THE COMPLETE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO TRACKING FOOD WITH MYFITNESSPAL
How to track accurately, stay consistent, and stop guessing.
Tracking your food is one of the most effective tools for fat loss, muscle gain, or maintenance.
This guide is designed to take a total beginner and turn them into a confident, accurate tracker.
1. Why Tracking Works
Tracking isn’t about perfection — it’s about awareness.
When you track your food, you learn:
What real portions look like
How much protein you eat
Why your weight fluctuates
How to stay consistent without guesswork
At the end of the day, every goal comes down to two things:
Calories + Protein
Master those, and you’ll make predictable progress.
2. MyFitnessPal Navigation (Beginner-Friendly)
Most of MyFitnessPal comes down to 3 main areas:
A. The Diary Tab
This is where you log your food. You’ll see sections for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, etc.
B. The “Add Food” Button
You can:
Search foods
Scan barcodes
Adjust serving sizes
Choose verified entries
Add meals or recipes
C. The Search Bar
Always choose:
Gram-based entries
Green check mark foods
Foods that match normal macros (e.g., chicken shouldn’t have 0g protein)
D. Setting Your Targets
Go to Goals → Calorie & Macronutrient Goals and set:
Daily calories
Daily protein target
Ignore carbs/fats unless programmed for you.
3. How to Use a Food Scale Correctly
A food scale is the difference between accurate tracking and guessing.
How to use it
Always weigh food before cooking (unless noted)
Use grams for accuracy
Place bowl/plate on scale → press Tare
Add food until you reach the target weight
Log immediately
Common mistakes
Using cups/spoons (inaccurate)
Weighing meat after it’s cooked and logging it as raw
Forgetting oils, sauces, dressings
Eyeballing portions
Accuracy matters — especially at the beginning.
4. Protein: Cooked vs. Uncooked (Essential Accuracy)
This is where most people unknowingly go wrong.
Simple rule:
Track meat raw. Track carbs dry.
Why?
Raw/dry weight is what nutrition labels use. Cooking changes weight, but not calories.
Example:
100g raw chicken → ~70g cooked
But the calories are still based on the 100g raw weight.
If you track “70g cooked chicken” as 70g raw chicken, you under-track protein and calories by 30–40%.
Carbs work the opposite way
Rice, pasta, and oats absorb water.
So 50g dry rice might turn into:
130g cooked
150g cooked
200g cooked
It depends entirely on cooking method.
But 50g dry is always 50g dry — consistent and accurate.
Can you track cooked meat?
Yes — if you do it correctly:
Cook the entire batch
Weigh the total cooked weight
Divide evenly into servings
Log portions based on the raw weight of the batch
This makes meal prepping extremely simple.
5. Making Meals and Recipes in MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal gives you two tools:
A. Meals (for repeated meals)
Use this when you eat the same combination often:
Chicken
Rice
Veggies
Track once → save as “Meal” → instantly add later.
B. Recipes (for mixed dishes)
Use this for foods cooked together:
Stir fry
Chili
Pasta dishes
Crockpot meals
How to build a recipe
Add all raw ingredients
Weigh the cooked batch
Divide into servings
Log accordingly
Avoid the “recipe importer” — it’s often inaccurate.
6. Tracking Tips for Meal Prepping
These tips make tracking easier and more accurate:
Weigh the entire cooked batch
Divide evenly into portions
Track oils, sauces, and dressings
Cook meals you can repeat easily
Save meals in MFP for quick logging
Repetition makes tracking effortless.
7. Accuracy Tips That Make You a Pro
Use verified (green check) entries
Track before you eat
Weigh proteins raw, carbs dry
Use grams, not cups
Track snacks and bites
Keep a list of staple foods
Don’t chase perfection — chase consistency
8. Troubleshooting Common Mistakes
Most issues come from:
Tracking cooked food as raw
Using measuring cups instead of a scale
Forgetting oils/sauces
Logging inaccurate entries
Not weighing carbs dry
Inconsistent tracking on weekends
Fix these, and your accuracy jumps immediately.
9. The Five Golden Rules of Tracking
Track food before you eat.
Weigh meat raw and carbs dry.
Use grams instead of cups/spoons.
Save meals you eat often.
Be consistent — not perfect.
10. How You Know You’re Tracking Correctly
You’ll know you’re accurate when:
You hit your calorie goal consistently
Protein is within 10g of the target
You weigh food properly
You track sauces/oils
You avoid unverified entries
Your results become predictable
If you can check these boxes, you’re tracking like a professional.
FINAL MESSAGE
Tracking isn’t a diet — it’s a skill. The more consistent you are, the easier it becomes, and the more control you gain over your results.
This guide gives you everything you need to track accurately and confidently using MyFitnessPal.
