MFP Calories adding wrong?

oz_pomy
oz_pomy Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey every one i just signed up to this site and it seems to be a pretty handy tool to have. Theres only one thing that I've picked up on or possibly im missing something... Now i know theres 4 calories to a gram carbs and protein and theres 9 calories to a gram of fat. However when I add up my calories compared to the MFP calories it seems the MFP adding is a bit generous. For example i put in 2 egg whites which is 7 grams of protein so x that by 4 which is 28calories however MFP came up with something above 30. Now i know this sounds very minimal but its doing it on every single meal that i add in which then becomes more than minimal. Am i missing something here or is MFP adding up wrong?

Replies

  • MichelleF81
    MichelleF81 Posts: 98 Member
    All of the foods and their values are input by users.....kinda like a wikipedia for dieters lol. Thats why when you type in a search for a food in the database it can come up with dozens of variations. You just need to search until you find the one that matches or create your own.
  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member
    It's rare that a food will have an exact number of anything, so the company printing the label will round -- if it says 4g of protein, it might actually have 3.7g, or it might have 4.4g. You never know. But the calories are calculated off of the actual number, not the rounded value. Does that make sense? That can sometimes account for the discrepancy.

    Also, MFP doesn't calculate that stuff. All the info in every field is input by users, and usually those users have copied the information off a label. If you find an obvious incorrect entry, you can edit it if you have correct information, but please only edit the entry if you are reading the information off the label. Don't substitute your own calculations, even if you feel they're probably more accurate.
  • GreenLeafCat
    GreenLeafCat Posts: 7 Member
    You can't just multiply by the number of grams of protein either and get a correct number. I use a USDA food database software to check, and it says 1 large egg white is 16 calories, and 3.6 grams of protein. So 2 of them is 32 calories, and 7.2 grams of protein. and it's going to vary by the size of the egg also!
  • BeachyNan
    BeachyNan Posts: 3 Member
    Ty all for your helpful questions and responses! I am focusing so much better with all the information.

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