Don't know how to enter a meal like this into My Fitness Pal

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eric2light
eric2light Posts: 113 Member
edited July 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
I had some left over pasta with tomato source and roasted veggies. What should I do to enter this into my food diary?

I'm totally new to this app so don't assume I know ANYTHING.

See image.

317qzsrk878c.jpg

Replies

  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
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    Use the recipe builder to enter ingredients.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    If you know the amounts of what you ate (via food scale) or if you can best estimate, you can enter them into the recipe builder to create the meal. Then next time you make a dish, you can do the same thing, log what you eat, then log leftovers into the subsequent meals you eat them in.
  • Eve53
    Eve53 Posts: 178 Member
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    Could use the recipe thing. I use it a lot. I add what I started with when I started cooking, and guess on how many portions it will make. Then it gives you an estimate of what is in your meal. :smiley:
  • rachelbouc
    rachelbouc Posts: 65 Member
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    What everyone else said. If you can't, use your best guess. For me it looks like 1 c of pasta 1/2 c sauce and 1/2 ear of corn. If you know the brand names for the pasta and sauce it makes it a little more accurate. I didn't consider the summer squash because they're so low in calories, but to be more accurate I would say 1/2 c of those. However, I only use the guessing method when I eat out, so that is doesn't mess with my weight loss too much. For the meals I prepare myself I weight everything. Even the lettuce!
  • eric2light
    eric2light Posts: 113 Member
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    pasta left overs 1

    1/2 cup spaghetti
    5 tablespoons tomato source
    1/2 sweet potato
    2 tablespoons olive oil

    I clicked [Match Ingredient] and nothing happened.

    What am I doing wrong?

    Thanks!
  • eric2light
    eric2light Posts: 113 Member
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    I tried this on Firefox on my laptop.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
  • eric2light
    eric2light Posts: 113 Member
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    On the android it seems to work better for me.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    I would ener each ingredient individually in my diary by weight (best guess). I base the following off of weights I have gotten for similar portions of the same items of what I see in your pic.

    Pasta-Ziti 100 grams
    Summer squash looks like maybe 50 grams
    Sweet potato-cooked. Looks like about 50 grams
    Corn raw 1/2 ear or looks like 60 grams (cob weight is deducted after eating)
    Spaghetti sauce 4 oz. Enter this by brand name if possible.

    It is better to weigh all of the ingredients and enter it in you recipe builder or food diary when you make the initial meal and then determine what percentage of that meal you eat for each meal. Plan the leftovers to be one serving per container.



  • eric2light
    eric2light Posts: 113 Member
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    Wow, folks, I'm SO grateful! Is it OK or me to friend you helpful people? (Feel free to friend me!)

    What sort of scale should I have around when cooking and eating? I don't have anything now. Can someone point me at something on Amazon or somewhere that is practical for weight control?

    Does anyone use technology like this, where just taking a picture does most of the work? Is this a bad idea? If so, why?

    http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/03/technology/google-calories-food/

    Given my living situation, I will often be making meals out of stuff other people cooked initially, as in this situation so I don't know for sure what brand of sauce went into it, for example. My big problem is that I typically eat WAY more food than I need, I believe mostly carbs, mostly stuff just because I'm bored or something so the difference between two brands of sauce may be below my radar at this moment, I'm thinking. (Feel free to correct my thinking! I'm also new to food diaries in general also but I'm liking this very much, esp. with all the community support I'm getting on day one!)

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