Why do my “Calories Consumed” not seem to match the grams consumed under my “Macronutrient Targets”?

The numbers above don’t make sense. I’ve consumed 13.1g of protein, and that’s more than 51 calories. And I’ve consumed 4.7g carbs, but that’s not 61 calories. The fat calories seem close-ish. What conversion factors are you using? This seems to be throwing off my ratios.

Best Answer

  • Hilary
    Answer ✓

    The calories and the macronutrient values will be a bit off because each food is different in the actual amount of energy (calories) it contains.
    It is generally accepted that carbs and protein are 4 kcals per gram, and fat is 9 kcals per gram - They are not - They are close but there is better data on some foods and we use that in the calculations for the macronutrients.

    For example, some carbs are 3.8, 4.1, 4.3 kcals per gram etc. Same is true for protein and fats. That is why there will be a discrepancy, when our data is more accurate then the 4-4-9 crude estimation.

    Hilary
    cronometer.com
    As always, any and all postings here are covered by our T&Cs:
    https://forums.cronometer.com/discussion/27/governing-terms-and-disclaimer

Answers

  • illmortal
    edited November 2023

    Shouldn’t it be the responsibility of Cronometer to identify what items have how many calories for each macro?


    It’s kind of crazy that you’re being more accurate while not showing us the accurate values.


    If I have a set number of daily calories to meet (which are dynamic, days I train vs days I don’t train), regardless of the goal, so too are the macros important.


    For example, the days I train I may NEED 450g of carbs, while the days I don’t train I may only need 400g of carbs, that’s a 200 calorie difference.


    This app is then claiming that certain items may actually be less or more calories per gram of protein, carbs and or fats. You’re putting us into a guessing game more so than allowing us to be more accurate about our food/meal choices.


    I need to hit a certain number of protein, carbs and fats that equal to the total daily calories. How is it possible I’m supposed to hit, for example, 200g of protein when my calories are already maxed out and I still have another 30-40-80g of protein to fit in for the day.


    We need to know what foods are the actual calories of each macro, otherwise this app is useless without that vital piece of information.

    Surely your team sees this as a problem but apparently neglect to fix it. You have posts/concerns since 2019, it’s 2023… and just recently this started to occur in my app. I even rechecked all my settings to make sure it wasn’t a mistake on my part but the fact of the matter is, it is your app that is neglecting to provide the details we need in order to make the proper choice in foods and their measurements.

    We need a solution for visibility/transparency. What is your team going to do to resolve this?

    How are we supposed to properly log our meals, meeting the allotted daily calories and the macros within said daily calories?


    Please provide us the solution if one already exists or tell your dev team and your change management team to make the appropriate changes for the next update if a solution doesn’t already exist.


    And do NOT tell us it your customer’s responsibility to figure it out, this is an issue you have created and still have not solved from what I’ve examined.