MFP's new reports function

bumblebums · July 2013

A public service announcement for the numbers-minded: it looks like MFP just recently updated their reports function. (Not sure exactly when it happened since I was away for a while; hope it's not old news for everyone here.) The 7-day barplots for macros and intake are a tad more informative now, with each day's column labeled with the number for that day, and there is a goal intake line on the graph, too. There is also some fun stuff that appears when you hover the mouse over a column in graphs for longer time spans. There are still some kinks to work out--I reported a problem to MFP already--but it should save us all some work when trying to work out average intake at a glance.

caseythirteen · July 2013

I didnt realize they updated that either! Thanks for the heads up.

Sarauk2sf · July 2013

*runs off to check it out*

sweebum · July 2013

Awesome, thanks! *bolting because I love charts*

towens00 · July 2013

Holy Crap!! This is awesome, just spending 15 minutes hand writing & calculating (no abacus), my averages for last 6 months. Call me excited!!
Thank you!

The_Enginerd · July 2013

Much better, but now I have to figure out how to export that data again since that function is still not available over 2 years later...

bumblebums · July 2013

Much better, but now I have to figure out how to export that data again since that function is still not available over 2 years later...

I was really baffled by how people did their averages (seeing them a lot in this group) because I thought there was some hidden function on the site that allows you to export your data. Then I realized that people actually do it by hand by looking at their diaries. Right? Is that how people work it out?

"Export to .csv" should just be a function on MFP.

The_Enginerd · July 2013

I was able to get the XML data that the Flash based charts pulled from and import it into Excel, but now it appears they are Javascript based. I'll have to do some research on what query to run to get the data, I already figured out how to get to the weight data.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/reports/results/progress/1/#.json

Where # is the # of days it pulls data from. e.g. weight data for the last 60 days:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/reports/results/progress/1/60.json

*Not a web developer, at all. Just a nerd who can research and figure out stuff.

BikerGirlElaine · July 2013

Much better, but now I have to figure out how to export that data again since that function is still not available over 2 years later...

I was really baffled by how people did their averages (seeing them a lot in this group) because I thought there was some hidden function on the site that allows you to export your data. Then I realized that people actually do it by hand by looking at their diaries. Right? Is that how people work it out?

"Export to .csv" should just be a function on MFP.

I saw right away that MFP didn't have an export data function, so I have always copied out my caloires/macros each day. I would use this great little tool if I needed to, though:

http://www.designbyvh.com/myfitnesspal-export-data/#.Udw8rzvI58E

bumblebums · July 2013

I was able to get the XML data that the Flash based charts pulled from and import it into Excel, but now it appears they are Javascript based. I'll have to do some research on what query to run to get the data, I already figured out how to get to the weight data.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/reports/results/progress/1/#.json

Where # is the # of days it pulls data from. e.g. weight data for the last 60 days:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/reports/results/progress/1/60.json

*Not a web developer, at all. Just a nerd who can research and figure out stuff.

Oh, that's brilliant! It's a short step from a json file to a csv file, or you can put that stuff straight into R and not mess around with spreadsheets.

There must be a way to do something similar with macros and calories...

bumblebums · July 2013

Oh, I might as well mention the issue I found with the new reports: the numbers on the columns are slightly off from what your diary has. For example, yesterday, my protein was 143, and the graph says 144. Two days ago, it was 122, yet the graph says it was 121. So it's off by 1 g, but not in a consistent direction.

sweebum · July 2013

I saw right away that MFP didn't have an export data function, so I have always copied out my caloires/macros each day. I would use this great little tool if I needed to, though:

http://www.designbyvh.com/myfitnesspal-export-data/#.Udw8rzvI58E

I

you!! Thanks!

bumblebums · July 2013

Much better, but now I have to figure out how to export that data again since that function is still not available over 2 years later...

I was really baffled by how people did their averages (seeing them a lot in this group) because I thought there was some hidden function on the site that allows you to export your data. Then I realized that people actually do it by hand by looking at their diaries. Right? Is that how people work it out?

"Export to .csv" should just be a function on MFP.

I saw right away that MFP didn't have an export data function, so I have always copied out my caloires/macros each day. I would use this great little tool if I needed to, though:

http://www.designbyvh.com/myfitnesspal-export-data/#.Udw8rzvI58E

Crap, there goes my planned afternoon of actual work. I gots data to analyze now. Thanks!

PikaKnight · July 2013

In to have this on my feed so my FL can get the news

Also, that is awesome to hear and will have to play around. Thanks for the heads up

The_Enginerd · July 2013

It looks like the XML data is still available

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/reports/results/nutrition/Net Calories/90?report_name=Net+Calories

edit: You'll have to copy and paste, the space breaks the link and using %20 for the space does not create a clickable link that works.

Fullsterkur_woman · July 2013

I love you guys for all these geeked-out tricks! What do I do once I have the XML file to make it human usable?

bumblebums · July 2013

I love you guys for all these geeked-out tricks! What do I do once I have the XML file to make it human usable?

I've been playing with the CSV file instead of working--it might be easier for most people to deal with, as it is human-readable right away and is organized into a table.

Go to this link:

http://www.designbyvh.com/myfitnesspal-export-data/#.Udw8rzvI58E

Make sure your diary is either private or public, export the CSV for whatever date range you want, and you can open the resulting file in Excel or other spreadsheet program. If you want to do something fancier with it, like a time series analysis, you can import it into R or another stats program, too.

Fun fact: you can analyze the data of any MFP user who has a public diary. You can now rebuff annoying posters on the forum by saying things like, "well, I am not going to take protein advice from someone who averages at 55.7 g a day for the past three months."

ShannonMpls · July 2013

I love you guys for all these geeked-out tricks! What do I do once I have the XML file to make it human usable?

I've been playing with the CSV file instead of working--it might be easier for most people to deal with, as it is human-readable right away and is organized into a table.

Go to this link:

http://www.designbyvh.com/myfitnesspal-export-data/#.Udw8rzvI58E

Make sure your diary is either private or public, export the CSV for whatever date range you want, and you can open the resulting file in Excel or other spreadsheet program. If you want to do something fancier with it, like a time series analysis, you can import it into R or another stats program, too.

Fun fact: you can analyze the data of any MFP user who has a public diary. You can now rebuff annoying posters on the forum by saying things like, "well, I am not going to take protein advice from someone who averages at 55.7 g a day for the past three months."

This is incredible. THANK YOU! Tagging so I never lose the link.

sarahz5 · July 2013

I can't believe the amount of unnecessary addition and division I have done over the last six months.

Tagging!

paprad · July 2013

oh, yum! thanks

<<idly wondering if datapoints as % of LBM will go down or up as weight is lost>>

The_Enginerd · August 2013

I was able to get the XML data that the Flash based charts pulled from and import it into Excel, but now it appears they are Javascript based. I'll have to do some research on what query to run to get the data, I already figured out how to get to the weight data.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/reports/results/progress/1/#.json

Where # is the # of days it pulls data from. e.g. weight data for the last 60 days:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/reports/results/progress/1/60.json

*Not a web developer, at all. Just a nerd who can research and figure out stuff.

Oh, that's brilliant! It's a short step from a json file to a csv file, or you can put that stuff straight into R and not mess around with spreadsheets.

There must be a way to do something similar with macros and calories...

The_Enginerd · August 2013

Awesome, all the links appear to work! For a different number of days, change the 180 in "180.json" to a different number.
Edit: The links with spaces still do not work. You will have to copy and paste those still.

It will take some data manipulation to get it into a spreadsheet, but if you are comfortable with Excel and Word, doing find/replace and text to columns functions. I'll try to make some macros to automate this and post them if I'm successful.

bumblebums · August 2013

Ooh that is awesome, rallyengr. The CSV export widget was doing me nicely until they changed something in the app (I think) so now it exports a fixed selection of parameters instead of whatever your diary is set to display. So the CSV shows calories, carbs, protein, fat, cholesterol, sodium, fiber, and sugar, but if you wanted to know your iron or saturated fat intake, you're SOL. Not to mention that the CSV widget does not include your weight data. The json files allow a workaround.