Rosebud
Tue, Nov-29-05, 16:59
Below are some basic questions and answers for the MyPLAN tool.
Please bear in mind that the tool is still in development, so some things may change in future. I shall also add new questions and answers as I see new questions asked here in the MyPLAN forum. :)
Entering Food
Q
I can’t figure out how to add items to the food/menu tracker.
A
Start with search or food search (on the left side of the page) and enter the food as a favourite. After a while, you’ll have most of the foods you use regularly in favourites making it much easier.
Q
Is there an easier way to use the search tool? For example, when I enter chicken breast I get 7 pages of chicken products!
A
Click on advanced search tips. There are lots of hints there to make searching easier.
Q
How can I add more than one item at a time?
A
If the items are listed in the box on the entry page (either favourites, recent items, or results in the search box), you can select multiple items by pressing on the Ctrl key, and selecting the items with your mouse. This should add all the selected items at once.
Or if you are a Mac user, use your "open apple" key, and press shift.
Q
I added the wrong thing for one of my meals. How do I remove it?
A
Mark the box at the right side of the food item, then select delete from this day’s entries from the drop down menu, and click submit.
Q
How do I go to another day to enter food, for example, to enter what I think I’ll eat tomorrow. I can’t click on the days on the little calendar unless I have made entries for those days.
A
You can do that at the top of the screen where it says Jump to:
Q
How do I add lemon juice, for example the juice of half a lemon?
A
Search for lemon juice, raw and enter it into your day's foods. From the drop down menu, you can then select 1 lemon yields and select 0.5 (or however much of the lemon juice you will use).
If you are going to be using this regularly, it will help to add it to your favourites.
Q
How do I delete a food item from my list of favourites?
A
Go to Food Lists on the left hand side, and select Favourites. Then tick the box beside the item you wish to delete, and select Delete from my favourites from the drop down menu underneath the list.
Recipes
Q
How do I enter a recipe?
A
First, click on New Recipe at the left hand side of MyPLAN. Next, enter the name of the recipe, and number and type of servings. Then click on create recipe. That brings up the place where you can enter the recipe ingredients.
Once you have entered all ingredients, along with recipe instructions if you wish, enter the correct amounts then click on update servings.
Your recipe is now complete, and you can see the full counts there.
Recipes are automatically added to "Favourites." You can also find all your recipes by clicking on "Food Lists" at the left hand side, then clicking on "My Recipes" at the top.
Q
I made a recipe, but now I can’t find it.
A
Click Food Lists, at the left side of the page, and you’ll see My Recipes at the top.
Q
I want to change the ingredients in one of my recipes. How do I do it?
A
Go to My Recipes (click Food Lists first) and you will see edit beside each recipe. Clicking on that will take you to the page where you can change it.
Q
How do I delete a recipe?
A
Go to My Recipes by clicking on Food Lists. First click on the box beside the recipe you no longer want, then click on Delete recipe from the dropdown menu.
Note, if you have already used the recipe in a day's intake, you will only be able to delete the recipe after first deleting it from where you have recorded it in your daily intake log.
Custom Foods
Q
How do I find my custom foods?
A
Click Food Lists, at the left side of the page, and you’ll see My Custom Foods at the top.
Q
How do I delete a Custom Food?
A
Go to My Custom Foods by clicking on Food Lists. First click on the box beside the food item you no longer want, then click on Delete from my custom foods from the dropdown menu.
Note, if you have already used the custom food in a day's intake, you will only be able to delete the food item after first deleting it from where you have recorded it in your daily intake log.
Q
How do I enter products with sugar alcohols, such as Atkins bars?
A
Enter the total carb count into Carbohydrate by difference and then enter the net carb count into Custom Carb Count PECC (in Additional Data, under the Basic Data.)
Q
How can I edit my custom foods?
A
Go to your list of Custom Foods and click on the item you wish to change. Then click on Customize and you will see where you can add or subtract the appropriate info.
Bulk Entries
Q
What’s the Bulk Entry and how does it work?.
A
This allows you to create a day’s worth (or a meals’s worth) of entries, all preconfigured with the amounts and servings.
If you choose Single Meal you can add a meal, such as a salad, to any meal of any day you wish. It’s like a recipe, only once the bulk entry is added to the meal, the items show individually, and can be edited if necessary.
If you choose Multiple Meals you can add a whole day's worth of meals. For example, bacon and eggs for breakfast, followed by chicken and salad for lunch, followed by steak with broccoli for dinner.
All entries from your Single and Multiple Meals can be edited as necessary.
Q
How do I delete a Bulk Entry?
A
Go to your list of Bulk Entries (press Food Lists to find it), then check the box beside the entry you no longer want, and click on delete bulk entry items from the dropdown menu.
Miscellaneous
Q
Has fibre already been subtracted in MyPLAN?
A
Yes and no. ;) It depends which option you choose in Edit Settings.
If you wish to subtract the fibre yourself, and have the fibre displayed in your Daily Entry, select Show Fiber Count.
If you wish to have the fibre already subtracted, select Show PECC.
Note that if you choose Show PECC, you can still see how much fibre you have consumed by going to Basic Data in your Daily Summary.
Q
Can I share my MyPLAN information with other forum members?
A
Yes. Click on Edit settings, then change "No one may view my logs" to "Other forum members may view my logs."
This will give you a MyPLAN icon at the bottom of each of your posts, on which other forum members can click to see how you are doing.
Q
Can I transfer the MyPLAN information to another post?
A
Yes.
At the bottom of your daily food entry, or the detailed meal view, you will see just above the pie chart legend, 3 links to export that day's food entry.
1. Journal: This will copy the food entry as a new post in your journal.
2. BBCode: This will you allow you to view/edit the bbcode, before you cut and paste it to your journal, or you can download as a file
3. HTML: This will allow you to view the entries in HTML format, and you can cut and paste, or download as a file.
Please bear in mind that the tool is still in development, so some things may change in future. I shall also add new questions and answers as I see new questions asked here in the MyPLAN forum. :)
Entering Food
Q
I can’t figure out how to add items to the food/menu tracker.
A
Start with search or food search (on the left side of the page) and enter the food as a favourite. After a while, you’ll have most of the foods you use regularly in favourites making it much easier.
Q
Is there an easier way to use the search tool? For example, when I enter chicken breast I get 7 pages of chicken products!
A
Click on advanced search tips. There are lots of hints there to make searching easier.
Q
How can I add more than one item at a time?
A
If the items are listed in the box on the entry page (either favourites, recent items, or results in the search box), you can select multiple items by pressing on the Ctrl key, and selecting the items with your mouse. This should add all the selected items at once.
Or if you are a Mac user, use your "open apple" key, and press shift.
Q
I added the wrong thing for one of my meals. How do I remove it?
A
Mark the box at the right side of the food item, then select delete from this day’s entries from the drop down menu, and click submit.
Q
How do I go to another day to enter food, for example, to enter what I think I’ll eat tomorrow. I can’t click on the days on the little calendar unless I have made entries for those days.
A
You can do that at the top of the screen where it says Jump to:
Q
How do I add lemon juice, for example the juice of half a lemon?
A
Search for lemon juice, raw and enter it into your day's foods. From the drop down menu, you can then select 1 lemon yields and select 0.5 (or however much of the lemon juice you will use).
If you are going to be using this regularly, it will help to add it to your favourites.
Q
How do I delete a food item from my list of favourites?
A
Go to Food Lists on the left hand side, and select Favourites. Then tick the box beside the item you wish to delete, and select Delete from my favourites from the drop down menu underneath the list.
Recipes
Q
How do I enter a recipe?
A
First, click on New Recipe at the left hand side of MyPLAN. Next, enter the name of the recipe, and number and type of servings. Then click on create recipe. That brings up the place where you can enter the recipe ingredients.
Once you have entered all ingredients, along with recipe instructions if you wish, enter the correct amounts then click on update servings.
Your recipe is now complete, and you can see the full counts there.
Recipes are automatically added to "Favourites." You can also find all your recipes by clicking on "Food Lists" at the left hand side, then clicking on "My Recipes" at the top.
Q
I made a recipe, but now I can’t find it.
A
Click Food Lists, at the left side of the page, and you’ll see My Recipes at the top.
Q
I want to change the ingredients in one of my recipes. How do I do it?
A
Go to My Recipes (click Food Lists first) and you will see edit beside each recipe. Clicking on that will take you to the page where you can change it.
Q
How do I delete a recipe?
A
Go to My Recipes by clicking on Food Lists. First click on the box beside the recipe you no longer want, then click on Delete recipe from the dropdown menu.
Note, if you have already used the recipe in a day's intake, you will only be able to delete the recipe after first deleting it from where you have recorded it in your daily intake log.
Custom Foods
Q
How do I find my custom foods?
A
Click Food Lists, at the left side of the page, and you’ll see My Custom Foods at the top.
Q
How do I delete a Custom Food?
A
Go to My Custom Foods by clicking on Food Lists. First click on the box beside the food item you no longer want, then click on Delete from my custom foods from the dropdown menu.
Note, if you have already used the custom food in a day's intake, you will only be able to delete the food item after first deleting it from where you have recorded it in your daily intake log.
Q
How do I enter products with sugar alcohols, such as Atkins bars?
A
Enter the total carb count into Carbohydrate by difference and then enter the net carb count into Custom Carb Count PECC (in Additional Data, under the Basic Data.)
Q
How can I edit my custom foods?
A
Go to your list of Custom Foods and click on the item you wish to change. Then click on Customize and you will see where you can add or subtract the appropriate info.
Bulk Entries
Q
What’s the Bulk Entry and how does it work?.
A
This allows you to create a day’s worth (or a meals’s worth) of entries, all preconfigured with the amounts and servings.
If you choose Single Meal you can add a meal, such as a salad, to any meal of any day you wish. It’s like a recipe, only once the bulk entry is added to the meal, the items show individually, and can be edited if necessary.
If you choose Multiple Meals you can add a whole day's worth of meals. For example, bacon and eggs for breakfast, followed by chicken and salad for lunch, followed by steak with broccoli for dinner.
All entries from your Single and Multiple Meals can be edited as necessary.
Q
How do I delete a Bulk Entry?
A
Go to your list of Bulk Entries (press Food Lists to find it), then check the box beside the entry you no longer want, and click on delete bulk entry items from the dropdown menu.
Miscellaneous
Q
Has fibre already been subtracted in MyPLAN?
A
Yes and no. ;) It depends which option you choose in Edit Settings.
If you wish to subtract the fibre yourself, and have the fibre displayed in your Daily Entry, select Show Fiber Count.
If you wish to have the fibre already subtracted, select Show PECC.
Note that if you choose Show PECC, you can still see how much fibre you have consumed by going to Basic Data in your Daily Summary.
Q
Can I share my MyPLAN information with other forum members?
A
Yes. Click on Edit settings, then change "No one may view my logs" to "Other forum members may view my logs."
This will give you a MyPLAN icon at the bottom of each of your posts, on which other forum members can click to see how you are doing.
Q
Can I transfer the MyPLAN information to another post?
A
Yes.
At the bottom of your daily food entry, or the detailed meal view, you will see just above the pie chart legend, 3 links to export that day's food entry.
1. Journal: This will copy the food entry as a new post in your journal.
2. BBCode: This will you allow you to view/edit the bbcode, before you cut and paste it to your journal, or you can download as a file
3. HTML: This will allow you to view the entries in HTML format, and you can cut and paste, or download as a file.