Nutrition Information Is Not 100% Accurate … but Don’t Worry About It
Most people obsessively count the calories they eat during the day when trying to lose weight. While calorie information is easy to find and many people depend on, it turns out that the calorie information posted in restaurants and even on the back of grocery packaging is not even accurate .
Do not panic.
Even if you memorize the exact macronutrient composition of a freshly eaten Chipotle burrito, nutritional information found in restaurants and even frozen and packaged foods can deviate (plus or minus) by up to 25% from what is stated on the label. Attack this to different serving sizes, food quality, food source, individual ingredients in packaged foods (such as food mix), and good old human error, to name just a few.
In addition, some bias is to be expected due to how the energy of carbohydrates, fats and proteins is measured using the so-called bomb calorimetry . This cool method analyzes the heat energy generated by food when it literally explodes in an airtight container. It is interesting to note that the results for each of the macronutrients are slightly higher than we are usually told:
- Carbohydrates: 4.2 calories Instead of 4 cal.
- Fat: 9.4 calories Instead of 9 cal.
- Protein: 5.7 kcal instead of 4 kcal.
The discrepancy here is primarily due to the difference in energy that can actually be used by the human body, as individual absorption and digestion rates can vary (and what your body does not absorb will be pushed through … um … the opposite hole).
That said, it might be inconvenient for those following their tracking closely, but Bodybuilding.com (full disclosure, I am the editor) insists that this is not a major issue as long as you are consistent . If you’re still concerned, you can reduce the levels of confusion and variables by eating the same foods every day.
Remember, inaccuracies in tracking (either due to individual error or mislabeling of nutritional information) are inevitable.
How accurate is calorie counting? | Bodybuilding.com