Macro Cals Don't Sum

jem

Hi there,

I am confused about the way cronometer is calculating macros.

For example my morning so far shows that I have consumed 690kcals (59.2g protein, 60.3g net carbs (87.4g total carbs), 20.9g fats).
If you calc manually 59.2x4 + 87.4x4 + 20.9x9 = 774.5kcals
Why is the cronometer calculation of calories so different? Nearly 100 cals seems larger than a simple rounding error.

It would really help to know since I am massing right now and have accurate data is really important.

Thanks so much!

Karen_Cronometer

Hi Jem,

Typically the nutrition data we have includes energy from all carbohydrates, so the calculation won't add up when using energy from net carbs only. We get a bit of energy from fibre and we don't want to under-report the amount of energy you're getting.

jem

Thank you for the response.

However, this doesn't quite answer my question. The cals above I did off of the total carbs. When I use net carbs this is also different from what is shown in cronometer.

59.2g protein
87.4g total carbs
60.3g net carbs
20.9g fat

Calcs using 4 cals/g protein/carb and 9cals/g fat with Total Carbs:
59.2x4 + 87.4x4 + 20.9x9 = 774.5kcals

Calcs using 4 cals/g protein/carb and 9cals/g fat with Net Carbs:
59.2x4 + 60.3x4 + 20.9x9 = 666.1kcals

Cronometer cals shows as 690kcals.

The cronometer number does not sum if you use total carbs or net carbs. How is the calorie consumption calculated in the app?

Thanks!

Karen_Cronometer

Oh I'm sorry! I missed the total carbs value you clearly posted above

There are a couple of other reasons the numbers may not match your calculation.

1. The calories per gram of each macronutrient you used (4/4/9 for protein/carbs/fat) are their average values. The amount of energy from each of the macronutrients in foods varies a little bit depending on what they are made out of. There are more accurate values for foods available in USDA and NCCDB data that we use.

2. If you are adding branded products to your diary; the macronutrient values on the nutrition label are rounded values that may not add up exactly to the calorie value on the label (also rounded).

jem

Thanks so much, Karen. That's very helpful!

KetoBrook

I've just started using cronometer - I've entered the meals that I am having today. I'm fasting from 18.00 yesterday to 12.30 today, For my lunch I had a bullet proof coffee (coffee, 1 tablespoon butter, 2 tablespoons cream, and half scoop of collagen). For my evening meal, I intend to have a chicken leg with cabbage, cauliflower and asparagus. That's it - but the protein calculation goes off the scale - over 80grams - I'm trying to stick to 70g fat, 20 g protein and 10g carbs. I took the bullet proof coffee off just to see what the calculations would be for just the evening meal and it was still very high for the protein - I'm obviously doing something wrong but its eluding me!!!

Karen_Cronometer

Hi KetoBrook,

Would you mind sending us a screenshot of the foods in your diary, we can see if there are any issues with the foods you've chosen.

I'd also check out the chicken leg - 75g of meat has about 20 g of protein; that's around 3/4 of a small leg. What serving size did you use?