MyFitnessPal (MFP) Guide
The benefits of MyFitnessPal are:
App on your phone
Barcode scanner option for packaged foods
Disadvantages of MyFitnessPal are:
Huge list of food entries
Huge amount of incorrect data
Gamifies tracking rather than encouraging healthy behaviours
Exercise and activity trackers can be linked which changes targets and causes confusion
A quick tip for video quality for the following guide.
If you are finding it difficult to see the details, you can adjust the quality of the playback.
Click on the cog on the bottom right corner of the video and select the largest number to watch with improved quality.
Click on the little square in the bottom right corner to watch the video full screen.
Video List (click the title to skip to the video):
Explanation videos to get you set-up and ready:
Setting your Calorie and macro targets
Checking your targets are realistic
Creating up your MFP account
Ignoring exercise in MFP
Changing your calorie and macro targets in MFP
Adding your fibre goal to MFP and tracking fibre intake
Explanation videos to get you started:
Helpful extras and FAQs:
+ What are the most common mistakes with MPF?
- Changing your lifestyle to fit numbers instead of letting the numbers reflect your lifestyle. The numbers are great for portion control, however there is always the potential to get hyper-obsessive over numbers.
- Entering exercise in MFP or linking your activity tracker
- Selecting random meals which sound close enough, rather than entering ingredients.
You can watch a video about these under "Helpful Extras and FAQs" and read more about each of these here - The 3 Biggest MFP Mistakes
+ My macros are all under but over in Calories. Am I making a big mistake?
It might matter but it depends.
Firstly, for nearly every goal, the total Calorie number is the priority and then comes protein + plants/fibre. Exact numbers of carbs and fats only matter in specific cases - typically high level athletic goals.
If we are talking a few Cals over (maybe less than 50) and macros are close, then we can just put it down to labelling adjustments and averaging, often the information on labels is averaged and the maths won't quite add up (but it will be close).
This issue can happen if you "quick add" Calories in MFP. If you do this, then don't pay too much attention to your macros that day.
Or it could be an issue with sugar alcohols, which have calories but are not listed under carbs, fats or protein - they are just added to the total calories of a product. Sugar alcohols are used in a lot of "diet" type sweets or sweets advertised as "low carb" or "low sugar". You can read more about sugar alcohols by clicking here.
Or if could be a sign that the entries you are selected in MFP are inaccurate, which is extremely common. One way you can check is by doing the maths yourself.
1 gram of protein = 4 calories
1 gram of carbs = 4 calories
1 gram of fats = 9 calories.
So when you add up the calories from your macros, is it close to the calorie target?
This is a major drawback of MFP - you go through the effort of tracking, however it's like Wikipedia where anyone can add in entries, so if you are selected inaccurate entries, your effort to track might not actually be as helpful as you think. Aim to choose entries with the green tick, use the barcode scanner and if searching, search for the food and type NUTTAB which is likely to give you a more accurate entry, eg: "chicken breast NUTTAB"
You can read more about this common error with MFP here: MyFitnessPal Errors
Setting up your targets
You can use the FNC Diet Builder to set your targets to use in MFP. The first video is setting your Calories and the second is setting your macros (Protein, Carbs, Fats + Fibre).
** If Muscle Gain is your goal, the 3rd video in this block explains differences for you.
Check that your targets are realistic and appropriate
This is not a necessarily step, however you can check your targets and expectations are realistic in the NIH Body Weight Planner at this link: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/bwp
Creating your MFP Account
If you haven’t created an account, here is how to do it using your laptop (first video) and phone (second video).
Ignoring exercise in MFP
As you set up your account, avoid linking your activity tracker and ignore any prompts to log exercise
Changing your calorie and macro targets in MFP
Now that you have your account set up and you have worked out your targets using the FNC Diet Builders or the NIH Body Weight Planner, it’s time to enter these targets in MFP using laptop (1st video) or phone (2nd video)
Adding your fibre goal to MFP and tracking fibre intake
Working out your fibre goal using the FNC Diet Builder and updating your fibre target in MFP using your laptop.
Update your targets, including your fibre target in MFP using your phone:
Adding fibre to your food dairy view in MFP using your laptop:
Entering Meals
Entering your meals into MFP using laptop (vid 1) and phone (vid 2)
You can also search for foods using your phone but for anything you have the packaging for, the barcode reader will help you choose more accurate entries.
Logging a takeaway / purchased meal when you know the macros but don’t have a barcode to scan
Why you shouldn’t log exercise in MFP
Creating a recipe in MFP for bulk meal prep
Creating bulk meals & saving your own recipes in MFP using laptop (vid 1) and phone (vid 2).
Save a meal and quick add buttons
Saving meal and quick add buttons can save you heaps of time. Here is how to do it using your laptop (vid 1) and phone (vids 2 & 3).
Add a food to the MFP database
It can be really handy to make sure you have accurate entries that you trust for your common foods. You can add your won, as we have with averaged fruits & vegetable - search teamfnc.
If you want to cross check the food data with the most reliable nutrition available, use the Food Standards Australia Database (NUTTAB) https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science/monitoringnutrients/afcd/Pages/foodsearch.aspx
Completing a day in MFP and make sure that it matches the habits and lifestyle you want to build
It’s not just a numbers game - it’s about building nutrition habits and a sustainable lifestyle whilst using tracking as portion control. Make sure you are looking at the daily, weekly views and on your laptop from time to time to see that you are building your habits!