Searching the food database in MyFitnessPal can be very overwhelming, especially when you’re new to tracking your macros. And SPOILER ALERT, not all foods in the database are accurate. Anyone can create new foods in the database and share it with all users, so you really have to be careful. One of the reasons we use and prefer MyFitnessPal over other macro tracking apps is because of the large food database. It’s both a blessing and a curse.
Now don’t fret and give up quite yet. Rest assured that you just need to double check your selections. Once you find the correct food the first time, the app with save these foods and they will appear in your frequently used. You can also create your own foods if you prefer. This is a little more time consuming at first, but you only have to do it once. (Just like when creating recipes!)
Here are a few tips when searching for foods in MyFitnessPal:
- Look for foods with the green checkmark (This means they are verified and the best choice)
- When searching for raw fruits, veggies, and meat, include USDA in your search. Example: Banana USDA (see image below)
- When scanning a food with a label, double check that the nutrition info was properly imported into MFP.
- If doing a little math to figure out your servings or creating recipes in MFP is overwhelming to you(totally understandable), search for foods using the terms: raw, cooked, roasted, bbq, etc.
Here are a few macro cheat sheets to help you with some common foods people struggle with logging:
Remember that at the end of the day your success comes down to consistency, not which foods you chose from the MFP food database.
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