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  1. #1
    Registered User 3030545's Avatar
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    Macros don't add up

    Hi, can anyone explain to me why calculating calories from macros may not equal the stated calories on a food packaging.

    For example a 425 can of SPC baked beans (salt reduced):

    3g of fat = 27cals (3x9)
    48.5g of carbs = 194cals (48.5*4)
    20.4g of protein = 81.6cals (20.4*4)

    total = 302.6 cals

    However the can states there is 349 cals.

    So why such a large discrepancy?

    Cheers.
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  2. #2
    Registered User Goody_Shop's Avatar
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    fiber content maybe ???
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  3. #3
    kitten scars Suffering's Avatar
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    That's weird. Could be fiber as above poster mentioned.

    If I were you I'd follow the 349 cal value, just to be on the safe side of things.
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    ( •_•)>⌐■-■ (⌐■_■) lee__d's Avatar
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    that is odd, post a pic of the label if u can.
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    Registered User 3030545's Avatar
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    I don't have a camera on me so I can't post a photo at this stage.

    I have a can of SPC baked beans cheesy cheddar and cross checked it with the nutritional info from the the calorieking database (calorieking dot com dot au). It is the same. And the same discrepancy appears.

    I also found the same problem in birds eye thai stir fry veggies (cross checked packet against calorieking database).

    The calorieking database shows % calorie breakdown, which is accurate for the calories derived from macro calculation, but not for the calories stated on the packaging.
    I also checked a competing brand of baked beans and found there to be no discrepancy, which I would claim rules out fibre as the culprit.
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    Registered User 3030545's Avatar
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    I have found a similar thread to this in the archive, called "nutrition label mismatch".

    It discussed how manufacturers may deduct calories due to fibre from the total since we cannot digest it. This would lead to a lower calories stated than calculated from macros. But I have the opposite problem, the macro calculation value is lower than the stated calories
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  7. #7
    Registered User Goody_Shop's Avatar
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    it is because the manufacturer takes into account the fiber calories. In my opinion there is approx. 10 gr of fiber per the listed serving amount. For the carbs, they don't list that in the label.

    hope this helps with your calculations

    cheers
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    Registered User Cinekydo's Avatar
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    I posted a thread about this very thing a few days ago. Forget fiber content, the real reason is food companies use every rounding up/down loophole to essentially lie about their nutrition facts. If there is 3.49g of fat they post it as 3. Don't trust food labels.
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    Registered User 3030545's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by Goody_Shop View Post
    it is because the manufacturer takes into account the fiber calories. In my opinion there is approx. 10 gr of fiber per the listed serving amount. For the carbs, they don't list that in the label.

    hope this helps with your calculations

    cheers
    Let me see if I understand...

    * Fibre is a carb, and they have excluded it from the total carb value ... but ...
    * The calories from fibre have been included in the total calorie value ... despite ...
    * Fibre being indigestible rendering its calories irrelevant


    Why oh why oh why oh why.
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  10. #10
    Registered User 3030545's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by Cinekydo View Post
    I posted a thread about this very thing a few days ago. Forget fiber content, the real reason is food companies use every rounding up/down loophole to essentially lie about their nutrition facts. If there is 3.49g of fat they post it as 3. Don't trust food labels.

    I can't see how rounding can make this 45 cal difference. A 10 cal difference I could understand.

    45 cals = 11g protein = 11g carbs = 5g fat

    I rounded the values up for the baked beans (per 100g), then multiplied by 4.25 to get the 425g can total (compounding the rounding error), but still come up 20 calories short.
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    Originally Posted by 3030545 View Post
    I can't see how rounding can make this 45 cal difference. A 10 cal difference I could understand.

    45 cals = 11g protein = 11g carbs = 5g fat

    I rounded the values up for the baked beans (per 100g), then multiplied by 4.25 to get the 425g can total (compounding the rounding error), but still come up 20 calories short.
    I think your too worried about what the label says. Id just go with what they put as the cals because that is the number that is most important to the FDA. They could care less about the macro numbers, since everyone in this day and age is only worried about the total.
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    Originally Posted by bbavender View Post
    I think your too worried about what the label says. Id just go with what they put as the cals because that is the number that is most important to the FDA. They could care less about the macro numbers, since everyone in this day and age is only worried about the total.
    I disagree. They calories are BASED ON THE MACROS. They don't use a bomb calorimeter to measure the calories in the food.

    Originally Posted by Suffering View Post
    If I were you I'd follow the 349 cal value, just to be on the safe side of things.
    I would NOT follow that. If you're tracking macros, then track macros. Not to mention that "safe side" would not be all that safe if you're bulking. You may end up short on calories.
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