What Do You Think of the New “Analyze My Day” feature?

springlering62

My diary recently started showing a Beta “Analyze My Day” feature. You click it and it uses AI to make suggestions.



I don’t know if this is a limited Beta, or if everyone is getting it.

What do you think of it?

It’s intriguing, for sure, but it’s carrying over incorrect data.

I’ve prelogged today, as usual. This is what my nutrition breakdown is for today:


The Analyze function shows completely different data:


It seems to respond to changes in logging. For example, with my prelogged leftover roasted turkey breast wrap, it suggested I increase fiber 3gr (even though I was already over suggested level).

When I deleted the turkey sandwich and added 2 slices bread, an ounce of cheese and 6.6 ounces of chicken I plan to brown with seasonings, it suggested I reduce saturated fats by 5gr.

The suggestions are very….subtle? Yesterday it suggested adding a tablespoon of chia to my diet for fiber.

I confess, it did get me googling chia benefits and how to add chia to various meals.

I’m puzzled it’s picking up wrong nutrition numbers from my diary, but intrigued with the possibilities.

After all, it’s beta stages, so presumably some fine tuning coming.

Btw, today is an unusually high fat day as I attempt to use up a wheel of cheese that needs to be eaten. We’re talk in’ cheese toast (again!) with soup for dinner, grilled chicken sandwich with melted cheese…..I just looked at that saturated fat number it was honing in on and nearly fell out of my chair. Excellent suggestion, but needs must. 🤷🏻‍♀️

What’s your thoughts?

Corina1143

If it's got you thinking and analyzing that much, it's a good thing.
Long term---??

pony4us

If it makes you happy to super control your food...you do you. Not a good use of my mental energy, I'm old and know how to eat what is good for me and tastes good. I'm also a "cheffy" cook who lives in the boonies where I know the chickens who give me eggs (and chicken), the cow and pig. I eat seasonally going to the farms. While easily maintaining I do log my meals to check for protein, calcium and fiber but can't be bothered with micro managing.
But you seem to enjoy that so enjoy the new tool.

springlering62

I’m just hugely entertained by it right now. It’s like the Magic 8-Ball of MFP.

I just recorded a 773 calorie swim, leaving me with a deficit of about 550 or so calories for the day.

It’s suggestion? “ Cut 20 calories.”

Magic 8-Beta says:


Wildly fun. And I don’t have to shake my phone or anything.

springlering62

And yes, it’s Beta. Beta beta beta beta.

nossmf

I have not found this feature in my own page: home page, food diary, exercise diary, completed for the day or open for additional entries, nowhere.

AnnPT77

For the record, everyone doesn't have it. I kind of wish I did, not because I want/need the advice at this point, just out of curiosity.

BTW, @springlering62: That beta button seems to have taken up the screen spot where the "Notes" button usually appears. Can you still get to Notes via the 3-dots thing at the top of the diary page? I'm asking because there are several threads where Apple users are complaining about Notes disappearing for a beta button, a couple of us Android people have asked "Can't you get to notes from the 3-dots menu like we can?" and no Apple person is answering, just complaining about the button change. Thanks (and apologies for the digression/request)!

Adventurista

I like the concept perhaps for people who are starting with little nutritional understanding of nutrition, macros, CiCo, anything really... it is a huge hurdle to get a grasp...

As to the quality of the suggestions, i would be curious to see the recommendations....

After a lifetime of trying fad/crash diets from mags with the women in our family - often with opposing theories and rules....

Calorie counting appeals to me because it is the most flexible approach allowing a person to tailor choices to personal preferences...

Beyond that, as a non-professional, it is challenging to sort recommendations and pull together a rationale, reasonable eating approach...

So, the beta program could help a person explore. That could be a good thing, if the suggestions are truly sound from a health and wellness perspective.

springlering62

AnnPT77 wrote: »

For the record, everyone doesn't have it. I kind of wish I did, not because I want/need the advice at this point, just out of curiosity.

BTW, @springlering62: That beta button seems to have taken up the screen spot where the "Notes" button usually appears. Can you still get to Notes via the 3-dots thing at the top of the diary page? I'm asking because there are several threads where Apple users are complaining about Notes disappearing for a beta button, a couple of us Android people have asked "Can't you get to notes from the 3-dots menu like we can?" and no Apple person is answering, just complaining about the button change. Thanks (and apologies for the digression/request)!

