Need help with food logging

[geager]

I wish the food logging was more functional. If you look up "steamed vegetables" for instance you'll get a dozen restaurants with the quantity being "one serving", whatever that might mean. Is everyone actually eating every meal out at a chain restaurant? It would be much more useful just to take the very complete database at Calorie King or similar, and use that.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[SteveH]

If the food database is not working for you, have a look at some of the fitbit compatible apps that offer alternatives for food logging and sync automatically with fitbit.

I've been using MyFitnessPal for over a year now and am very happy with it but there are others too.

https://www.fitbit.com/apps

[geager]

Yeah, I did that for a year or so with My Fitness Pal. Going to another application because of the lack of functionality of the firbit database just seems easily correctible. As it is I have created somewhat artificial "meals" approximating my typical days, but this should not be necessary. 

[SunsetRunner]

---

@geager wrote:

Yeah, I did that for a year or so with My Fitness Pal. Going to another application because of the lack of functionality of the firbit database just seems easily correctible. As it is I have created somewhat artificial "meals" approximating my typical days, but this should not be necessary. 

---

Absolutely agree!!

The database should contain all of the generic foods, not mostly restaurant, fast and packaged foods.

I have put in my own from here: http://calorielab.com/index.html but fitbit should have them!!

[Cuddlestwo]

hi just joined the group im from Cornwall and so happy to find a cornwall group. Looking for someone to keep me honest in the slunk days. Are you synced with My Fitness Pal. if not try it, it is so easy to log your food on it and use your fitbit for excerise

[itsmeemilyb89]

My fitness pal is awesome and syncs with your fitbit. It's what I use to log my food and my activities besides walking like using the elliptical or running. Hope this helps 🙂

[geager]

My Fitness Pal is awesome. I am very familiar with MFP. Why can't the Fitbit website be awesome? See what I mean? I would just prefer to have it all in one place. I guess I'll not be getting my wish, but there is it.

[SunsetRunner]

---

@itsmeemilyb89 wrote:

My fitness pal is awesome and syncs with your fitbit. It's what I use to log my food and my activities besides walking like using the elliptical or running. Hope this helps 🙂

---

Yes, it's awsome - but is that an excuse for fitbit not to improve their product?

Why should we need to integrate with another program?

[RunningFree]

Totally agree. The fitbit food database is useless. I'm from NZ so food is diff than American foods. I hate how there isnt much in terms of generic food - way too many restarant foods. I'm not a huge fan of MFP either as it never has exactly what I want, or it does but the serving size is 1 serve and who know how much that is. I have been either entering branded foods manually or have started using MFP to find the foods I want (for example roasted eggplant) then using that data to create Roasted Eggplant in my fitbit food database. bit of mucking around but I eat basically the same foods all the time (same breaky, lunch and snacks, rotate same 4 or so dinners) so only really have to input the food I always eat. I eat mostly fresh food (not that much from a packet) so its annoying there isnt much on the fitbit database in terms of generic fresh foods. Also half my stuff I weigh from raw and half I weigh from cooked, and there isnt enough option of cooked foods - well there is but its all boiled with or without salt, i roast most of my food and there is no roasted food options! Ah well I'm sure it will improve over time.

[7Lenny7]

I've actually been happy with the Fitbit food database (only used it for a week) but at the urging of my neice I tried MyFitnessPal and I have to say, it's so much better!  The UPC scanner also seems to work much quicker.

[JoleneAL]

The UPC scanner has saved my sanity!

[SunsetRunner]

What is needed, is more generic foods (the way nature made them) listed in the database!!

Eating foods without labels on them, is to have healthy nutrition. Foods with labels are manufactured

and processed, and have lower vitamins, minerals and other vital nutrients (unless they artificially add

them in) and have much higher levels of simple sugars, salt and hydrogenated fats (to improve shelf

life). In a test with lab rats, they ate the cardboard box instead of the corn flakes that were in the box.

Also, what if you don't have (and don't want to have) a smart (so they call them) phone??

[Cuddlestwo]

Where is the upc scanner in my fitness pal

[JoleneAL]

When I chose to add a food, and the list opens up for me to pick or search, on my app, the scanner option is to the right of the search window and looks like a UPC code

Sent from my iPad

[Cuddlestwo]

Sent from my iPad

[adebra]

We don't always have data service in our rural area, apps aren't the answer; want the FitBit calorie database to be available off-line.

[adebra]

Agreed.  And what's with the baby food in the database?  Who's eating baby food?  Or using FitBit to track what their baby eats?!

[TXALLY]

I'm with you, it's completely frustrating to have to use 2-3 other apps just to get the info that you want/need.

[strawberry_]

The fitbit food app is absolute garbage. You have to use a 3rd party app such as MyFitnessPal and link it to your Fitbit account to that it syncs together.

[elderwanda]

I know this is an old thread, but I'm glad it's popped up again, because I've been wondering about this exact thing.  I made some mashed potatoes...you know, take some hot, boiled potatoes, stick a little bit of milk and butter in it, and mash it up.  I wanted to log in a 1 cup serving.  You look up "mashed potatoes" and you get pages of all kinds of things that might be restaurants, or might be brand names of dehydrated potato flakes---and who knows what it is?   I just ended up logging boiled potato, butter, and milk, in what I estimated to be the correct amounts.  

Sometimes it's almost amusing.  You try to log in your 10 grams of cheddar cheese, and you have to go through pages and pages of, "Cheddar Cheese flavored pork rinds from Bubba's Grill", and "Cheddar Cheese pita chips from Jack's Paleo Shack", and "Fat-free Cheddar Cheese Splenda Shake from Nestle".   It would be nice if the basic thing, the actual cheese, was at least at the top of the search.  If I just ate an apple, I probably don't care about the nutritional value of Apple Jacks cereal, or apple-flavored Jolly Rancher candies.  

It does provide some frightening insight into the kinds of weird "foods" that are out there.