Able to create a custom meal and indicate number of servings

[mrshrdng1016]

I would really like to be able to build a recipie and then indicate how many servings it makes and how much I ate and see nutritional break down by servings too.  I think it would way easier than trying to enter all ingredients then when its time to eat the leftovers I can just add the recipie serving.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject and updated label

[MarcieDio]

Hello,

After using the food log option on the Dashboard and on my Android, I gotta say there's something here severely lacking when compared to competitor apps... The meal options and how they display.

I like the feature to have personalized meals with my own measurement of ingredients, however I do not like that when I add an existing meal to my food log it stays entirely itemized.

If I make a meal called "Extra Beefy Stew" or something, I personally would like for it to say that on my tracker so I can glance at it and put the serving size eaten that day. At the very least it should be optional whether something is itemized or grouped into one meal title, specifically when you're selecting it to add in for the day.

This would also help when recipes have longer lists of ingredients or you're prep-cooking, usually splitting up what you make into smaller portions for meals throughout the week. Selecting a meal you personalized, then being able to put that you only ate 1 cup, 1 bowl, etc, of that entire recipe is nicer than having to do some food math each time you have a little more or less than usual.

This could be entered pretty easily into the system if you have the user inputting the meal also put how many servings that recipe creates (for them), then giving serving options like with the ingredients.

1 recipe of Keto Oatmeal = 6 servings / various Macros

Save recipe

Add meal to food tracker with 1 serving being eaten, show 1/6th of the Original nutrition stats/calories

I saw this option discussed back in 2015 and onward, but the last response I saw stating that this feature wasn't being worked on was in 2017.

I'm hoping with more people asking, we can get some progress on this feature now that a few years of advancements have gone through.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @MarcieDio! Great suggestion, thanks for sharing your feedback. I've moved it into a similar request.  A lot of users are asking for this option, I hope we receive updates soon.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @alicecoopercat, thanks for taking the time to share why you would like to see this option on the Fitbit app. I think this feature suggestion already exists, so I’ve moved your post here. While we don’t currently have plans to release this feature, we always appreciate the passion and creativity that comes out of this Community. Since we know this idea is important to many of you, we have left voting open to continue tracking interest and will post another update if anything changes. To learn more about how Fitbit decides which suggestions get developed, visit our FAQs.

I hope to see you around.

[Futuregirl]

PLEASE do this!! I don’t like fudging it with workarounds and the ability to create meals should absolutely be something you can do in the app without having to log in to the full dashboard! Pleeeeeease!!

[JavaLinz]

If nothing else, at LEAST add the ability to import a recipe from another recipe calculator - WellFit, HappyForks, whatever.  Then we can copy the recipe in the calculator, set the servings and import to a meal in FitBit and reuse!!

[AndieJ]

I use Spark People recipe calculator it will up load to FitbitSent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

[PaulaLyn]

I strongly agree with the ideas post here:

1 - the ability to enter #of servings when entering a custom meal and then being able to enter how many portions of the meal you ate (without having to re-calculate the ingredients every time)

2 - having the custom meal remain as a custom meal when entered instead of breaking down into a list of ingredients so that you know exactly what meal you ate.

I'm honestly a little surprised that this is not a standard feature of the meal logging.  Most people would cook a bulk meal and portion it up, so why is this not an option here?

[Skaytn]

It has been months since I suggested this feature. They don't care. Their
job is to sell fitbits.

[SKhalsa]

Fairly new to Fitbit here but the main reason I joined was to be able to log my food intake accurately and in one app. I prepare most of my meals from scratch with home recipes and have not found a way to easily input then into the site/app. It will let me choose individual ingredients but not a create and add a recipe. This forces me to use a different site to get the correct information I need and then go back to input it in Fitbit which is a pain and takes extra time I don't always have.

This brings me to my second point where many of the store-bought items I have searched for in the database have inaccurate nutritional facts for example nearly all Naked Smoothie products are off by 10 -100 calories. I have found a way to go around this database issue by turning the items that come up into custom items so I may correct the info however it would be nice if there was a flag button of some kind so the items can actually become accurate for the entire database and Fitbit community at large.

In conclusion, is there now or will there be a flag option for the inaccurate database items and is there currently or will there be a recipe building feature in the future? 

Thanks for your help!

Sid

[SKhalsa]

I have also found 3 past suggestions/requests for these such features:

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Fitbit-com-Dashboard/Logging-Custom-recipes/m-p/484066#M17992

This one has 42 votes and 57 comments. (The answer from this one is to use another site/app rather than adding a feature to give customers the ability to only use one app) 

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/Add-way-to-report-inaccurate-nutrition-informati...

This has 55 votes and 24 comments.

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/Recipe-Converter-with-Ability-to-Save-Recipes/id...

This one had 366 votes and 166 comments.

How many votes & comments are needed to get a feature considered and added?

