Inaccuracies in MFP data....????

Hi

Trying to keep the macros at 65:35 for a keto diet.

Finding ENORMOUS disparity between the data from the MFP dtabase compared to the USDA db

Ie: Roast lamb - 100g
MFP:
Homemade - Roast Lamb, 100 g cooked 200 0 10 22 0
200 cal with 10g F and 22g P
Firstly...the #'s dont gel using 9cal/g for fat and 4c/g for P
Even so...thats a ratio of about 50:50

The USDA
Lamb, domestic, leg, sirloin half, separable lean and fat, trimmed to 1/4" fat, choice, cooked, roasted
Calories 292(1223 kJ)
From Carbohydrate 0.4(1.7 kJ)
From Fat 186(779 kJ)
From Protein 105(440 kJ)
From Alcohol~(0.0 kJ)

Firstly note the much larger calorie count
And that ratio is ~64:36

Any ideas what one can do and Im assuming the USDA is the primo data?

Replies

  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,816 Member
    MFP data is user entered. So there will be plenty of inaccuracies. "homemade" means it was probably created by a person who was cooking their own recipe. So possibly it was accurate for them, or possibly not.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    As was said, MFP data is user inputed. Your best bet is to double check with the label on whatever you're eating or the USDA's website. Do note, however, that there are some inconsistencies within the USDA's website as well for what is essentially seemingly the exact same food, so really it's all an estimate.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,224 Member
    If you include “USDA” in your mfp search, you’ll do better to match the USDA entries (as there should be at least one proper match).

    Most of the entries in the mfp database are user entered-some are accurate, some are not. The good news is that there are likely 187 entries in the mfp database for roast lamb so at least one of them is probably correct.

    Last-avoid using mfp entries that say things like “homemade”, “my”, or have names/initials, seem like they might pertain to a recipe or include additional items, etc. These are nearly always user entered recipes (or things like “turkey sandwich”) and unless you know what ingredients were included, it’s probably not going to be accurate for you.

    The mfp database is enormous-which is fantastic because in 8 years, I’ve only had to enter a food maybe 3 times. But it’s enormous-which means a lot of duplicate entries and a lot of entries for items in multiple countries (with different info in each) and/or updated nutrition info (products can change over the years) and updated nutrition labels and people that may be logging just X, y or z nutrients and all kinds of other variants. So it takes some digging sometimes.
  • APPYMAMA22
    APPYMAMA22 Posts: 11 Member
    Newbie here. I have 2 similar questions. 1) we have the option of using the product bar code for nutritional info. I've done it twice. BOTH time the values poplulated were waaaaay off what is on the nutritional label. Anybody else run into that? and 2) What us up with the "if every day were like today" algorithm? It seems to just pick a number out of a hat. I can eat the same things on two separate days snd get two different predictions. The app has me at 1200 calories a day to lose a pound a week (haha not at my age,) but when I hit my 1200, it tells me I'll be 3 pounds down in 5 weeks. Mind-boggling!
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,224 Member
    APPYMAMA22 wrote: »
    Newbie here. I have 2 similar questions. 1) we have the option of using the product bar code for nutritional info. I've done it twice. BOTH time the values poplulated were waaaaay off what is on the nutritional label. Anybody else run into that? and 2) What us up with the "if every day were like today" algorithm? It seems to just pick a number out of a hat. I can eat the same things on two separate days snd get two different predictions. The app has me at 1200 calories a day to lose a pound a week (haha not at my age,) but when I hit my 1200, it tells me I'll be 3 pounds down in 5 weeks. Mind-boggling!

    1. The bar code is just a shortcut for typing in the product name for a search. It doesn’t make the results any different. I have scanned cookies and had them come up as pork chops. I’ve scanned hot dogs and had them come up as yogurt. All entries are user entered. Even bar codes-someone just scanned that bar code and entered that info.

    I find the bar code scanner less likely to give me a good result because if there’s a match, that’s what comes up. If I type in the product name, I’ll get the closest 194959956 items that match-and there’s a good likelihood that at least one of them is correct.

    2. The “if every day is like today” is a simple calculation. It takes what you burned today (based on your base level of activity plus any exercise you entered) and subtracts what you entered for food-then multiplies that difference by 35 (days in 5 weeks) then divides by 3500 (calories per pound). Then subtract from your latest weight entry and boom! That’s what you’d weigh if every single day was exactly like today.

    Something to remember is that 1200 is the lowest you can eat and still get the nutrients your body needs to be healthy. So mfp will not ever give you a number below 1200. It doesn’t mean that 1200 will produce the weight loss rate you choose.

    For example-without exercise, I burn 1600 calories a day. I’m set to lose 1 pound a week. That should be a 500 calorie/day difference. Which WOULD be 1100. I can’t get the nutrients I need in 1100 calories-so mfp sets me to 1200. Which is slightly less than 1 pound per week. Losing more than that isn’t a reasonable expectation for me - nor is it healthy.

    So if you’re at 1200 and losing 3 pounds in 5 weeks, then you’re also not able to safely and realistically lose more than that.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    edited December 2019
    Unfortunately, the "verified" green check marks in the MFP database are used for both user-created entries with sufficient upvotes and admin-created entries that MFP pulled from the USDA database (no upvotes needed). To find admin entries for whole foods, I get the syntax from the USDA database and paste that into MFP.

    Note: any MFP entry that includes "USDA" was user entered.

    For packaged foods, I verify the label against what I find in MFP. (Alas, you cannot just scan with your phone and assume what you get is correct.)

    So for your example, the USDA listing "Lamb, domestic, leg, sirloin half, separable lean and fat, trimmed to 1/4" fat, choice, cooked, roasted" is what you paste into MFP and that was the first result I got.