How do I manually add calories on MyFitnessPal?

December 24, 2025 •

3 min read

According to MyFitnessPal's own data, consistency is key to success, with users who log frequently seeing better results. Knowing how to manually add calories on MyFitnessPal is a crucial skill for those times when a standard entry doesn't exist, like for home-cooked meals or a quick estimate. This feature ensures your daily log remains accurate, even when you're in a hurry or eating something unique.

Quick Summary

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for adding manual calorie entries in the MyFitnessPal mobile app using the Quick Add feature for food and a custom exercise entry for activity calories. It also offers helpful tips on when to use manual logging and highlights the difference between free and premium features for macronutrient tracking. Understanding these methods ensures accurate daily log entries.

Key Points

Quick Add for Food: Use the Quick Add feature within your Diary to enter a total calorie count for a specific meal, ideal for when you already know the nutritional information.
Manual Exercise Entry: Create a custom exercise in your Diary's exercise section to log a precise calorie burn not found in the standard database, like from a fitness tracker.
Custom Calorie Goals: Navigate to the 'Goals' section under the 'More' menu to override the app's default calorie calculation and enter a custom daily target.
Custom Foods and Recipes: For homemade dishes you eat often, create a custom food or recipe to store full nutritional details, ensuring consistency and saving time on future logs.
Check Your Math: Always double-check any manual calorie calculations, as incorrect entries can impact the overall accuracy of your daily log and goal progress.
Premium Macro Entry: While the Quick Add feature works for calories on the free version, MyFitnessPal Premium allows for manual entry of specific macros (carbs, protein, fat) by grams.

Adding Food Calories with the Quick Add Feature

The Quick Add feature is the fastest way to manually enter calories for a food item when you know the total caloric value and don't need a specific food entry. This is especially useful for home-cooked meals, a handful of snacks, or when using nutrition facts from a restaurant website.

Step-by-Step Guide for Quick Adding Food Calories

Navigate to Your Diary: Open the MyFitnessPal mobile app and go to your Diary. This is the main screen where you log your daily intake.
Select a Meal: Choose the meal you want to add the calories to (e.g., Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner). Tap the 'Add Food' button beneath the corresponding meal heading.
Find Quick Add: In the food search bar, you'll see several options below it. Swipe left on these buttons until you find the 'Quick Add' button and tap it.
Enter Calories: On the Quick Add page, you will see fields to enter calories, carbs, protein, and fat. Enter the total number of calories in the designated field.
Save the Entry: Tap the checkmark in the top right corner to save your entry. The new calorie total will now appear in your food diary under the selected meal.

Manually Adding Exercise Calories

When you've burned a specific number of calories that a standard exercise entry doesn't cover—for instance, if you have a fitness tracker's data—you can log it manually. This ensures that the app accurately reflects your expenditure and adjusts your calorie budget for the day.

Step-by-Step Guide for Adding Manual Exercise

Go to Your Diary: From the MyFitnessPal home screen, navigate to your Diary.
Add an Exercise: Scroll down past your food entries to the 'Exercise' section and tap the '+ Add Exercise' button.
Choose Cardio: Since only cardio entries allow you to specify a calorie burn, tap the 'Cardio' option.
Create a New Exercise: Tap the 'Create New Exercise' button. You can name this exercise something descriptive, like "Manual Calorie Correction".
Enter Details: Input a duration of one minute, as this won't affect the calorie total. Then, in the calories field, enter the exact number of calories you want to add.
Log the Entry: Tap the checkmark or 'Add' button to save the custom exercise. The calorie total will be added to your daily exercise log.

Manually Setting Your Daily Calorie Goal

Sometimes, you may receive a specific calorie recommendation from a doctor, nutritionist, or coach that differs from the app's initial calculation. You can override the automatic goal by manually setting your daily calorie target.

Step-by-Step Guide for Adjusting Your Calorie Goal

Access Goals: Tap the 'More' menu, usually found in the bottom-right corner of the app.
Select Goals: From the menu, tap on 'Goals'.
Edit Nutrition Goals: Select 'Calorie, Carbs, Protein, and Fat Goals'.
Enter Custom Calories: Tap the calories section at the top of the page. This will allow you to enter your specific custom calorie number.
Save Changes: Tap the checkmark to save your new daily calorie goal.

Comparison: Quick Add vs. Custom Food Creation

To help you decide which manual method is best for logging food, consider this comparison table:


Feature	Quick Add	Custom Food Creation
Best For	Fast, temporary calorie entries.	Items you eat frequently or homemade recipes.
Detail Level	Simple calorie (and optional macro) total.	Complete nutrition facts for future reference.
Permanence	Logged only for that day's meal.	Saved to your personal 'My Foods' database.
Accuracy	As accurate as your information allows.	Highly accurate for specific, weighed foods.
Usage Scenario	A quick estimate for an unlabeled snack.	Tracking a detailed family recipe or a meal prep item.

Conclusion: Taking Control of Your Calorie Log

Manually adding calories on MyFitnessPal is a versatile and essential feature for anyone serious about accurate tracking. Whether you use the Quick Add function for speed, create custom foods for repeat entries, or manually log specific exercise burns, these tools put you in complete control of your data. By understanding when and how to apply these methods, you can overcome the limitations of a standard food database and maintain the precision required to meet your nutritional goals. This level of detail empowers you to make more informed decisions about your diet, ensuring every calorie counts toward your success. For further reading on refining your logging skills, you can visit the MyFitnessPal Help Center.

Frequently Asked Questions

On the free version of MyFitnessPal, you can only manually enter calories using the Quick Add feature. The ability to enter macros by gram using Quick Add is a feature of the premium version.

To create a new custom food, go to the 'More' menu, then 'Meals, Recipes & Foods', and select 'Foods'. Here you can tap 'Create a New Food' and enter all the nutritional details to save for future use.

Yes, when you manually add an exercise with a calorie burn, MyFitnessPal treats it as calories 'earned' and will increase your daily calorie budget for that day.

You might manually set your calorie goal if you have a specific recommendation from a healthcare professional, are following a custom diet plan, or want to fine-tune your target based on your own experience.

The Quick Add button is located in your Diary. After tapping 'Add Food' for a meal, swipe left on the row of buttons below the search bar to find and tap 'Quick Add'.

Yes. If you need to edit a Quick Add food entry, simply tap on it in your diary, and you will be able to change the calorie amount and resave it.

Yes, the Quick Add function is also available on the MyFitnessPal website. On the food diary page, click 'Add Food' under a meal, and then you'll find the option for 'Quick Tools' and 'Quick Add Calories'.