How accurate is MFP

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Christopod
Christopod Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
I am curious about the accuracy of this site. I have read where the counts are lower than sites like SparkPeople and WW. From what I have seen, you can input your information into different sites and get different targets or goals fro each one. Then, the food counts vary from what the labels say. What are your thoughts on using MFP for a while and what conclusions have you reached? Have you had to adjust?
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Replies

  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
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    This site is very good and has worked very well for me. That being said, you need to double check the nutritional information in the database before using it. Sometimes the nutritional counts are off, and there are multiple entries for the same item (sometimes varying quite a bit in nutritional information).

    If you're diligent, this site works very well. I like that you can tailor this site for how much you actually exercise each day, not some vague activity level.
  • obsidianwings
    obsidianwings Posts: 1,237 Member
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    I think its close enough that it works well, but I wish people wouldn't tick the box to share the nutritional info with everyone else when they know they haven't filled in all the info. If you cant be bothered typing in macros that you don't care about, thats fine, but don't share the info like its correct!
  • wftiger
    wftiger Posts: 1,283 Member
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    I find that most calories are fairly good but all other stats (carbs, sodium, fats, etc.) are iffy at best. And the exercise is way off.

    I have the book "The Complete Book of Food Counts" that I verify all the food with when I add it. Takes more time but then I make sure I am eating the right amount.

    ** No, it is way off on at least the ones I use. No way I burned 773 calories on the elliptical tonight for 40 minutes.
  • michaelthorsonjr
    michaelthorsonjr Posts: 80
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    I agree the exercise is off but I think WAY off is an overstatement. I have found it to be slightly off exercise wise around 75-100 calories (max) on exercise calorie counts.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    It's about as accurate as a calculator. If you punch in the right numbers, you'll get the right numbers out.
  • Drastiic
    Drastiic Posts: 322 Member
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    It's only as accurate as you make it. As with every other site, you have do your own due diligence to ensure that what you are inputting is correct. Luckily, I enjoy this site because it is very easy to use and stores recently used foods, which makes it much more convenient and less time consuming than other sites that I have tried. Find some place you're comfortable with and then make your own informed decision based off your findings.
  • finchase
    finchase Posts: 174
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    Be careful with MFP's estimates of exercise calories burned. It's estimates for some exercises such as the elliptical trainer are ridiculously high. If I really ate back all the calories that it tells me I've burned, I'd be gaining weight, not losing. I use a heart rate monitor to determine how I'm really burning calories.

    That being said, MFP is a very good tool, and I've lost a lot of weight since I joined. For me, the discipline of having to log my food every day has helped me so much. Sometimes I will pass on things simply because I don't want to have to log it. I do try to double check the foods in the database, especially for meat where there seems to be such a wide range of calorie counts. When in doubt, I usually overestimate a portion for a higher calorie count, because if I cheat here, the only person I'm cheating is myself. :)
  • biddy249
    biddy249 Posts: 76 Member
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    Not exactly sure of the accuracy but it is very close and has worked for me. I would recommend to everyone who want to lose some wieght. All I know is it has worked for me and the price is right.
  • MyHighestPraise
    MyHighestPraise Posts: 87 Member
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    I agree the exercise is off but I think WAY off is an overstatement. I have found it to be slightly off exercise wise around 75-100 calories (max) on exercise calorie counts.

    Off in which direction? You are burning less than MFP says, or you are burning more?

    Also, I just started this today, so I've been doing a lot of scanning barcodes (it's amazing how they are truly on everything) and the numbers of everything scanned have been completely correct to the label on the package. Today I "made" a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich by scanning my bread, jelly, and PB. It was exactly right, even to the one T of peanut butter, instead of 2 from the label. In other words, it let me change it to half the serving size. (How does anyone eat a PB& J with TWO Tablespoons of peanut butter...WOW that is a lot! LOL)

    Anyway, I have also scanned my favorite tea bag boxes, popcorn, mac and cheese box, and they were all right.

    Then, the things I just looked up in the database matched with the label as well. The yoplait yogurt was right, and the almonds matched my bag. I have raw organic almonds and it had them already and correct.

    Today I have been quite impressed with the accuracy and astounding quantity of items to choose from (even my Keurig Kcups were already in there and they were correct, too!)

    It has really opened my eyes to the calorie intake I actually have being a good 500 calories more than I expected just mentally estimating.

    Catherine
  • kutterba
    kutterba Posts: 107 Member
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    I have found it works well when I actually measure the amounts and under estimate my exercise. I love this site because there's no pressure- I'm simply training myself to do what's good for me. Imagine that! After 60 years of diets, I'm finally learning to make eating an ordinary part of my life.
    :ohwell:
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
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    EVERYTHING is an estimate. I can't imagine actually measuring how many calories a person burns as BMR even (it would be sooooo complicated). The value in this site, or any other, is that you are paying attention to calories in and calories out and moving toward a better balance. There's definitely wiggle room, but you can't be 100% spot on all the time anyway, who could live like that?

