Alternatives to MyFitnessPal? Maybe a recipe calculator instead?
May 13, 2017 10:57 AM Subscribe
I need to track carbs, protein and fat. We cook meals almost exclusively from whole natural foods and MyFitnessPal is beyond torture to use.
Top Priority: I would dearly like to be able to add re-useable recipes. Currently if I create a recipe on my own, to add it to MFP I need to add every ingredient as a single line item under breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack. If I make the same dish a week later, I have to add everything all over again as there is no way to save a recipe.
Secondary Priority: A pie chart of carbs, fat and protein, since this is key for low carb/keto.
MFP is what I was using like 10 years ago; is there a better way to do this these days? Maybe some kind of recipe calculator? I'd be OK putting in recipes, getting the totals and manually porting them to a spreadsheet to get the day's nutrition, even.
Website, app, spreadsheet, free, paid... I don't care. I am losing the will to live here, let alone the will to eat low carb.
Top Priority: I would dearly like to be able to add re-useable recipes. Currently if I create a recipe on my own, to add it to MFP I need to add every ingredient as a single line item under breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack. If I make the same dish a week later, I have to add everything all over again as there is no way to save a recipe.
Secondary Priority: A pie chart of carbs, fat and protein, since this is key for low carb/keto.
MFP is what I was using like 10 years ago; is there a better way to do this these days? Maybe some kind of recipe calculator? I'd be OK putting in recipes, getting the totals and manually porting them to a spreadsheet to get the day's nutrition, even.
Website, app, spreadsheet, free, paid... I don't care. I am losing the will to live here, let alone the will to eat low carb.
Ok I was very confused because there is a recipe and meals section. There is also a pie chart for macro nutrients.
Honestly I think MFP has the biggest library of foods already added so you can easily scan things in. Was there another issue besides the recipe and pie chart?
posted by Crystalinne at 11:02 AM on May 13, 2017
Honestly I think MFP has the biggest library of foods already added so you can easily scan things in. Was there another issue besides the recipe and pie chart?
posted by Crystalinne at 11:02 AM on May 13, 2017
Response by poster: The library of foods is entered by humans who are less than accurate. I have a 210g tin of chickpeas that clearly says it is 21g of carbs. I found it on MFP, happily added it, and... it was entered as 39 carbs by whomever added it to MFP. Of the seven ingredients from last night's dinner, 5 are just wildly wrong.
I guess I'll just scan everything, though, that seems a lot easier!
posted by DarlingBri at 11:29 AM on May 13, 2017
I guess I'll just scan everything, though, that seems a lot easier!
posted by DarlingBri at 11:29 AM on May 13, 2017
The Supertracker is pretty helpful. The data is as accurate as the USDA can make it. It has a recipe setting so you can save whole food components for repeat meals.
posted by blnkfrnk at 11:48 AM on May 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by blnkfrnk at 11:48 AM on May 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
There is no doubt that MFP has some inaccurate data, but overall, if you read it with a discerning eye, you will know what is off. I scan as much as I can. I have also set up some meals I regularly cook from scratch. Those are actually the easiest to enter once you do it once. I have entered my data for 377 days in a row now. I know that after a while, I just learned how much of what I am eating. I use the app more as a confirmation than anything else now. The Supertracker linked by blnkfmk above seems promising too.
posted by AugustWest at 12:52 PM on May 13, 2017
posted by AugustWest at 12:52 PM on May 13, 2017
MFP has lots of duplicates, but I can usually find the right one with some work. If not, I create my own, correct, dupe.
posted by rhizome at 1:53 PM on May 13, 2017
posted by rhizome at 1:53 PM on May 13, 2017
Best answer: I like LoseIt better than MFP. I use Fitocracy Macros for easy visual macros tracking because I prefer it and I don't mind the extra step.
posted by Medieval Maven at 3:16 PM on May 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Medieval Maven at 3:16 PM on May 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I use Cronometer and quite like it.
posted by backwards guitar at 3:48 PM on May 13, 2017
posted by backwards guitar at 3:48 PM on May 13, 2017
I got to the point where I couldn't stand MFP because of the awful entries in the database. Tracking what I ate was not pleasant enough for me to deal with having to hunt or remember precisely what search terms to use to find what I actually wanted.
(How hard would it be to let me filter out user-created entries?) I switched to LoseIt, too.
posted by synecdoche at 5:17 PM on May 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
(How hard would it be to let me filter out user-created entries?) I switched to LoseIt, too.
posted by synecdoche at 5:17 PM on May 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
I couldn't take the terrible interface on MFP so I switched to LoseIt. Life's too short for terrible UI.
posted by marylynn at 5:46 PM on May 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by marylynn at 5:46 PM on May 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Metafilter, I love you so much. I spent so much of last night so frustrated and enraged by stupid MFP and this morning has been a breeze playing with both LoseIt and Cronometer. The charting is lovely, the UI is a huge relief after MFP, adding foods is a snap, and they both seem to track exactly what I want to track. With pretty charts!
Recipes are paid plan only, but since I am happy to pay for a subscription, that's totally OK with me and I will add foods to both for a few days before choosing one.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:46 AM on May 14, 2017 [1 favorite]
Recipes are paid plan only, but since I am happy to pay for a subscription, that's totally OK with me and I will add foods to both for a few days before choosing one.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:46 AM on May 14, 2017 [1 favorite]
My only positive comment for MFP (I am with everyone else who is not into their design aesthetic) is that from the browser, they have a recipe importer (for blog post recipes or allrecipies.com type of things).
Here's a link
If LoseIt or Chronometer have the same feature then there's no reason to stay with MFP, but import/match enough recipes from out on the web that I'm willing to stick with the ugliness of MFP's interface.
posted by sazerac at 7:30 AM on May 16, 2017
Here's a link
If LoseIt or Chronometer have the same feature then there's no reason to stay with MFP, but import/match enough recipes from out on the web that I'm willing to stick with the ugliness of MFP's interface.
posted by sazerac at 7:30 AM on May 16, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by DarlingBri at 10:59 AM on May 13, 2017 [1 favorite]