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How do I edit on Fitness Pal? A Comprehensive Guide to Your Nutrition Diet

4 min read

According to the latest data from the National Institutes of Health, precise tracking is a key factor in successful weight management, and knowing how to adjust your logs is vital for accuracy. Mastering how do I edit on Fitness Pal is crucial for maintaining an accurate nutrition diet log and staying on track with your health and fitness goals.

Quick Summary

This guide provides detailed instructions on how to edit various entries within MyFitnessPal, including individual foods, meals, recipes, exercises, and personal goals. It covers the process for both the mobile app and the website, offering practical tips for managing your nutrition diary efficiently.

Key Points

  • Daily Food Entries: Tap individual items in your diary to quickly edit serving sizes, quantities, or delete them.

  • Saved Recipes/Meals: Access 'My Meals, Recipes & Foods' to permanently modify ingredient lists and serving information for future logging.

  • Exercise Logs: Use the 'Edit' option in the exercise diary or swipe left (iOS) to correct or remove workouts.

  • Goal Adjustment: Navigate to the 'Goals' section to update your overall calorie targets and macronutrient ratios based on progress.

  • Account Information: Your personal weight and activity levels can be edited under your profile or goals settings.

  • Website vs. App: Some editing features, like bulk reporting or detailed goal settings, may be more accessible on the MyFitnessPal website.

  • Premium Features: Subscribers have more granular control over macro goals and custom daily plans.

In This Article

Navigating the Editing Features in MyFitnessPal

For anyone using MyFitnessPal to track their nutrition diet, making adjustments to logged data is a common necessity. Whether you entered the wrong serving size, created an inaccurate recipe, or need to update your weight goals, the app and website both offer ways to correct your information. Understanding where to find and how to use these editing functions is key to ensuring your daily log is a true reflection of your intake and activity.

Editing Your Daily Food Diary

The most frequent editing task is adjusting entries in your food diary. Perhaps you initially logged one tablespoon of peanut butter but later realized you used two. Here’s how to fix that on both the mobile app and the website.

On the Mobile App (iOS & Android):

  1. Go to your Diary by tapping the 'Diary' button or the main screen's 'Log Food' button.
  2. Locate the food item you need to edit.
  3. For iOS users, tap the item to bring up the details screen, then tap the 'Edit Food' button. On Android, you may be able to tap the item directly to edit the quantity or serving size, or tap the three dots next to the item to see more options.
  4. On the editing screen, you can change the serving size, the number of servings, or even delete the entry entirely.
  5. Tap the checkmark or 'Save' to confirm your changes.

On the MyFitnessPal Website:

  1. Log in to your account at www.myfitnesspal.com.
  2. Navigate to the 'Food' tab, then 'Food Diary'.
  3. Find the entry you want to modify and hover your mouse over it. You'll see an 'Edit' button appear to the right.
  4. Click 'Edit' to change the serving size, number of servings, or to delete the item.
  5. Click 'Save Changes' to update your diary.

Modifying and Deleting Custom Foods, Meals, and Recipes

Over time, you will create custom entries for foods and meals you eat often. These might need periodic updates. The process differs slightly between editing an existing entry in your diary and modifying a saved template.

Comparison of Editing Saved Items vs. Diary Entries

Feature Editing a Diary Entry Editing a Saved Custom Item
Purpose Adjusting a one-time log for immediate accuracy. Updating the nutritional information for future use.
Method Directly tapping or clicking the item in the food diary. Navigating to the 'My Foods' or 'My Recipes' sections.
Effect Changes only the data for that specific day and meal. Changes the template for the saved item, affecting all future uses.
Tools Adjusting servings, deleting the entry. Adding/removing ingredients, changing serving sizes, updating macros.
Accessibility Quick, direct, and user-friendly. Requires a few extra steps, but provides deeper customization.