    That said, I have had a lot of success. When I first joined my goal was a moderate weight gain during pregnancy. Gained a total of 17 lbs (which was right for where I started, my doctor was very happy), and I am now 10 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight (with about 10 more to go). When I log everything and stay within my calories most days (and when I go over, I don't completely blow it), I lose what I want to - I have been really good for the last 6 weeks and have lost 4 pounds. So yeah, it's accurate enough. It works (I'm set to 1/2 lb per week)

    ETA: As far as exercise being off, I go with what MFP gives me for most exercises, eat back my exercise calories, and am still losing just fine. Seems to be right, at least for me.
  • carolyns19
    carolyns19 Posts: 51
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    I use the recipe tool to make sure my homemade food is as accurate as possible. So rather than finding some generic "enchilada" entry, I enter everything based off of ingredients that have nutrition labels.

    As for exercise, I usually try to use other website's calculators to compare and adjust my time to match the actual burn. I don't really care if it says that I only went for 15 mins if the calorie burn matches what I did in 30 mins.
  • suaku
    suaku Posts: 45
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    Yeah, you have to check the accuracy of some of the crowd-sourced calorie counts (look at the number of confirmations to help you gauge accuracy), but I'm pretty impressed with the breadth of coverage and usually there's at least on entry that's correct.

    As far as exercise goes, I enter my own numbers, so don't use MFP's estimates.

    And as far as the overall program goes, it's pretty right on -- the calorie estimate it started me out at was the same as a nutritionist came up with for me.

    And the proof is in the weight loss. Good luck! :)
  • erogers85
    erogers85 Posts: 32
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    I use the recipe tool to make sure my homemade food is as accurate as possible. So rather than finding some generic "enchilada" entry, I enter everything based off of ingredients that have nutrition labels.
    I agree, I cook homemade meals 90% of the time so it is a bit of a pain to always have to input the recipe, but it really is worth it because you know the exact calorie/fat/carb/protein breakdown.
  • obsidianwings
    obsidianwings Posts: 1,237 Member
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    the recipes took awhile at first, but now I have heaps of usuals inputted, I just put in any new ones at the beginning of the week, and adjust amounts etc if I need to as I cook.
  • cspong
    cspong Posts: 260 Member
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    I bought a cheap Heart Rate Monitor that had great reviews at Walmart to track calories burned and I put in my own nutritional info (luckily, I eat a lot of the same foods regularly), so its entirely accurate for me... But if you're just looking to toss in the first result you come up with, probably not very.

    I guess its all about how you use it.
  • OSC_ESD
    OSC_ESD Posts: 752 Member
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    ~ It's as accurate as you want it to be ... use an HRM for exercise ... read your labels, create your own database and check comparisons ... all the leg work makes for an easy diary in the long run.

    Generally speaking ... the exercise can sometimes be over and under estimated .... if you desire real numbers .... invest in an HRM or use three websites to compare your stats.

    It truly is about how much time your willing to use to get the right numbers ... you have to decide if it's worth it. I have been using this site for over a year and I find it very useful ... but, it's not for everybody. :flowerforyou:
  • MyHighestPraise
    MyHighestPraise Posts: 87 Member
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    As I skimmed over the responses I see a couple mentioning a recipe tool. I need to learn how to use that! I cook mostly and from scratch mostly, hopefully that will make it much easier to accurately keep up with our meals.

    Thanks to those who mentioned that tool! I'm going to check it out now!
  • dragonfliesglitter
    dragonfliesglitter Posts: 5
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    I'm happy with the accuracy for food but for exercise, I just adjust it.
    On the elliptical trainer I'm on there for 30mins & the machine tells me 350 calories, MFP says 421... slight difference!!!
    I change it - Simple & no worries!!

    On a whole, I have loved MFP for everything & now after nearly a year, I'm so close to my goal weight I can taste it!!!!
    I have my Mum now with MFP & she's loving it - she's joined only a week ago... hopefully she'll lose just as much as me...
    I am religious with EVERYDAY entries too - this is the key to my success... good luck everyone :)
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
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    As for exercise, I usually try to use other website's calculators to compare and adjust my time to match the actual burn. I don't really care if it says that I only went for 15 mins if the calorie burn matches what I did in 30 mins.
    You can change the calorie number to anything you want.

    That said, elliptical is a tough example to get a single number per minute because there are way too many variables to accurately estimate in the database. Did you set it to level 1 or level 14? How many strides per minute? Did you use the arm handles to pump, or just hold on to the rails?

    I use a HRM, and running, biking, and a level 1 yoga class are all pretty spot on between the database and what my polar says. More vigorous yoga classes, and the aforementioned elliptical, can vary much more.

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