[LizFitbit]

Hi @SKhalsa I'll move your suggestion to a similar one about saving recipes. You might also be interested in voting on this suggestion about logging inaccurate nutritional info.

[thisgirlnamedt]

To tag on to what others have suggested, it's like the capability to enter a meal on the dashboard and entering custom items on the app/dashboard needs to be merged into one function. I would love to be able to add a list of foods I am adding into a recipe/meal and later be able to input how much was eaten of that recipe (in ounces/grams, by volume, or by servings). From what is on the dashboard, it would be great to be able to insert the whole dish for what is currently in "Meals" and then when you choose the "When?", be prompted for a portion (i.e. "I ate 1/6 servings of Turkey Chili for Lunch."). I think this is what everyone really would like (especially with the option to do this on both the dashboard and in app).

[Spratty59]

Considering this idea was first requested in 2014, I can’t believe this is still not possible 6 years later. Ease of use and functionality is what’s going to pull people over from other apps and encourage people to use the Fitbit app for more. This alone keeps me using ‘MyFitnessPal’ despite my desire to use as few an amount of apps as possible. I can’t imagine it is a difficult function to include. 

[Skaytn]

It was possible six years ago. I have returned my Fitbit to Amazon long ago and have been trying to unsubscribe for months because the Fitbit does not serve my needs. As well, my sleep doctor says you cannot detect REM stage accurately without your head being hooked up to electrodes, and he has no faith in Fitbit's claims to measuring sleep stages.

[Spratty59]

@Skaytn none of that has anything to do with the ability to record and save recipes, which has never and still is not possible on the app. 

[Skaytn]

My point exactly, Not only can one not create recipes etc, I am adding that the sleep recording function does not serve either. I need BOTH of these to function.

[Will4Hike]

Yup.
FitBit sure seems to be tone-deaf and resistant to change.

So sad...

Thanks for pitching in,
Will

[SunsetRunner]

I've seen so many suggestions like this be closed off, why?

It is such a simple fix, add a serving size to the create meal section of the app. I shouldn't have to pay over £100 for a device, to then have to use a 3rd party app to accurately record my calorie intake? A lot of people using Fitbit will be making their own meals from scratch, surely it would make sense to add this as a feature and not be losing custom to other services? 

[LizzyFitbit]

H @SunsetRunner. Thanks for sharing this suggestion about being able to create a meal and add a serving size in the Fitbit app. This idea was already requested in the Feature Suggestions board, so I’ve moved your post here. This will help us to keep the forums organized and make sure the suggestions don't get confused, or split a popular vote. Click on the thumbs-up to show your support and keep adding your suggestions.

[dnp541]

I see a ton of comments about the improvements needed for tracking food and especially the ability to input my own recipes.  Most of these suggestions date back to 2018, and still no improvements.  That's a bummer. 

With other calorie counting systems like Weight Watchers, I can build my own recipes and track them as I eat them.  I really wish FitBit did that so it could track macros for me.  I don't eat packaged food - I cook my own food so I can eat clean, but FitBit doesn't allow me to track that.  It's ridiculous to try and guess how much of each ingredient I ate out of a whole pan of it.  Fit Bit really should be able to save meals and recipes w/ portions so that I don't have to enter them separately as ingredients every single time.

I also wish you had more options for some foods' measures. Example:  many of the foods in your system are measured in ounces. Most people measure in cups, tablespoons, etc., so that's not helpful. 

Please, Fitbit, improve your system! I love that you keep track of the calories I've burned, but how I can properly use your tools of tracking how many calories I've taken in if you don't provide me with a better system?

Eating healthier often means cooking your own meals and eating certain-sized portions. Please support those of us who do and encourage those who don't by making your food log adaptable to those of us who don't buy all of our foods prepackaged.

[Will4Hike]

Thanks for pitching in.

Hope all is well for you and yours.

Will

[SarahEM1975]

Logging the food intake for the day is really useful.  However it would be even better if a couple of things could be added to save time when adding food:

1.  I can have the same breakfast, fruit etc each day of the week,  Can a function be added so you can select which days to add to rather than having to enter separately on each day?

2.  When creating meals  you might eat on a regular basis, can a function be added so you can save that meal.  This especially applies when you cook fresh from home say a Chilli Con Carne and you build the ingredients each time to create that food.  If you only had to do that once and be able to select in the future a meal you have created again would save time.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @SarahEM1975, thanks for explaining why you would like to have the ability to create meals on the app. Thanks for sharing your feedback. I've moved it into a similar request.  A lot of users are asking for this option, I hope we receive updates soon.

[TSecor]

I know I've seen this suggested, but not for a while. Being able to input or copy recipes into Fitbit to get nutritional information. MFP has it, but it would be nice to able to just use it with my Fitbit app instead of having to transfer from MFP to Fitbit.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @TSecor, thanks for explaining why you would like to have the option to create recipes on the Fitbit app. Thanks for sharing your feedback. I've moved it into a similar request.  A lot of users are asking for this option, I hope we receive updates soon.