How to Share Food Log on MyFitnessPal for Friends and Coaches

Over 50% of MyFitnessPal users report feeling more accountable and motivated when they use the app to connect with friends. The ability to share your food log on MyFitnessPal is a powerful feature that leverages social support to help you stay on track with your health and fitness goals.

Quick Summary

This guide explains the process for adjusting diary sharing settings and shows how friends can copy meals. It also details the steps for sharing specific recipes or publicly visible foods via the MyFitnessPal website.

Key Points

• Diary Sharing Settings: To allow friends or coaches to view your entire food diary, you must change the 'Diary Sharing' setting from 'Private' to 'Friends Only' or 'Public' in the app's settings menu.

• Copying Meals: Once diary sharing is enabled, friends can view your daily log and copy specific meals you've entered to their own diary, streamlining the process of sharing recipes or meal ideas.

• Public Recipe Sharing: To share a specific recipe with anyone, you must use the MyFitnessPal website to save it as a 'Public' food item that is searchable within the app's food database.

• Comprehensive Data Export: For a detailed nutritional breakdown for a health professional, you can export your food log history as a downloadable file via the MyFitnessPal website's data export feature.

• Accountability and Support: Sharing your food log is a powerful tool for maintaining accountability, receiving encouragement, and building a supportive community around your health and fitness goals.

Adjusting Your Diary Sharing Settings

By default, your MyFitnessPal food diary is private. This means no one else can see your logged meals, but it also means you can't get support or encouragement from friends. Adjusting your privacy settings is the first step to sharing your progress. The process varies slightly depending on whether you are using the mobile app or the website.

Mobile App (iOS and Android)

1. Open the MyFitnessPal app and navigate to the 'More' menu located in the bottom right corner of the screen.
2. Select 'Settings' from the menu.
3. In the Settings menu, find and tap 'Privacy Center,' then 'Sharing & Privacy,' and finally 'Diary Sharing'. (Note: Some older versions might have 'Diary Sharing Settings' directly under Settings).
4. Choose your desired privacy level: 'Public,' 'Friends Only,' or 'Locked with a key'. For most users, 'Friends Only' is the best option for balancing privacy with social support.
5. Tap the checkmark or 'Save' to confirm your selection.

Website

1. Log into your MyFitnessPal account on the website.
2. Click on 'My Home' in the top menu.
3. Hover over 'Settings' and select 'Diary Settings' from the drop-down menu.
4. Under 'Diary Sharing,' select your preferred option from the drop-down menu.
5. Click 'Save Changes' to apply the new setting.

Sharing Your Log with a Friend

Once your diary is set to 'Friends Only' or 'Public,' your friends can view it directly. But what if you want to share a specific meal or recipe? MyFitnessPal allows friends to copy meals from your diary, which is particularly useful for sharing specific recipe details or meal plans.

How a friend copies a meal from your diary

1. Have your friend open the MyFitnessPal app and go to the 'Friends' page.
2. Tap on your profile from their friends list.
3. Tap the diary icon or 'View Diary' to see your log for the selected day.
4. Under the meal you wish to share, they will tap the three dots (...) and select 'Copy to Date'.
5. They can then choose which day and which meal slot to copy it to.

How to share a saved recipe or meal

For more direct sharing, you can save meals or recipes and make them searchable. This is often used by bloggers or coaches.

1. Log into the MyFitnessPal website.
2. Go to 'My Home' and then 'My Meals, Recipes & Foods'.
3. Select the recipe you want to share and ensure it's saved as a 'Public' food item.
4. Your friend can then search for this item by name in the food database and add it to their own log. To make it easier for them to find, use a unique name, such as including your username or a distinct brand.

Comparison Table: Methods for Sharing Your Food Log

Feature	Adjusting Diary Sharing	Sharing a Specific Meal	Sharing a Public Recipe	Exporting Data
Who Can View	Selected friends or public	Friends who can access your diary	Anyone who can search the food database	Anyone you send the file to
Privacy Level	Varies (Friends Only, Public)	Set by your diary sharing settings	Public and permanent	Completely customizable
Best For	Accountability partners and trainers	Sharing specific meal ideas	Sharing your custom recipes with a wider audience	Personal backup or detailed analysis with a health professional
Effort Required	Low (one-time setup)	Medium (manual copying by recipient)	High (requires website, public entry)	Medium (website only, detailed export)
Format	In-app diary view	In-app meal copy	Searchable database entry	CSV/spreadsheet file

Exporting Your Food Log Data

For advanced users or those who need to provide a detailed history to a healthcare professional, MyFitnessPal offers a data export feature. This method is the most comprehensive way to share your food log, as it can export a detailed history of your logged meals, exercise, and progress.

How to export your data

1. Navigate to the MyFitnessPal website and log in.
2. Go to 'My Home' -> 'Settings' -> 'Data Export'.
3. Choose the date range for the data you want to export. You can export meal-level nutrition details, progress history, and exercise history.
4. An email with a link to download your exported data file will be sent to the address associated with your account.
5. You can then share the downloaded file (typically a CSV spreadsheet) with a coach or doctor via email or other secure means.

Conclusion

Sharing your MyFitnessPal food log can significantly enhance your fitness journey by providing a layer of accountability and support from your community. Whether you choose to make your daily diary visible to a select group of friends, share specific recipes, or export your detailed data for a professional, MyFitnessPal offers a solution for every need. By adjusting your privacy settings and using the various sharing options available, you can stay motivated and engaged with your health goals, turning a solitary tracking experience into a collaborative one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I share my weight log with friends on MyFitnessPal?

No, your weight log is always kept private for your eyes only, and there is no option to share this information with other users, regardless of your other privacy settings.

How do I add a friend on MyFitnessPal?

You can add a friend by going to the 'Friends' section in the 'More' menu of the app. From there, you can search for them using their email or MyFitnessPal username.

Can I see a friend's diary if they don't have me as a friend?

No. Unless their diary sharing is set to 'Public,' you must be added as a friend and have your request accepted before you can view their food diary.

What's the difference between sharing a meal and sharing a recipe?

Sharing a meal involves a friend copying an existing entry from your daily log, while creating a public recipe makes a specific food item or meal searchable by anyone in the app's public database.

Does sharing my diary affect my privacy settings for other information?

No. Changing your diary sharing settings only affects who can see your food and exercise log. Other sensitive information, like your weight, remains private.

Can I share a photo of my meal on MyFitnessPal?

Currently, MyFitnessPal does not support sharing meal photos directly within the app.

What if I can't find my friend's public recipe?

Make sure your friend has saved the recipe as a 'Public' food item on the website. To improve visibility, they should use a unique and easily searchable name when they create the food entry.