Why Customize Your MyFitnessPal Diary?
Personalizing your MyFitnessPal diary is more than just a convenience—it's a critical step toward a more effective and sustainable nutrition diet. Default settings are a one-size-fits-all solution, but your eating habits, social life, and health goals are not. By customizing your diary, you can align the app with your real-life routine, making tracking feel more natural and intuitive. This leads to greater consistency, more accurate data, and better long-term results. From renaming meals to match your daily schedule to choosing which micronutrients are most important for your health, a few simple adjustments can transform your tracking experience from a chore into a powerful, personalized tool.
Step-by-Step Guide to Changing Diary Settings on Mobile
Customizing your MyFitnessPal diary on the mobile app is a straightforward process, though some features are more accessible on the website.
Customize Meal Names
Instead of the standard 'Breakfast,' 'Lunch,' and 'Dinner,' you can use names that better fit your schedule, such as 'Pre-Workout Snack' or 'Post-Workout Shake'.
- Tap the More button (the three dots or lines) at the bottom right.
- Navigate to Settings.
- Tap Diary Settings.
- Select Customize Meal Names.
- Tap on the name you wish to change and type your new name.
- Add up to two extra meal slots if you need them.
- Tap the checkmark or 'Save' to confirm your changes.
Adjust Diary Privacy
Control who can see your food log for added accountability or discretion. This is especially useful if you're working with a coach or a supportive friend.
- Tap the More button.
- Go to Settings.
- Choose Privacy Center, then Sharing & Privacy.
- Tap Diary Sharing.
- Select your desired privacy level: 'Public,' 'Friends Only,' or 'Locked with a key'.
- Save your changes.
How to Adjust Diary Settings on the MyFitnessPal Website
For a more comprehensive set of customization options, particularly regarding the nutrients displayed, you'll need to use the MyFitnessPal website.
Change Tracked Nutrients
While the mobile app can show all nutrients in a report, the website is where you customize which five nutrients appear on your main diary page alongside calories.
- Log in to your account at
www.myfitnesspal.com. - Click My Home at the top, then Settings.
- Click Diary Settings.
- Use the dropdown menus to select up to five additional nutrients you want to track (e.g., sodium, sugar, fiber).
- Click Save Changes.
- For the changes to reflect in the mobile app, you may need to force close and relaunch the app.
Set Calorie Goals by Meal (Premium Feature)
MyFitnessPal Premium users can set specific calorie targets for each meal, which can be highly effective for managing your intake throughout the day.
- Log in to the website.
- Click My Home then Goals.
- Find the Calorie Goals By Meal box and click Edit.
- Enter your desired calorie goals for each meal.
- Click Save Changes.
Free vs. Premium Diary Features: A Comparison
| Feature | Free Version | Premium Version |
|---|---|---|
| Meal Names | Customizable to suit your eating schedule. | Same as Free, but with more flexibility. |
| Nutrient Display | Limited display on main diary page (only 5 custom nutrients + calories); full reports available separately. | Customize macronutrient percentages or set specific gram goals; track a wider range of additional nutrients. |
| Diary Sharing | Standard privacy options: Public, Friends Only, Locked with a key. | Same privacy options. |
| Calorie Goals | Standard daily calorie goal automatically calculated or manually set. | Set daily goals by meal and even by the day of the week for greater flexibility. |
| Macros by Meal | Can see macronutrient breakdown for each meal. | See exact macronutrient distribution per meal, not just daily totals. |
Optimizing Your Nutrition Diet with Customized Settings
Customizing your MyFitnessPal diary directly impacts the quality of your nutrition tracking. By tailoring your settings, you gain a clearer, more accurate picture of your dietary habits, which is essential for achieving specific health objectives. For instance, someone managing blood pressure might customize their diary to prominently track sodium intake, while a person with digestive issues might focus on fiber. Personalized meal names can also reinforce positive habits by associating specific times with specific types of meals or snacks.
For those on a more structured nutrition diet, like keto or low-carb, customizing the diary to show a prominent display of net carbs or fat is invaluable. This level of detail helps users stay on track and make informed decisions throughout the day without having to navigate to separate reports. Accountability also plays a huge role; by sharing your diary with a coach or friend, you create an external layer of motivation that can help you stick to your goals.
Conclusion
Optimizing your MyFitnessPal experience is about taking control of the data you track to better inform your nutrition diet decisions. Knowing how do I change the diary settings on MyFitnessPal? is the first step towards a more personalized and effective diet tracking journey. By adjusting meal names, tailoring your tracked nutrients, and managing your privacy settings, you can turn a powerful app into an indispensable tool perfectly suited to your unique health and wellness goals. These small changes can lead to a significant improvement in your ability to stay consistent and focused, ultimately helping you reach your long-term health objectives with greater clarity and confidence.
Visit MyFitnessPal's support site for more official help on diary settings.