To Edit a Saved Recipe or Meal:

  1. From the 'More' menu (mobile app) or 'Food' tab (website), go to 'My Meals, Recipes & Foods'.
  2. Select 'Recipes' or 'Meals' and find the entry you want to change.
  3. Tap or click 'Edit' to open the editing screen.
  4. You can then add or remove ingredients, adjust quantities, and save your updated version.

Correcting Exercise Entries

Accurate logging is just as important for your workouts as it is for your food. You can easily adjust or remove exercise entries if you find they are incorrect or were entered by mistake.

To Edit an Exercise in Your Diary:

  1. Navigate to your Diary and scroll down to the 'Exercise' section.
  2. Tap 'Edit' on mobile (or click the entry on the website).
  3. From here, you can change the duration, calories burned, or delete the workout entirely.
  4. On iOS, you can also swipe left on an exercise entry in the diary to quickly reveal a 'Delete' button.

Updating Your Nutrition and Fitness Goals

As your weight changes or your fitness level improves, you will need to update your overall goals. This is a critical step for MyFitnessPal to accurately calculate your daily calorie and macronutrient targets.

To Change Your Goals:

  1. Go to the 'More' menu (mobile app) or 'My Home' (website).
  2. Select 'Goals' and then 'Calories, Carbs, Protein & Fat Goals'.
  3. You can then adjust your weight, weekly goal, or activity level, and the app will recalculate your targets. Premium users can also adjust macros by grams.
  4. You may need to force an update by slightly changing your current weight and saving it, then changing it back.

Conclusion: Keeping Your Nutrition Diet on Track

Knowing how do I edit on Fitness Pal? is fundamental to using the tool effectively. By regularly reviewing and editing your food and exercise logs, you can ensure that the data the app provides is as accurate as possible, leading to better-informed decisions about your nutrition diet and fitness journey. Whether it's a minor tweak to a serving size or a major update to your long-term goals, taking a few moments to make these adjustments can have a significant impact on your progress. Maintaining data integrity within the app will empower you to stay accountable and achieve your health objectives. For further tips, consider visiting the official MyFitnessPal support site.

Summary of Key MyFitnessPal Editing Actions

  • Edit Food Diary Entries: Tap or click the item in your daily food log to adjust servings or delete it.
  • Edit Saved Items: For custom foods and recipes, navigate to 'My Meals, Recipes & Foods' to make permanent changes.
  • Edit Exercise Logs: Find the exercise entry in your diary and use the 'Edit' or swipe-left feature to make changes or delete.
  • Update Personal Goals: Adjust your calorie and macro targets by going to the 'Goals' section in the menu.
  • Force a Goal Update: To force a recalculation after weight loss, temporarily change and then revert your current weight in the goals section.

Frequently Asked Questions

To edit a portion size, go to your Food Diary, tap the item you want to change, and on the details screen, you can adjust the number of servings and the serving size unit. Be sure to save your changes to update your diary.

Yes, to delete an entry on the mobile app, tap the 'Edit' button or pencil icon in your diary, select the item, and tap the trash can icon. On iOS, you can also swipe left on the entry to delete it quickly.

Editing a logged meal only affects that single entry in your diary for that day. Editing a saved custom meal or recipe permanently changes the template, so all future times you log it, it will use the new information.

You can update your current weight by going to 'Goals' from the 'More' menu. Enter your new current weight, and the app may ask to re-calculate your daily calorie goal based on your progress.

Sometimes the app doesn't automatically prompt a recalculation. To force an update, go to 'Goals' and briefly change your 'Current Weight' to a different value, save it, and then change it back to your correct current weight. This will prompt a recalculation of your daily calorie target.

Yes, you can edit exercise entries. Navigate to your diary, find the exercise, and use the 'Edit' function to modify details like duration or calories burned. You can also delete it if necessary.

From the main menu, go to 'Goals' and then select 'Calories, Carbs, Protein & Fat Goals'. You can adjust the percentage breakdown of your macros from this screen. Premium users have the option to set goals in gram increments.

References

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Medical Disclaimer

This content is for informational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice.