Customizing Myfitnesspal For Keto: Tracking Net Carbs Effectively

MyFitnessPal is a popular calorie-counting app that can be used to track the number of calories and macronutrients in the food you eat. While the app is not specifically designed for a keto diet, it can be customised to track net carbs, which is an important metric for people following a keto diet. Net carbs are calculated by subtracting the fibre content from the total carbohydrate content of a food item.

To customise MyFitnessPal for keto net carbs, you need to first set up an account on the MyFitnessPal website and then adjust your diet and fitness profile. This includes setting your macronutrient goals to specific percentages of carbs, protein and fat that are in line with keto recommendations. You can also add fibre as a tracking column to help you calculate net carbs.

Additionally, there are browser extensions and user scripts available that can be used in conjunction with MyFitnessPal to further enhance its keto tracking capabilities. These tools can provide additional features such as calculating net carbs and displaying pie charts to visualise your macronutrient intake. However, these customisations may require some technical knowledge and may not be officially supported by MyFitnessPal.

Add the fiber column to your diary summary

To add the fiber column to your diary summary, you must first sign up for an account on the MyFitnessPal website. Then, head to the “My Home” tab and click “Settings” and then “Diary Settings”. Alternatively, you can go directly to the “Food” tab and under the “Nutrients Tracked” section, change the selections to Carbohydrates, Protein, Fat, Fiber, and Sodium. After you have made these changes, hit the “Save Changes” button. Now, the fiber column will be visible on your mobile app as well. To see all the columns on your phone, make sure it is in “Diary” and in landscape mode.

Set your macros properly

Setting your macros properly is a crucial step in configuring MyFitnessPal for the keto diet. Here's a detailed guide on how to do it:

Step 1: Access the "Goals" Section

On the MyFitnessPal website, go to "My Home", then click on "Goals", and select "Change Goals". This will allow you to customise your macro targets.

Step 2: Set Your Macros

To set your macros for keto, you should allocate 5% for carbohydrates, 30% for protein, and 65% for fat. These percentages are crucial for maintaining ketosis, a state where your body burns fat for energy instead of carbohydrates.

Step 3: Adjust Total Calories

Set your total calorie intake relative to your total burn. MyFitnessPal provides an estimate, but you can adjust it up or down according to your preferences and weight loss goals. For example, if your goal is to create a daily calorie deficit of 620 calories to lose 1.24 pounds per week, you can set your calorie intake 620 calories below your total burn.

Step 4: Add Additional Measurements (Optional)

While this step is optional, adding additional measurements can help you track your progress more comprehensively. Recommended measurements to track include neck, waist, hips, thigh, chest, and arms. This allows you to visualise changes in your body composition over time.

Step 5: Add Fiber as a Tracking Column

Under "Nutrients Tracked", add Fiber to your list. This is crucial for keto as it helps you calculate your net carbs, which is an important metric for staying in ketosis. Net carbs are calculated by subtracting fiber from total carbs.

By following these steps, you will have set your macros properly and customised MyFitnessPal to support your keto journey. Remember that these settings may not be available on the mobile app, so make sure to access the website for these customisations.

Add additional measurements

Adding additional measurements is a great way to track your progress and see the changes in your body. Here's how you can do it:

• Click on "Change Measurements".
• Add as many measurements as you want to track. Recommended measurements include neck, waist, hips, thigh, chest, and arms.
• You can also add other measurements such as body fat percentage, blood pressure, and heart rate if you want to track those.
• These measurements will help you visualise your progress and see how your body is transforming.
• Make sure to take measurements consistently and accurately to ensure reliable progress tracking.

By adding these additional measurements, you'll have a more comprehensive view of your progress and be able to see the impact of your keto diet and exercise routine on your body. This can help keep you motivated and allow you to make informed decisions about your health and fitness journey.

Add fiber as a tracking column

To add fiber as a tracking column in MyFitnessPal, first log in to the MyFitnessPal website. Then, go to the “My Home” tab and click “Settings”. Next, click “Diary Settings”. Alternatively, you can go directly to the “Food” tab and find the “Nutrients Tracked” section. Here, you can select which nutrients you want to track. Make sure to select at least Carbohydrates, Protein, Fat, Fiber, and Sodium. Once you have made your selections, click “Save Changes”. The fiber column will now be visible on your mobile app, but remember that you need to have your phone in "Diary" and in landscape mode to see all the columns.

Install a script to add net carbs to the measurement statistics

To get net carbs in MyFitnessPal, you need to install a script. This only works on the desktop version of MyFitnessPal.

First, download an extension that can run the script on your MyFitnessPal settings. For Chrome, Safari, or Firefox users, download Tampermonkey. Once you download it, add it to your web browser as an extension.

Next, log in to MyFitnessPal and double-check your settings. You should be tracking:

• Carbohydrates
• Protein
• Fat
• Fiber
• Sodium

Then, download the script you’re going to run on MFP, using the Tampermonkey program you installed in Step 1. You can find that download link on this page: https://github.com/Surye/mfp-keto-userscript. Once it’s downloaded, don’t click on it.

Now, open Tampermonkey so you can drop the script file right in. Click the extension on your web browser, and you’ll see a plus (+) sign to add the script file you downloaded. Where it says “// Your code here…,” drag the file you downloaded from GitHub right onto this line of code. If it downloaded as a .zip file, you’ll have to unzip it and drag the file that ends in .user.js.

From here, you need to assign the URL that’s going to use this script. Copy and paste this URL into that box: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings. When you’re done, click the floppy disk icon to save your work.

Before you start using your newly converted MyFitnessPal keto-friendly app, you need to find out if it worked. Switch over to your MyFitnessPal tab to see if everything installed correctly. You’ll know if that’s the case when you see the Net Carbs column.

If you don’t see the Net Carbs column, check out the troubleshooting section next.

Troubleshooting

There are a few areas you can check to see what could be causing the issue.

First, head over to Tampermonkey to double-check that you:

• Copied the entire script over.
• Put the script in the right place.
• Added the correct URL.

This step also cross-checks that you saved your work.

If it all looks good, your next step is to make sure you have the script and Tampermonkey enabled. To do that, click this extension button again:

Once you do, you’ll either see a sign that a new script is running:

Or one that no scripts are running:

If the new script is running, refresh the page a few times, and your update should kick in.

For those who aren’t seeing any running scripts, head back over to “Installed user scripts” in Tampermonkey to double-check your work again (see the first step of this section).

And if that doesn’t do the trick, try starting over by creating a new script altogether:

Frequently asked questions