Why add your own food to MyFitnessPal?
While MyFitnessPal boasts a massive database, it can't cover every single unique food item or homemade recipe in the world. Relying solely on general entries for complex or niche foods can lead to inaccuracies in your tracking. Adding your own custom entries ensures your food log is as precise as possible, giving you a clearer picture of your nutritional intake and helping you meet your health goals more effectively. It is especially useful for those with specific dietary needs, allergies, or a preference for cooking from scratch.
How to add a custom food item in MyFitnessPal
This method is best for single, packaged food items that aren't in the database or foods where you know the exact nutritional facts. This process is available on both the mobile app and the website.
On the mobile app:
- Tap the "More" button in the bottom right corner of the home screen.
- Select "Meals, Recipes & Foods".
- Navigate to the "Foods" tab.
- Tap the "+" sign to create a new food entry.
- Enter the food's name, brand (if applicable), serving size, and nutritional information (calories, fat, carbs, protein). Use a food's weight in grams for maximum accuracy.
- Save the food, and it will appear in your "My Foods" list, ready to be added to your diary.
On the website:
- Log in to your account at myfitnesspal.com.
- Click the "Food" tab at the top of the page, then select "My Foods".
- Click "Add a food to our database" and follow the prompts to enter the nutritional details from the food label.
How to create and save a recipe in MyFitnessPal
For homemade meals with multiple ingredients, creating a recipe is the most efficient way to track nutrition accurately. MyFitnessPal calculates the nutritional information for the entire recipe, allowing you to log a single serving later.
On the mobile app:
- Go to "More" > "Meals, Recipes & Foods" > "Recipes".
- Tap "Create a Recipe".
- Enter the recipe name and the number of servings it yields.
- Add each ingredient by searching the database and adjusting the quantity.
- Review and save the recipe. It will then be available under the "My Recipes" tab.
Comparison: Custom Foods vs. Recipes
| Feature | Custom Food Entry | Recipe Creation |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Single, packaged items not found in the database, or items with known nutritional info. | Multi-ingredient homemade meals or meal-prepped batches. |
| Accuracy | High, provided you enter accurate nutritional info from the label. | High, as it calculates nutrients based on all individual ingredients. |
| Time Savings | Good for repeated logging of the same food. | Excellent for multi-ingredient meals you eat frequently. |
| Flexibility | Good for single items, but not for adjusting components of a full dish. | Easy to adjust ingredient amounts or swap components for a meal. |
Optimizing your custom entries for accuracy
To get the most out of MyFitnessPal's custom functions, you should prioritize accuracy. Studies have shown that a significant number of user-generated entries in the public database can be inaccurate. This makes using your own verified data critical for precise tracking.
Use a kitchen scale for precision
For homemade recipes, weighing ingredients in grams provides the highest level of accuracy. While using measuring cups is an option, it is less precise due to variances in how ingredients are packed and measured.
Verify public entries with a green checkmark
When searching for a food, look for a green checkmark next to the entry. This indicates that MyFitnessPal has verified the nutritional data for that item. If no verified entry exists, adding your own is the most reliable option.
Use Quick Add for simplicity
If you know the total calories of a meal (e.g., from a restaurant's nutrition menu) but don't want to break it down by ingredient, you can use the "Quick Add" feature. This allows you to manually log only the calorie count, saving time while still contributing to your daily total. Premium users can also add macros via Quick Add.
Conclusion
Yes, you absolutely can add your own food on MyFitnessPal, and doing so is a powerful way to ensure your nutritional tracking is personalized and accurate. By utilizing custom food entries, recipes, and saved meals, you can overcome the limitations of any general food database. This provides the highest level of precision for tracking, especially for unique homemade dishes, meal-prepped food, or local culinary favorites. Taking a few moments to create these entries upfront will save you time in the long run and give you the confidence that your food log is a true reflection of your dietary choices. This empowers you to make more informed decisions and achieve your health and fitness objectives more reliably. For additional guidance, exploring official MyFitnessPal support articles can provide further clarity.
How to use custom food and recipe features effectively
Understand the benefits of saving your own food
- Custom Entries: Best for specific products you use frequently that are not accurately listed.
- Recipes: Ideal for homemade meals with multiple ingredients, allowing for pre-calculated nutrition per serving.
- Saved Meals: Perfect for food combinations you regularly eat together, like a consistent breakfast.
Step-by-step for accurate data entry
- Start with the Source: Have the nutrition label or all recipe ingredients and their quantities ready before you start.
- Prioritize Weight: When possible, use weight (grams) as your serving size for custom foods to eliminate portion estimation errors.
- Complete Information: Fill in as much nutritional data as possible, not just calories, for a more comprehensive macronutrient overview.
Maintain your custom database
- Review Regularly: Over time, packaging changes or recipes evolve. Make sure to review and edit your saved items to keep the information up-to-date.
- Delete Unnecessary Items: Keeping your custom database tidy will make it easier to find the items you actually need.
Utilize sharing (public entries)
- Contribute to the Community: When creating a new food from a scanned barcode, you may be given the option to share it with the public database, which helps other users. Public entries cannot be deleted, so be sure of the accuracy.
Know the limitations
- User-generated Errors: Not all public entries are accurate, which is why creating your own verified entries is a powerful tool.
- Not All Data is Required: While entering full nutritional data is recommended, you can save an entry with only the calories if that's all you have.
By following these best practices, you can leverage MyFitnessPal’s custom entry features to their full potential, ensuring your food tracking is precise, efficient, and tailored to your personal dietary needs.
Key takeaways
- Yes, you can add your own food on MyFitnessPal. Custom entry is available for single food items, recipes, and entire meals.
- Custom food is for single items not in the database. You enter the nutritional facts from a label to save it in your personal "My Foods" list.
- Recipe creation is for multi-ingredient meals. You enter each component, and the app calculates the total nutritional value per serving.
- Weight is the most accurate measurement. Using a kitchen scale and tracking in grams is recommended, especially for custom recipes.
- Verify data from the public database. Always check for green checkmarks or verify entries against packaging, as user-generated data can be inaccurate.
- Quick Add is available for manual calorie logging. If you know the calorie count for a meal, you can simply add it without detailing all ingredients.
- The custom food feature improves tracking accuracy and efficiency. It is especially beneficial for homemade cooking and unique dietary needs.
FAQs
Q: Can I add homemade meals to MyFitnessPal? A: Yes, you can create and save homemade meals by creating a recipe. This allows you to input all ingredients and portion sizes, and MyFitnessPal will calculate the nutrition for a single serving.
Q: How do I add a new food item if I can't find it in the database? A: Go to the "More" section, select "Meals, Recipes & Foods", and then choose "Create a new food". Enter the nutritional information from the product's label to create a private entry.
Q: Is it possible to import recipes from a website? A: Yes, MyFitnessPal offers a recipe import tool on its website. You can paste the URL of a recipe, and the tool will automatically pull the ingredients and nutritional data.
Q: Why should I weigh my food instead of using cups? A: Weighing food in grams is more accurate than measuring with cups because it accounts for density and how tightly ingredients are packed, eliminating portion estimation errors.
Q: Can I edit a custom food entry after I save it? A: Yes, you can edit your custom food and recipe entries. This allows you to update nutritional details if a recipe changes or if product information is updated.
Q: What is the Quick Add function and how does it work? A: Quick Add allows you to manually enter just the calorie count for a meal or food item without listing individual ingredients. This is useful when you already know the calorie total and need to log it quickly.
Q: Can I share my custom food entries with other MyFitnessPal users? A: When you create a new food from a barcode scan that isn't in the database, you have the option to make it public. However, you can't share existing private entries.
