same foods with different calorie count

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sugaraddict63
sugaraddict63 Posts: 26 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am curious what others do when they add a food they have eaten and there are 10 different listings with totally different calories listed. How do you know which one to use?
For example you put taco salad and there are different listings and one is 350 and one is 600.....anyone else got any ideas? What do you do?

Replies

  • crystal_sapphire
    crystal_sapphire Posts: 1,205 Member
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    it'd be a better solution to add the ingredients as you put them in. Unless it's a prepackaged meal that lists it, entering in say lettuce, ground beef, etc is a better alternative because you know what's in your salad, but you don't know what differences were in the salads that differ between 600 and 300 calories
  • DawniesLife
    DawniesLife Posts: 157
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    it'd be a better solution to add the ingredients as you put them in. Unless it's a prepackaged meal that lists it, entering in say lettuce, ground beef, etc is a better alternative because you know what's in your salad, but you don't know what differences were in the salads that differ between 600 and 300 calories

    I agree completely. I list every ingredient I use with every meal now to be sure that I am correct on my calorie calculations!
  • Healthyby30
    Healthyby30 Posts: 1,349 Member
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    Definitely do as the above poster mentioned. If you just put 'taco salad' you have no idea whats in those recipes. You can even enter yours in as a recipe so you if you make it again with those measurements you don't have to enter it all in twice.
  • merrillfoster
    merrillfoster Posts: 855 Member
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    Even then it's not always accurate--for example, I made shrimp tonite. I estimated based on the calorie count per serving/ounce in the package divided by the total ounces in the package, etc--but trying to just enter 'shrimp, 6 oz (my best guess)' and you get all kinds of answers...that's the one downfall of this site. If it's not prepackaged with the info on it, it's hard to know if the info you are getting is accurate.
  • Healthyby30
    Healthyby30 Posts: 1,349 Member
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    You could google for the nutrition info then or find the ones that don't have stars. These are the ones that MFP put in, not users. They're probably more accurate.
  • KokomoJoe
    KokomoJoe Posts: 435
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    If its prepackaged and I can't find info (I bought a quinoa and bean salad at whole foods today because somehow my homemade quinoa and bean salad didn't make it into my cooler I will google nutrition info on it. I couldn't find that salad so I kept my info there. I did find nutrition info on some of the whole foods sushi, which I added in as I will probably get that at some point. I don't feel bad going there for food since it's a 40 minute walk for me (20 there and 20 back). Any excess will fall into my exercise calories.
  • sugaraddict63
    sugaraddict63 Posts: 26 Member
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    Well does anyone use the calorie count of the food already there? I personally dont want to go through every single ingredient and weigh and measure my cheese and ham just to eat a sandwich.
  • SweetMommaof21981
    SweetMommaof21981 Posts: 22
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    I have an issue with the takeout food take Subway for an example. I looked for "Subway Flatbread" on here and I get Calories 220 Sodium 450 mg
    Total Fat 5 g Potassium 0 mg
    Saturated 1 g Total Carbs 38 g
    Polyunsaturated 0 g Dietary Fiber 2 g
    Monounsaturated 0 g Sugars 2 g
    Trans 0 g Protein 7 g
    Cholesterol 0 mg
    Vitamin A 0% Calcium 8%
    Vitamin C 0% Iron 15%
    BUT! If I check http://www.nutritionix.com/subway/nutrition-calculator
    I get something different
    Calories
    230.0
    Calories from Fat
    45.0
    % Daily Value*
    Total Fat
    5.0g
    8%
    Saturated Fat
    1.0g
    5%
    Trans Fat
    0.0g
    Cholesterol
    0.0mg
    0%
    Sodium
    480.0mg
    20%
    Total Carbohydrates
    41.0g
    14%
    Dietary Fiber
    2.0g
    8%
    Sugars
    0.0g
    Protein
    8.0g
    Vitamin A 0.0% • Vitamin C 0.0%
    Calcium 8.0% • Iron 15.0%
    Doesn't make sense to me why they are different. Are people inputting these incorrectly when adding to the site?
    Sorry for the long message.... Can someone explain this too me LOL
  • catpoe728
    catpoe728 Posts: 1 Member
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    One of my issues is with the take out food as well...seem to be wide discrepancies. Just looked up similar Dominos Brooklyn style pizza and there was at least a 150+ difference between the two entries! Could make or break my night! I mean we ALL want to lean towards the LOWER calorie entry, right? But I don't want to be sabotaging myself either.
  • garnet1483
    garnet1483 Posts: 249 Member
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    For things like fast food, I cross reference what MFP has in its database vs. what the chain has on their website in their nutrition info. What it comes down to is that neither is going to be 100% accurate, because the food is made by people, not machines, and one may be more heavy handed than the next. But I figure it's a good basis. I try to put my own recipes in whenever I can, even before I cook, because I use the site to help me figure portions and with that, plan my week.
  • mallory3411
    mallory3411 Posts: 839 Member
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    Reasons...

    1) Portion sizes vary by size of package
    2) People can input the information wrong
    3) We have members from Canada, US, UK etc and the nutrional information of some foods in these areas vary.
    4) If someone added their own recipe than they may have included things you didn't or you have added things that they didn't

    Best thing to do is measure and enter things on your own based on what you have and put into your meal. Yes, it may take a bit of extra time but at least you know the calorie amounts will be right and you won't be counting too much or too little.

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