Logging Custom recipes

[suz1roy]

To Fitbit - 

Please do something to make creating your own food (e.g. recipes) easier.  your tracker seems fine if I only eat prepackaged food and or insert Xoz of chicken, etc.  But for those of us who make/cook most of our food (WAY healthier than buying premade/packaged foods) - surely you would want to help us track this way.  If we could build recipes under names once, and then refer to them later - that would be hugely helpful.  I was looking to switch to fitbit for a foodlog, but still can't seem to do this.  PLEASE fix this.  Thank You

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[dlswalker]

Unfortunately, MyFitnessPal discontinued support of Windows Phone/Windows Mobile in 08/2016.  Without this support, a gap still exists for this need for Windows Phone users.

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hey @dlswalker!

Thanks for pointing that out! Perhaps you could visit the suggestion I mentioned previously and vote for it to show your support.

Hope to see you around! 

[Amyj525]

I would love this too!! My other calorie tracker apps did it and I loved it. I am surprised this one doesn't and I have to add the ingredients one by one. Ugh. 

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hey @Amyj525! Thanks for stepping into the Forums.

I agree that it could be a very good tool to have! be sure to support the suggestion I mentioned before.

If you have any questions, be sure to let me know.

[bolla8]

I too would really like to use only one app for food logging but I do have a MyFitnessPal account. I will log this way until FitBit adds the feature to their app. Are there any plans to do so in the next releases? Any timeframe?

Do both apps share info so that if I log all food except my homemade stuff in FitBit will all of my food show in FitBit so I don't have to jockey between the two?

Thanks!

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hey @bolla8, thanks for stepping into the Forums.

At this moment we do not have any news on the matter. If, at any point in the future, a feature like that is implemented we will let everyone know.

As for your question, yes. MFP and Fitbit should share all of the food and calorie burn information between the two.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

[Ctevis37]

I would love this feature.  I currently use MFP to log my food only. I would definitely like to streamline and use only Fitbit, but it doesn't allow me to add my homemade meals.

[MrMarv]

I use custom foods (the "Create a new food" option on the Log page). It starts out as a pain, but with excel the process is getting easier. It is a way to add homemade meals but may not in the way MFP does. I don't know as I stopped using MFP quite a while ago. Had I known how important tracking sodium would become in my life, maybe I wouldn't have.

I know my way it is just a different way. Instead of using another application, I'm emulating the second application.

My wife cooks and I document it using Excel. I do help in the kitchen some, but I know my place ;-).

I have a master spreadsheet of raw ingredients that I update with nutritional values each time we use it for the first time. It contains the master unit (tsp, tbsp, oz, etc..., and the nutritional information for that unit of measure). I have a second spreadsheet that is the master template for each "food", such as Low Sodium Meat Sauce.

Referencing my wife's recipe card, or any recipe source she is using, I can normally have the information to plug into the  "Create a new food" option within 10 minutes. 

Tonight, we wanted to try and create a lighter feeling sauce. We replaced the dice tomatoes with crushed tomatoes and left out the tomato paste. It took me less than 3 minutes to bring up the old recipe spreadsheet, replace the tomatoes, drop the paste, save the new recipe sheet with "(crushed)" at the end of the name, create a new food in Fitbit and print a new nutritional label for the new recipe card.

Is it a lot of work? Yes.

Does it get easier over time? Yes, as the master ingredient list grows, I have to research less raw ingredient values and creating the meal spreadsheets is faster. I think tonight's 3 minutes was closer to ten when I created the original a few weeks ago. I don't want to remember how long it took to document the nutritional values for Burgundy Beef using pencil and paper a month ago.

Is it for everyone? Not even close. But it works for me. Of course, I'm a geek and application developer for over 30 years.

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hey @MrMarv and @Ctevis37.

I can definitely see the use in having a feature like this. If you have the chance, perhaps you could visit the suggestion I mentioned before and vote for it.

@MrMarv That seems like a great solution, if one does have the time to dedicate to it. Thanks for sharing it here, nonetheless. I'm sure that someone will find your explanations useful.

Let me know if you have any further questions. 

[MrMarv]

---

@LanuzaFitbit wrote:

@MrMarv That seems like a great solution, if one does have the time to dedicate to it. Thanks for sharing it here, nonetheless. I'm sure that someone will find your explanations useful.

---

Thanks - but we both know that it is not for everyone.

While you will find that I will complain about some things, I will be the first to defend Fitbit when people believe "you guys" should have thought about everything before anyone else even started dreaming about it.

And, as an application developer for over 30 years, don't even get me started on some of the misunderstandings on this board about how "easy" it should be to fix things.

My custom solution to custom foods and @GSaldiveri's excellent workaround for quick calories coupled with many other "hacks" are what these kind of boards are about.

And I can personally testify that sometimes those kind of hacks end up finding themselves in the product.

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hey @MrMarv. Great post, as always.

I absolutely agree with what you're saying and appreciate your honesty in general. Glad to have you on the Fitbit forums. 

Perhaps you could visit one of our Discussion boards, if you haven't yet. Lots of different topics to talk about in there.

Hope to see you around! 

[Bossmoms]

This is not a solution.  I've tried the other app and it does not work correctly.  

[LanuzaFitbit]

A very warm welcome to the Forums @Bossmoms.

At the moment that would be the best way to go about logging meals. Please keep in mind that solutions are chosen by other members of the Community.

Perhaps you'd like to support the suggestion about logging meals. You can vote on it or comment on it to show your interest.

Hope to see you around! 

[tfurquim]

We don't want to log it in MFP, we want the ability to do it in the fitbit app and have a one stop shop. This issue pops up since 2014, why fitibit hasn't worked on it yet?

[Bossmoms]

Many good things about the Fitbit.   But . . . I read on another user's comments Fitness Pal is not working with the Fitbit.  Problem for me too.  Also Am not able to get the Lose It app to help with tracking my food and recipes.  My fitbit is close to dying.  I think I will just get my money back and wait until I hear that Fitbit has fixed these problems.  Not counting on it though!  

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hey @Bossmoms! Welcome to the Forums @tfurquim.

@Bossmoms What is going on with your Fitbit itself? Could you elaborate on that?

@tfurquim I definitely understand what you're saying. I'm not trying to sound like we don't acknowledge the situation, I was trying to provide alternatives. Please do know that we take suggestions and comments like this into account.

Feel free to let me know if there are any questions.

[Gujarati]

I also cook my own recipes and have problems ligging it

logging each ingredient separately is too tedious. Please make it easier

[LanuzaFitbit]

Welcome to the Community @Gujarati.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

You should definitely support the idea I mentioned before, to be able to log meals. 

Hopefully, I'll see you around the Forums!

[Yolalove]

Me I use Myfitnesspal to enter new meal it s work very well and it s transfert to fitbit.

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @Yolalove.

Thanks for sharing your feedback on the matter and sharing what you do.

Using MFP is definitely a great way to go about it. 

If you have the time, you should visit one of our Discussion boards. Lots of different topics to talk about in there.

Hope to see you around.