Confusing and time-consuming to log food

KyleBTV
KyleBTV Posts: 1 Member
in Getting Started
Is it just me or is it quite laborious to enter a single food item, let alone a whole day's worth.

It takes several screens just to enter a single food item:
diary > add food > search > click > add to food diary

Then it kicks you back to diary - if I added a single food item for a meal, I'm probably going to have another one to immediately enter.

Is there some easier way to do it? Because of the apps popularity I would have assumed the User Interface would be a lot more user friendly, but I'm just not feeling it.

I find Livestrong so much easier, but there are so many more apps that support myfitnesspal that I'm trying to make the switch.

Any suggestions? Does it get easier?

Replies

  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    At the start it is a bit fiddly but when you've had a few weeks worth of data and saying we generally eat the same foods it becomes really quick.

    It's worth the few minutes a day it takes imo.
    I don't need to be as vigilant now as I've been maintaining nicely for 3+ years, it's become a habit to eat less and know portion sizes by eye balling now.
  • GreyKnight120
    GreyKnight120 Posts: 60 Member
    The more you do it the easier it gets, and it is totally worth the effort!! I cannot convey this enough through mere words alone. But it is. If you keep with it, I think you will see.
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
    It absolutely gets easier, because it remembers what you've logged, and you will be able to make your own recipes and save them as well.

    My breakfast has about 7 items, and I can copy/paste from the previous day if I'm having the same, or select "multi add" in the add food screen and just check off each item I'm eating that day to add them all at once.

    I have about a dozen dinner recipes saved, so I can just add one serving of the recipe rather than having to add each item separately, which saves so much time.

    It's a pain at first, but stick with it and it gets much faster.
  • thomaskorpi
    thomaskorpi Posts: 2 Member
    Like they said, it just gets easier the more days you use it. I'm not even 2 months in. It became convenient almost immediately. When you enter a breakfast item for example, it even has "commonly paired" items available so you can just check them from the same screen in the app and hit submit one time.

    Keep playing with it. I'm still finding ways to save time with entries, even though it was quick and easy after a couple of weeks since things repeat.

    Good luck!
  • wonderwoman4ever
    wonderwoman4ever Posts: 3 Member
    I'd agree that it can seem cumbersome in the beginning, but yes, once you start building up your food list it gets easier. You can then copy a meal from the day before, save common meals, etc. I also find it easier sometimes to add food from my phone because the search feature quickly allows you to search all of MyFitnessPal if the item isn't in your personal list.

    More importantly, I think the extra time to track everything you eat is absolutely worth it. There's no way I would've known that I was eating close to 1,000 calories a day by grazing on "healthy snacks" without MFP. I succeeded in losing 12 pounds in two months and kept it off for two years until illness struck my family. I fell off the wagon, but I'm back on. Back to logging every single food item and steadily getting my weight back under control.

    Hang in there!
  • courtneylykins5
    courtneylykins5 Posts: 168 Member
    I find it goes quickly for me. The bar code scanner on mobile, multi add and, meal features mean most things I usually eat can be added in seconds.
  • Hermina43
    Hermina43 Posts: 1 Member
    Wonderful input from everyone..can you tell me how the bar code scanner works?
  • CyberTone
    CyberTone Posts: 7,337 Member
    Hermina43 wrote: »
    Wonderful input from everyone..can you tell me how the bar code scanner works?

    ​Please see this article, and search for other helpful articles, on the MFP Help pages...

    https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/en/portal/articles/13640-how-do-i-use-the-barcode-scanner-to-log-foods-
  • mjwarbeck
    mjwarbeck Posts: 699 Member
    Personally, I don't find it a big deal...I do make recipes while I am cooking them...

    Now, everyone has their own way to use the tool...and I don't find the need to be 100% exact. I use approximations and I find that I am able to do it quite well.

    I do find that the barcode scanner tool is useful

    Also, since I eat the same thing for breakfast most times, It is a quick click for entering the same as yesterday or even using the option that it provides to add things that usually go together.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    It gets easier because I generally eat the same things over and over - so once they're in the diary it takes no time to click on it.
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    edited March 2016
    emdeesea wrote: »
    It gets easier because I generally eat the same things over and over - so once they're in the diary it takes no time to click on it.

    Ditto here. It takes me a few seconds per meal to log my food, and I use the app on my iPhone and iPad as well as on my laptop so MFP is always with me. The bar code scanner is a big help, so is the ability to copy another day's meal then edit it. You can also build your own recipes and meals for reuse, but I haven't used this feature.

    If I'm eating something I haven't logged before and can't find it in the database (especially when I'm eating out), I don't agonize over it. I find something close to it and log that. As my dad used to say, "Close enough for jazz". And before someone replies: "You have to be 100% accurate!" I say: speak for yourself. I've lost 65 pounds doing this. You DON'T have to become obsessive about recording to the gram to succeed at this.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,631 Member
    I've used several of these programs including FitDay and DailyPlate (the Livestrong one) and I find this one so much easier to use.

    With the others, I lasted 3 weeks on each before I gave up. Fortunately I only wanted to lose a little bit so 3 weeks was enough to get me headed in the right direction.

    I was only planning to be here for 3 weeks, like I have been with the others, because I figured it would be too much of a pain to continue longer than that ... but I found this one to be so easy to use, I've stayed over a year now!

    As others have mentioned, once you've selected a few food items, they are there and it is just a matter of a few clicks and they are selected.

    I also like the Quick Tools option. I often have eggs and toast for breakfast one weekend morning, and nutella with honey and toast on the other weekend morning. I can use the Quick Tools option to select "Last Saturday" or whatever, and there it all is. :)
  • Do3w7
    Do3w7 Posts: 17 Member
    Logging everything I put into my mouth. One it holds me accountable and two educates me. Shocking to see how much sugar is in some items. Also helps me make choices....... .Yes I can have this but will forfeit that to stay within my total calories for the day.
  • michellemybelll
    michellemybelll Posts: 2,228 Member
    It's just you.
  • laurenjennifer1987mfp
    laurenjennifer1987mfp Posts: 55 Member
    First week was most faffy as I had no database of commonly eaten food, it wasn't exactly a chore to add them in though... like many people my eating habits are a little repetitive because it's convenient. Logging works, so it's been worth sticking with.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    It's less labor-intensive then getting off the couch and scooping a bowl of ice cream
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,331 Member
    I must be weird since I never found MFP labor intensive. I started logging by writing stuff down on paper and doing calculations myself. When someone told me to try MFP I found it so much easier that I saw it as a pleasure.

    Yes, it does get quicker once you have logged a while both because you have stuff that you eat regularly, you can put together meals so all you have to do is edit quantity not actually search for individual items, and you just get quicker.

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