Aw 🤬🤬🤬🤬

The notes section has indeed disappeared. I tried clicking everything on the diary screen from top to bottom, but both “good” and “exercise” notes options are gone.

iOS app users used to get them at the very bottom of the diary page. They were both plainly labeled and clickable. We never had a 3-dot option to get to them.

The Analyze block is where notes used to be.

I also went in to check settings and other areas and saw no way to reach or restore notes to the screen.

I didn’t use it often, but I did use it to record solo gym workouts, or if, for example, I’d eaten unusually low or high calories and wanted to flag a reason why.

springlering62

@AnnPT77

The Analyze block replaces notes:



The three dots top right still takes you here:

It never took you to notes. That was clearly marked at the bottom of the diary, where the Analyze button is now





My chicken breast was way bigger than expected for lunch and the slice of cheese was a few grams more. After increasing calories by about 70, it no longer suggests reducing them, but does suggest reducing fat by 3 gr.

🎱

springlering62

Oh wait, nope. After refreshing, it now suggest reducing calories by 39, even though I still have a 500+ deficit so far today over my already deficit-inclusive goal.

I’m just playing with it FFS, but I could see this potentially being dynamite to someone suffering an ED.

springlering62

Adventurista wrote: »

I like the concept perhaps for people who are starting with little nutritional understanding of nutrition, macros, CiCo, anything really... it is a huge hurdle to get a grasp...

As to the quality of the suggestions, i would be curious to see the recommendations....

After a lifetime of trying fad/crash diets from mags with the women in our family - often with opposing theories and rules....

Calorie counting appeals to me because it is the most flexible approach allowing a person to tailor choices to personal preferences...

Beyond that, as a non-professional, it is challenging to sort recommendations and pull together a rationale, reasonable eating approach...

So, the beta program could help a person explore. That could be a good thing, if the suggestions are truly sound from a health and wellness perspective.

If they can work the early-Beta AI kinks out, imagine how useful this could be.

“@springlering you should increase your vegetable servings to XXX. We suggest YYY. Here’s a couple of easy recipes, as well as tips on how to purchase the freshest ones, and peel/blanche/cut them”.

AnnPT77

In Android, without any beta stuff, there are two ways to get to Notes, the 3-dots at very top right of the diary page (not the 3-dots next to Nutrients Remaining), plus the button at the bottom, FWIW. I'm surprised; usually Apple and Android are pretty similar.

There are some complaint threads about this in Feature Requests if you want to join the chorus.

If you care, screen grabs of Android in the spoiler. Thanks for checking!

Where I can click the 3 dots:

What shows ups up when I do:

And since there's no beta button, the bottom still looks like this:


Weird.

AnnPT77

springlering62 wrote: »

Adventurista wrote: »

I like the concept perhaps for people who are starting with little nutritional understanding of nutrition, macros, CiCo, anything really... it is a huge hurdle to get a grasp...

As to the quality of the suggestions, i would be curious to see the recommendations....

After a lifetime of trying fad/crash diets from mags with the women in our family - often with opposing theories and rules....

Calorie counting appeals to me because it is the most flexible approach allowing a person to tailor choices to personal preferences...

Beyond that, as a non-professional, it is challenging to sort recommendations and pull together a rationale, reasonable eating approach...

So, the beta program could help a person explore. That could be a good thing, if the suggestions are truly sound from a health and wellness perspective.

If they can work the early-Beta AI kinks out, imagine how useful this could be.

“@springlering you should increase your vegetable servings to XXX. We suggest YYY. Here’s a couple of easy recipes, as well as tips on how to purchase the freshest ones, and peel/blanche/cut them”.

Even AI is going to struggle a little at the margins, I'd say. If I log something called "Grandma's Christmas Salad" that could be anything from Jello with marshmallows in it, to fruit salad, to green salad with lotsa veggies (who knows how many servings of 'em), etc. If a person created the recipe, maybe the AI could go there, but if not . . . it's guessing, at best.

There are other potential issues that would be hard to make truly exact, and I don't think it would need to be truly exact in order to be helpful, but - based on experience with other complaints here - people would still be complaining that they ate veggies the AI didn't count.

Adventurista

Agree @springlering62

I think this could worsen disorders...

Your example could really help explore options... although, hopefully everyday kinds of foods choices particularly... perhaps with a survey of the user's food preferences or based on their history?

A bit tricky though, to fnd a balance that expands the palate but also helps the person understand equivalent swappables...

Over the years, have noticed so many 'diets/cookbooks' include foods i would not have available in my pantry nor have an interest in trying...

Exploring new foods can be so helpful, i did like and start using chia seeds for ex, but cactus was pretty much a no go, and dragonfruit just unavailable...

If i am trying to figure out a reasonable meal plan, i would be more inclined to consider the suggestions if the ideas are appealing and nutritionally sound.

Sounds like you are getting some quirky recommendations...

Alatariel75

My concerns with this feature are very much along the ED worries above, and the whole "majoring in the minors" effect that people tend to get, especially in the early days. It can be helpful info if it's just taken as suggestions, but I can just imagine all the new people who will be taking it as gospel and chucking in the towel because they think they're doing OK and they have AI telling them they need to shave off 30 calories.

AnnPT77

The thing is, MFP is going to want to invest in things that will help them market the product, either the free (eyeballs for advertising) or premium (direct money) versions.

Some things that those of us here a long time roll our eyes at - scanning a whole plate of food, as one example - are marketing fodder.

People over in Feature Requests are already falling into the romance of AI to some extent, asking for AI features; and we're seeing people here in posts saying that they ask some outside AI for . . . I don't remember exactly, but things like meal suggestions or diary review or what dish to make to hit a macro goal or something.

AI diary help, if MFP can make it even vaguely plausible, is going to be a good marketing point, better than other sites' schemes about red-yellow-green flagged foods, or free/points to influence food choice, and that sort of thing.

It might even achieve really great usefulness as a feature. I don't know, but I admit I'm skeptical. But I'm pretty sure it would be a hit on the marketing side. Keep in mind that when it comes to free MFP, they potentially can convince advertisers the site is a good deal because it has X million users. How active or happy or successful those X million users are is relevant to long-term continuing growth, but maybe not as much so to immediate ad revenue.

And getting more people paying for premium is typically at least one year's revenue bump . . . maybe only one year, but the bump can be enough to help sell the whole site to yet another venture capital investor. Short term thinking is pretty standard.

springlering62

AnnPT77 wrote: »

And getting more people paying for premium is typically at least one year's revenue bump . . . maybe only one year, but the bump can be enough to help sell the whole site to yet another venture capital investor. Short term thinking is pretty standard.

Depressing. Too bad I already ate my emergency chocolate supply.

springlering62

Seriously, I equate it to my Apple Watch “learning me”. Even my Smart car “learned me”.

I have high hopes for this feature, if they play it right.

I think the problem all around is, us regulars are so attached to the site, it’s almost like a family member already, and that’s why we get so bent about certain things and changes we disapprove of and had no say in til they were dropped like boulders from on high.

becki8450

I'm a lacto-vegetarian and have been for almost 50 years. I am very conscious of what I eat but I did get off track a bit as far as sweets, fats, etc. a few years back. MFP has helped me keep better track of these things in the years that I have been using it. However, I, personally, don't see a benefit to the new addition: it might tell me one day that I need to add fiber or protein to my diet, but I already knew this just from looking at what I ate that day (I always check my macros at the end of the day when I'm closing the day out). However, I DO use the Notes section every day to log times I eat, etc. So not having the Notes section on my iPhone app has been a real pain and, frankly, a step backwards for me. Here's a fun fact for the developers: I don't carry my desktop around with me all day but I do carry my phone AND log things in Notes when I'm out and about (i.e., at a restaurant, for example). So not having Notes available is a real bummer for me. I did find a workaround (it was posted on another section here) that worked and then it stopped working this morning. But now it seems to have returned so I'm not sure what the developers are doing. But whatever they are doing, PLEASE stop messing with the Notes section in the phone app!! If you MUST leave the BETA, then move it somewhere else, like under the Overview of the Nutrition section, because that's basically what the BETA is: an overview of the day. Maybe that way, your AI can pull better information from an individual's information and become more accurate! Just a thought ...