I have been calculating my eating for a while now. I also read about the calories in proteins, fat and carbs. So i tested by adding them up (9calories in fat, 4 in carbs and pro), and compared the result to the calorie amount informed in the package. I’t didn’t came out the same at all, it fell too short. I double checked my calculations, there might have been a mistake in the package information, which made me think:
Should i just calculate my intake of the macros (pro, carbs and fat are called macros, right?). Or am i missing something in here?
They round on the package. Being off 10 calories or so isn’t a big deal, when you’re dealing with 9 and 4 you rarely end up on an even 5 or 10, which is what labels show. And if you subtract fiber in your calculations for calories I don’t think packages do. It’s highly unlikely they made a mistake on the packaging
The FDA sets rules regarding how macros and cals are to be determined by food producers. A small disparity between the two (ie, the listed cals don’t exactly match the cals calculated from the macros) is not uncommon.
Re what you should do: Pick a ‘counting style’ and be consistent. If you want to count cals via the number listed on the package, go for it. If you’d rather count the macros and calculate the totals cals based on them, that’s fine too. The key is to be consistent on a day-to-day basis, so you can reliably track how changes in food intake relate to changes in your bodyweight. (Just like you always want to use the same BW scale, weigh yourself at the same time of day, wearing a similar amount of clothing, etc.)
Consistent eating is the biggest problem i have considering nutrition, my shifting working hours and hobbies make it a bit challenging sometimes.
This cleared that calorie confusion, thanks.
Do you have an example of a food whose nutrition label is incorrect?
[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:
Do you have an example of a food whose nutrition label is incorrect?
[/quote]
Every damn coconut milk can ever. Seriously, I have seen some that were like 80 calories off when you added up macros.