To give ourselves some accurate data and learn to portion control, I suggest tracking our food/calorie intake with MyFitnessPal (MFP)? However, the thought of meticulously tracking every single bite can feel a bit overwhelming, and that shouldn’t be how we do things. I’ve been there, and trust me, with a few simple tricks, you can make this whole process WAY easier. You got this! 💪
Here are my tried-and-true tips to make food tracking with MFP a breeze:
1. Use the Barcode Function for Supermarket Goods
One of the best features in MyFitnessPal is the barcode scanner. Instead of manually entering everything, just scan the barcode. MFP’s database is massive, and chances are, your item is already in there, fully loaded with all its nutritional details. No need to guess, no need to enter all that info yourself. Plus, it saves a ton of time, and you’ll be surprised at how accurate it is!
2. Use the Serving Size Suggestions on the Packaging
The serving size suggestion on the back of your food packaging is actually quite helpful. It really helped me when I had bulimia and lost a sense of how much or little should I eat to be healthy. Most foods will suggest a serving size, like “2 cookies” or “30g of cereal.” Instead of eyeballing or guesstimating, just weigh it once and log it exactly as the packaging recommends.
Also… these suggested portions are often smaller than we think (😅). I used to pour bowl-load of Special Ks for breakfast only to realise their recommended portion is way smaller. I have a Euro-Asian sense of portion size, which usually is smaller than the American portion size. It might come into a shock to you at first if you are used to the American sizes, however, from my experience I really think that the Euro-Asian sizes make a lot more sense, both from a nutritional point of view and from a satiety point of view. Treat this as an experiment and listen to how your body feel with the new portion sizes.
Logging the actual portion size keeps things accurate, and once you get used to what a serving looks like, you’ll be able to eyeball it in the future without stressing.
3. For Fresh Produce, Use the ‘Green Tick’ & Portion It Once
When you’re logging fresh produce (like apples, carrots, or whatever doesn’t have a barcode), MyFitnessPal’s database has tons of options, but it can get confusing. Look for the ones with the green tick – these are verified entries, so you know they’re legit.
And here’s another time-saving tip: portion it once. Like, if you always have about 100g of spinach in your salad, weigh it once, get a feel for it, and from then on, you can eyeball it without needing to weigh every time.
This is a key step to become proficient in intuitive eating – if you don’t’ know how much you need to eat to be satiated, it’s impossible to do intuitive eating (i.e. no longer logging and weighing your food). Do your homework now, then you will be free for life.
4. Save Your Favorite Recipes as Meals
Got a go-to smoothie, soup, or dinner that you make all the time? Instead of logging every single ingredient each time, use the “Save as Meal” function in MFP. This way, once you’ve logged it once, it’s saved and ready for you to select whenever you whip it up again.
The free version has a limitation unfortunately. I tend to save it for my breakfast recipes, such as my black porridge/overnight oats (recipe here!) that have so many ingredients but I eat it throughout the year. For the rest, I employ tip number 5 below.
5. Meal Prep & Copy Yesterday’s Meals
When you prep meals in advance, like making a big batch of lunch or dinner, you don’t need to log everything from scratch every day. MyFitnessPal lets you copy and paste yesterday’s meals straight into today’s diary. So if Monday’s lunch is the same as Tuesday’s, boom – two clicks, and you’re done.
This is why I don’t really feel the need to redo my recipes that constnatly and have new meals come out on my Youtube channel every week. I save it once on Sunday, then I use it throughout the week. Then I forget about it, and do a new recipe. The easiest is to follow my Youtube channel to see what I eat in a day (that usually just translate to the whole week), and you will never get bored.
6. Portions Will Even Out
Ever make a huge batch of soup or casserole and wonder, “How do I even log this?” It’s tempting to get caught up in the details, but here’s the truth: don’t sweat it. For example, if you make a big pot of my celeriac and pear soup and use 250g of celeriac, just divide the whole batch by the number of servings you made. Let’s say you’ve put it into 6 jars – each jar will have about 1/6th of that 250g. Then you can copy and paste, using tip number 5 above. Over the course of the week, it evens out. You’ll end up consuming all 250g of celeriac throughout the week, so don’t stress if every single portion isn’t 100% perfect.
Tracking is about being consistent, not perfect!
Final Thoughts:
At the end of the day, food tracking is about building awareness. It’s a tool to help you reach your goals, but don’t let it consume you or stress you out. Use these tips to make MyFitnessPal work for you, not the other way around. And remember, progress isn’t about perfection – it’s about showing up, doing your best, and making little improvements each day.
You got this! 💖 Keep tracking, keep moving forward, and don’t forget to enjoy the journey.
