Member
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    I don't believe this is an 'exact' science. Neither the calories in the food nor the calories burned are EXACT - and I don't beleive there is a way to do it exactly. It's a "ballpark" figure -
  • SarahLovesCheesecake
    SarahLovesCheesecake Posts: 520
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    Weigh your food and take the cals off the packaging. Easy!
  • Tracysteele
    Tracysteele Posts: 7 Member
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    I'm discovering it's better for me to round calories up if I don't know the exact brand of something I've eaten to the highest one listed and round calories burned in exercise down to the nearest 100 since there are lots of discrepancies out there. 2 weeks on program, 2.5 pounds shed.
  • anberlingasm
    anberlingasm Posts: 177
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    I don't believe this is an 'exact' science. Neither the calories in the food nor the calories burned are EXACT - and I don't beleive there is a way to do it exactly. It's a "ballpark" figure -

    This is how I see it, too. There's no way to say that you burn exactly 110 calories doing x, y or z so it's the same with your calories consumed, too. It's definitely just a ballpark figure. Use it as an example approximation to help you have an idea of what you're consuming/expending, but don't worry too much if you don't get it exactly right all the time.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    It is the one thing that MFP doesn't do so well - but if you spend a bit of time searching for the right item in the database, then that will be in your record of recent items. So if you eat the same things on a regular basis they'll be there in your own items.
  • JuneBugSue
    JuneBugSue Posts: 3
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    I've been off here for awhile due to having a rather extensive surgery, so I'm back to tracking now.....One thing I found out while I was off, was I have a hypothyroid condition, which could have been hindering my weight loss.

    Someone mentioned that they only choose the foods entered by MFP, and that those are without the asterick.....I don't see that on the mobile app, Am I missing something?

    Thanks!
  • Jay0hwhy
    Jay0hwhy Posts: 63
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    Double check on the calorieking website.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    I just started with MFP and am logging religiously! But I have some confusion regarding calorie counts. When I look up an item, it seems there are so many different options that have been saved and entered by many different people. Are all these calorie counts verified by MFP? Like today, I wanted to enter "chicken wing, baked", and there were calorie counts anywhere from 30 to 300! They were all called something different, different portion sizes, etc....Is there a way to filter out just the ones that have been verified?

    This is a free site, members input their own stuff much of the time. I shouldn't think MFP has the time to verify everything that has been added.

    You can do that as you go along, most stuff has the calories and ingredients added to the food packaging, other stuff such as eggs (70 calories) you can find with a little research. You wouldn't have to do that research every single time either, just the first time and then it will remain in your "recent foods" or any recipes you add.

    After a while you will know roughly how many calories something should have and will discard the ridiculous versions of the same foods.
  • MarilynC1956
    MarilynC1956 Posts: 25 Member
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    I agree with melaniecheeks. If you spend a little time looking in the database, you will find something that is pretty close, and then it will be in your recent tab if you eat it quite often. If a calorie count for a restaurant food doesn't look right to me, I go to their website to check it out. I also check the labels of the foods I buy, to make sure I find the right one in the database.

    This isn't an exact science though, and sometimes we will just have to take our best guess. I liked the idea of one poster who leaves about 100 calories each day in case something was calculated wrong.

    Good luck on your journey to health!
  • MarilynC1956
    MarilynC1956 Posts: 25 Member
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    I agree with melaniecheeks. If you spend a little time looking in the database, you will find something that is pretty close, and then it will be in your recent tab if you eat it quite often. If a calorie count for a restaurant food doesn't look right to me, I go to their website to check it out. I also check the labels of the foods I buy, to make sure I find the right one in the database.

    This isn't an exact science though, and sometimes we will just have to take our best guess. I liked the idea of one poster who leaves about 100 calories each day in case something was calculated wrong.

    Good luck on your journey to health!

    I forgot to mention that I also check to see how many confirmations by members each food item has, and I try to remember to confirm an item I know is correct. The higher the better.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    I agree with melaniecheeks. If you spend a little time looking in the database, you will find something that is pretty close, and then it will be in your recent tab if you eat it quite often. If a calorie count for a restaurant food doesn't look right to me, I go to their website to check it out. I also check the labels of the foods I buy, to make sure I find the right one in the database.

    This isn't an exact science though, and sometimes we will just have to take our best guess. I liked the idea of one poster who leaves about 100 calories each day in case something was calculated wrong.

    Good luck on your journey to health!

    I forgot to mention that I also check to see how many confirmations by members each food item has, and I try to remember to confirm an item I know is correct. The higher the better.

    I agree, it is so important to confirm the calories and the ingredients!
  • PinkEarthMama
    PinkEarthMama Posts: 987 Member
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    I try to find the closest thing possible, and enter my own recipes as needed. I also remember to check the package of what I've got, because things are just slightly different in Canada. I had been entering my baked beans as " Bushes' Vegetarian Baked beans " which had 500 or so ml.. only to find that here in Canada, the can only as 358 or something like that.
  • 2012asv
    2012asv Posts: 702 Member
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    Double check on the calorieking website.

    That's what i do...
  • emmab0902
    emmab0902 Posts: 2,337 Member
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    I believe it's this and the related discrepancies in the calories burned that are responsible for most people's plateaus!
  • JuneBugSue
    JuneBugSue Posts: 3
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    I primarily use the iphone MFP app since I work out of town alot.....don't see a way to confirm it there. But I do love the scanning option!

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