How to Track Macros (When Food Labels Can Be Wrong By 20 Percent)

How do you track macros when food labels can be wrong by 20 percent?

You've heard food labels can be off by 20 percent, so you might wonder why you'd weigh anything to the gram. I look at what the FDA rule says, what researchers found when they tested food in a lab, and which error in your food log matters most.

You'll learn:

• What the 20% rule on food labels says, and which direction the error can run
• Lab results on restaurant meals and packaged snacks versus their labels
• How much people miss in their food logs when a gold-standard method checks them
• The 3 tracking rules that make your errors cancel out, plus the foods worth weighing
• One change to when you log that lined up with more people reaching real weight loss

If you want your food log to work even when the numbers aren't perfect, hit play.

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Timestamps:

0:00 - Precise tracking and the label error claim
3:45 - The FDA 20% label rule and rounding
7:54 - Protein that's easy to log consistently
9:49 - Lab tests on label accuracy
12:49 - Human logging error and doubly labeled water
20:40 - Calibration, bias, and noise in your log
23:00 - How to track macros with 3 rules
27:33 - Restaurant meals and fiber on labels
30:35 - Bonus: the best time to log food

Episode Resources:

• MacroFactor, code WITSANDWEIGHTS for a free 2-week trial. You can support the show if you use our affiliate code!
• Episode 510: Jenny's tracking lesson after decades of dieting
• Episode 511: belly fat after 40, plus tracking your trend weight and waist
• Episode 497: why a calculator shouldn't set your calories and macros

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 📊 Track your nutrition with MacroFactor and use code WITSANDWEIGHTS for a 2-week free trial 

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Educational content only, not medical advice.