How to Track Homemade Meals in MyFitnessPal
A step-by-step guide for coaching clients on accurate calorie tracking for batch-cooked recipes.
How to Track Homemade Meals in MyFitnessPal
Tracking homemade meals can feel complicated, but once you understand the logic behind it, it becomes second nature. This guide walks you through the exact method to make sure your calories are accurate every time — even with stews, curries, soups, and any other batch cooked meals.
This guide is written specifically for you. Follow each step in order and you will have a reliable, repeatable system for tracking any homemade meal.
Introduction
Tracking homemade meals can feel complicated, but once you understand the logic behind it, it becomes second nature. This guide walks you through the exact method to make sure your calories are accurate every time — even with stews, curries, soups, and any other batch cooked meals.
Stews
Batch cooked and portioned with precision
Curries
Rich sauces tracked accurately every time
Soups
Variable liquid content handled correctly
Any Batch Meal
One system that works across all recipes
Section 1: Why Raw Ingredients Are the Starting Point
When you build a recipe in MyFitnessPal, always log your ingredients by their raw, uncooked weight. This is because the calorie content of food does not change during cooking. What changes is the weight — water evaporates, fat renders out, and the total mass of the dish reduces. By logging everything raw, you are capturing the true calorie total for the whole recipe before any of that happens.
Calories Do Not Change
The calorie content of food does not change during cooking. Only the weight changes.
Water Evaporates
As your meal cooks, water evaporates and the total mass of the dish reduces.
Fat Renders Out
Fat can render out during cooking, further reducing the overall weight of the dish.
Log Raw for Accuracy
By logging everything raw, you capture the true calorie total for the whole recipe before any of that happens.
Section 2: Building Your Recipe in MyFitnessPal
Weigh each ingredient before it goes into the pot and log it in the MyFitnessPal recipe builder. Do this for every ingredient. The app will calculate the total calories for the entire recipe. This number is fixed and accurate regardless of how long you cook it or how much the dish reduces down.
01
Weigh Each Ingredient
Before anything goes into the pot, weigh each ingredient individually on your kitchen scales.
02
Log in the Recipe Builder
Enter each ingredient and its raw weight into the MyFitnessPal recipe builder.
03
Do This for Every Ingredient
Do not skip any ingredient, no matter how small. Every item contributes to the total.
04
The App Calculates the Total
MyFitnessPal will calculate the total calories for the entire recipe. This number is fixed and accurate regardless of how long you cook it or how much the dish reduces down.
Section 3: Finding the Total Cooked Weight
Once your meal is fully cooked, you need to find out what the whole batch weighs. Here is how to do it.
1
Weigh your empty cooking pot before you start
Make a note of the weight. You will need this number later.
2
Once the meal is cooked, weigh the pot again with the food inside
Place the full pot back on the scales and record the total weight.
3
Subtract the weight of the empty pot from this number
The result is the total cooked weight of your meal.
Keep a note of your empty pot weight somewhere handy — on your phone or a sticky note in the kitchen — so you do not need to re-weigh it every time.
Section 4: Setting Up Servings in MyFitnessPal
Go back into your recipe in MyFitnessPal and set the number of servings to match the total cooked weight in grams. For example, if your stew weighs 1,200g once cooked, set the servings to 1,200. This means each serving equals one gram, which makes portioning at mealtimes simple and precise.
The Rule
Set the number of servings in MyFitnessPal to equal the total cooked weight in grams.
1 serving = 1 gram
Why This Works
When each serving equals one gram, portioning at mealtimes becomes simple and precise. You weigh your plate, and that number is exactly what you log.
If your stew weighs 1,200g once cooked, set the servings to 1,200. This means each serving equals one gram.
Section 5: Logging Your Portion
When you are ready to eat, weigh your portion straight onto the plate or into the bowl. Whatever that weight is in grams, log that number of servings in MyFitnessPal. The app will automatically calculate the correct calories for your specific portion size.
1
Weigh Your Portion
Place your plate or bowl on the scales and weigh your portion straight onto it.
2
Note the Grams
Whatever the weight is in grams, that is the number you need.
3
Log That Number of Servings
Enter that number as your servings in MyFitnessPal.
4
Calories Calculated Automatically
The app will automatically calculate the correct calories for your specific portion size.
Example to Bring It Together
Here is a worked example so you can see exactly how the numbers play out in practice.
That is accurate, simple, and repeatable every time.
Section 6: One Thing to Keep in Mind
The cooked weight of a batch can vary slightly each time depending on how long it cooks and how much liquid evaporates. For most people this difference is small enough not to matter. If you want to be as precise as possible, re-weigh the cooked batch each time you make the recipe rather than relying on a saved weight from a previous cook.
For Most People
The variation in cooked weight from batch to batch is small enough not to matter. Your tracking will still be accurate and consistent.
For Maximum Precision
Re-weigh the cooked batch each time you make the recipe rather than relying on a saved weight from a previous cook. This takes an extra 30 seconds and keeps your numbers as tight as possible.
The cooked weight of a batch can vary slightly each time depending on how long it cooks and how much liquid evaporates.
Closing Message
This method works for any homemade meal — soups, curries, casseroles, pasta dishes, and more. Once you have set up a recipe this way in MyFitnessPal, tracking it becomes quick and consistent. Accurate tracking does not have to be complicated. It just needs a reliable system, and this is it.
Soups
Curries
Casseroles
Pasta Dishes
Accurate tracking does not have to be complicated. It just needs a reliable system, and this is it.