Using MyFitnessPal to Track Your Intake

Tracking your intake

Whenever I work with new clients or want to make a change to the diet of my more advanced clients, it all starts with tracking.

I have my clients use the online tool MyFitnessPal to track everything they eat and drink during the process I call the Snapshot.

In the Snapshot, clients eat and drink normally and enter everything that they eat and drink into MyFitnessPal for a period of 7 days. After this, we do what’s called the Post-Snapshot Reflection.

During the Post-Snapshot Reflection, we analyze your eating patterns to learn what your average caloric intake is (how many calories you eat on an average day) and pinpoint any issues we’d like to change.

After the Post-Snapshot Reflection, we’ll begin a new plan to change up your diet to meet your goals—whether that’s building muscle, cutting fat, or just eating healthier.

Follow the steps below to get started on your Snapshot and to learn more about using the MyFitnessPal tool to track your diet.

Snapshot: Getting Started

Before you can begin on your Snapshot, you’ll need to set up a profile for yourself on MyFitnessPal. You can do this by downloading the app for your smart device or by going to MyFitnessPal.com on your computer’s browser. Follow the steps below to get started.

Step 1. Click on one of the links below:

• Download MyFitnessPal for iOS

• Download MyFitnessPal for Android

• Set up your account online at MyFitnessPal.com

Step 2. Set Up Your Account

Select “Sign Up” to create your new account, if you don’t have one already.

When you select “Sign Up,” enter your email address and create a password for your account.

Enter the information requested, including your current weight, height, gender, date of birth, location, and select a Username.

Answer the other questions about daily activities and exercise. You can always change the answers to these questions later by going to “Settings” and selecting “Update diet/fitness profile.” 

Step 3. ***IGNORE THE SUGGESTED CALORIES***

Once you complete setting up your profile, MyFitnessPal will give you a suggested daily calorie intake number. For now, ignore this number.

Our goal during the next 7 days is to see what it is that you are already doing in terms of your diet (we’ll also calculate a more accurate number during the Goal-Setting phase at a later time).

So please, ignore the calorie recommendation that MyFitnessPal gives you after setup. Just eat as you normally do over the next 7 days, and plug everything you eat into the app.

Also, try to resist the temptation to change anything about what you eat and drink. We want as accurate as possible a picture of what you’re starting with! 

Pointers for Using MyFitnessPal

Here are a couple of tips and pointers for using MyFitnessPal.

If you tend to eat the same thing for certain meals, you can copy a meal from one day to the next. Read the article "Want to Copy & Remember Meals in MyFitnessPal? Here's How!" on the MyFitnessPal blog to learn more.

You can log food from restaurants very easily on MyFitnessPal by searching for the restaurant or menu item. Read more on the MyFitnessPal blog post "MyFitnessPal Restaurant Logging."

You can also scan the barcode on packaged foods using your smartphone's camera. Read the article "How do I use the barcode scanner to log foods?" for more info.

Post-Snapshot Reflection

Once you’ve completed 7 days of tracking everything you eat and drink for your Snapshot, take a moment to reflect on your current dietary habits with the Post-Snapshot Reflection.

Have your MyFitnessPal food log open as you complete the Post-Snapshot Reflection form. Click here to access the online form. 

When you complete and submit the Post-Snapshot Reflection form, you’ll be ready to move on to creating your new diet plan.