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MyFitnessPal

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It might be worth people contributing 'quirk's etc. they have found with using this popular tool. Here is mine for starters..

I have found quite a few examples, not surprisingly, of foods where nutrients have been added automatically, e.g. sodium to white rice, which is not very helpful if you don't normally add salt to rice and wish to track sodium. Conversely, a lot of nutrients are missing. For example, if you select cheddar cheese, you may find it has no calcium or potassium, whereas, if you choose another cheddar cheese, it will. It is easier and quicker to check the nutritional contents when you have found the food and before you add it to your meal. If you are surprised at not seeing a nutrient you expected you may want to look for another entry for the same type of food. There's no way of knowing which selection is the right one, but I choose the one which seems to have nutrients in it that I would expect it to have. I'm talking in particular about potassium, fibre, vitamins A and C, calcium and iron. Hope this makes sense after a day in the sun!!!
 
I don't pay that much attention to the potassium, sodium, Ca and iron so much because the nutritional data is incomplete. If it's added to a list of ingredients on the packet, it will be on the database, but if it's not it won't be.

I won't get any Ca content for Lactofree milk, but I will get it for Alpro Soya Light, but we all know milk contains calcium and I think it's even listed on the carton. I can't remember the details but either Tesco's or Sainsbury's free range eggs shows the sodium content but the other one doesn't—but they're both the same thing. I assume that eggs have an inherent sodium content, but TBH I don't pay that much attention to it as I don't think it's reliable enough for micronutrients. If I had to watch my sodium intake I wouldn't rely on it at all.

The barcode scanner throws up some interesting results. I scanned some frozen veg, possibly Sainsburys brand, and it came up as Waitrose brand. Same NVs though. Tesco's apples scan came up as Aldi. How dare they suggest we shop at Aldi!!! ;-)


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Don't know if you seen Food Unwrapped about 2-3 weeks ago, they were investigating what goes into cheese slices that you find in fast food restaurants and burger vans, apparently they don't need to contain cheese and they are mainly made up of vegetable oil :shock:

The other feature was how does weight watchers bread contain fewer calories than other brands of bread, surprise surprise they are smaller slices so obviously contain fewer calories.....and carbs for that matter :).... best of it all they are smaller loaves and nearly double the price, if someone is counting calories to lose weight then they'd be better off buying a standard loaf and cutting a piece off it :lol:
 
Agree, WW bread is probably like the old Slimcea brand which had tiny slices of bread. We occasionally had to buy it when I was a kid when the Co-op had sold out of bread. It was rubbish. Fortunately I never go anywhere near McDonalds et al, but everyone knows those fast food places sell low quality, high fat rubbish. I don't need to watch a TV programme to shock me, but if it makes a few people question what they consume then it's a good thing if people watch it—assuming they can get away from their mental junk food of trashy TV.


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Agree regarding McDonalds being trash in general-safest option being the salad in a rush..
 
janeecee said:
I don't pay that much attention to the potassium, sodium, Ca and iron so much because the nutritional data is incomplete. If it's added to a list of ingredients on the packet, it will be on the database, but if it's not it won't be.

I won't get any Ca content for Lactofree milk, but I will get it for Alpro Soya Light, but we all know milk contains calcium and I think it's even listed on the carton. I can't remember the details but either Tesco's or Sainsbury's free range eggs shows the sodium content but the other one doesn't—but they're both the same thing. I assume that eggs have an inherent sodium content, but TBH I don't pay that much attention to it as I don't think it's reliable enough for micronutrients. If I had to watch my sodium intake I wouldn't rely on it at all.

The barcode scanner throws up some interesting results. I scanned some frozen veg, possibly Sainsburys brand, and it came up as Waitrose brand. Same NVs though. Tesco's apples scan came up as Aldi. How dare they suggest we shop at Aldi!!! ;-)


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Hey! I use LIDL, the poor man's ALDI, but wear a hoodie to avoid being recognised. My Waitrose is the 'last resort' for exotic stuff when I have to wear a blue wig. :***:
 
janeecee said:
Agree, WW bread is probably like the old Slimcea brand which had tiny slices of bread. We occasionally had to buy it when I was a kid when the Co-op had sold out of bread. It was rubbish. Fortunately I never go anywhere near McDonalds et al, but everyone knows those fast food places sell low quality, high fat rubbish. I don't need to watch a TV programme to shock me, but if it makes a few people question what they consume then it's a good thing if people watch it—assuming they can get away from their mental junk food of trashy TV.
Click to expand...


Slimcea Bread :D

That brings back memories when we were kids and my Mum was forever on a diet, she would eat this bread when the rest of the family were tucking into fresh crusty bread, it never looked very appetising or even resembled bread!

I don't like McDonalds either and prefer KFC if I'm to eat that sort of food, the Food Unwrapped programme is good and may make people think twice about what they eat, that said like most things eating foods like cheese slices is only a problem if your eating them all the time, if I were to stop off at a burger van you get bet your life I'll get one with a cheese slice on top..... :twisted:
 
janeecee said:
Nothing wrong with Lidl, and I wouldn't be surprised if MFP came up with a Waitrose item instead ;-)


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Ha! I have found some LIDL items on there. LIDL varies by location. The Eastbourne one is posher than our local one. It's the fruit & veg. which can be a bit 'dodgy' in ours but everything else seem OK.
 
I have never eaten KFC in my life and I don't think I've ever bought anything from a burger van. But then, I've had my share of rather hostile lardy women making sarky comments about what I eat whilst they'd be almost bragging about what they had from the kebab shop. They were all full of the "I'm not having the government telling me what to eat, if I want to eat **** then it's my right" etc etc. It's amazing how some people defend their stupidity as a human right.

MyFitnessPal is a great app in spite of its short comings. I pay attention to the fat/protein/carb balance. I'm almost always well over my limits for Vit C, Vit A and fibre but I agree the micronutrients are not reliable enough. I don't even pay much attention to the calories. I just go by my appetite although I am mindful of the carbs and how they impact on BG levels.


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