Develop a personalized nutrition plan by setting targets with MyNetDiary

Did you know you can create a personalized nutrition plan, tracking more than 50 nutrients with MyNetDiary? Learn how to get started and meet the nutrient goals that are important to you.

Creating a personalized nutrition plan is easy with MyNetDiary

MyNetDiary gives you the power and flexibility to plan and customize nutrient targets according to your needs-far beyond the basic nutrients alone. It all starts by selecting Nutrient Targets under My Plan (screenshot below). Learn valuable information about each nutrient, select the recommended value, or create a custom target. To choose the nutrients you want to track, tap Select Nutrients for Food Log at the bottom of the Nutrient Targets screen (screenshot below).

If you want to track certain nutrients more closely, enable Show on Dashboard to view a nutrient progress bar on your Dashboard. Enable Show in Food Log to see a nutrient on meal screens and in your reports.

Macronutrients: Carbs, protein, and fat

Carbohydrates, protein, and fat are macronutrients, meaning they provide calories and constitute the bulk of what we eat. As described in the article, "Planning weight & calories" weight loss requires consuming fewer calories than burned, creating a calorie deficit. A healthy eating plan includes a balance of nutrients to support your health, nutritional needs, and preferred eating style or diet type.

Since most MyNetDiary members are trying to lose weight and/or manage blood sugar, MyNetDiary uses a default macronutrient distribution to encourage healthy proteins and fats while controlling carb intake. The goals are within the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR) developed by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

Macronutrient	DRI: Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges	MyNetDiary Default Goal
Carbohydrate	45-65% of total calories	45% of total calories
Protein	10-35% of total calories	20% of total calories
Fat	20-35% of total calories	35% of total calories

There is no ideal macronutrient mix for weight loss, not even in a personalized nutrition plan. How you decide to spend your calories is up to you. The foods you consume will affect your diet quality and health risk more than the specific macronutrient goals.

If you follow an eating pattern that requires a different macronutrient distribution range, you can customize your macronutrient goals with a Premium membership (screenshot below).

Consider selecting a Low-Carb, Keto, Low-Fat, or High-Protein Premium Diet Plan if you would like further support for your diet-specific goals.

Tip: Your macronutrient goals automatically update when your calorie budget changes. To learn more about your calorie budget and what affects it, please read Planning weight & calories.

Vitamins and minerals

In addition to the macronutrients, you may track many other nutrients in a personalized nutrition plan. To learn more about each nutrient, explore Nutrient Targets under the My Plan section and tap each nutrient to find more information, view the recommended goal, or set your personalized goal.

If the nutrient has a Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA), MyNetDiary uses that as the goal. If there is no RDA, then the Adequate Intake (AI) level is suggested.

Alcohol

Alcohol has calories, but it is not considered a nutrient. You can track alcohol in your food log and view it in your reports and on your Dashboard. However, alcohol is not included in macronutrient planning to avoid inaccurate carbohydrates, protein, and fat reporting. Also, missing alcohol data is common because many manufacturers don't provide this information on containers. To help reduce error from missing data, log generic alcoholic beverages instead of brand-name items. Detailed data for these items come from the USDA.

You can set a "goal" as an upper limit for alcohol grams to monitor your intake. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend no more than two drinks per day for men (equivalent to 28 g pure alcohol) and no more than one drink per day for women (14 g pure alcohol). A one-drink equivalent is 12 fl oz of beer (5% ABV), 5 fl oz of wine (12% ABV), or 1.5 fl oz of distilled spirits (40% ABV or 80 proof).

Caffeine

Caffeine is not an essential dietary nutrient, but you may choose to monitor your daily intake if you are sensitive to the effects of caffeine. Under 400 mg of caffeine is considered safe for most people. Limit caffeine during pregnancy.

Sodium

MyNetDiary uses a default goal of 2300 mg of sodium, consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. If you have a different sodium goal recommended by your healthcare provider, customize your goal to that value. For example, your goal may be lower if you are older or have high blood pressure, kidney disease, or diabetes. If you train vigorously in high heat or sweat profusely, your sodium loss will be greater. Therefore, you will need to consume more sodium to cover your loss.

Water

Water tracking is simple-just tap the water glass icons on your Dashboard. The standard "glass" is eight fluid ounces (1 cup), but you can customize the volume you prefer.

Tap the water glasses for all water and non-alcoholic beverages consumed to get an accurate total. If you log water with Google Fit or Apple Health app, MyNetDiary calculates the total water consumed, including any tracked on those platforms.

Here is a complete list of nutrients you can track with MyNetDiary:

Nutrient	Membership level
Common Nutrients	Free	Premium
Calories	✔	✔
Total Fat	✔	✔
Saturated Fat	✔	✔
Trans Fat	✔	✔
Cholesterol	✔	✔
Sodium	✔	✔
Total Carbs	✔	✔
Net Carbs	-	✔
Diabetes Carbs	-	✔
Dietary Fiber	✔	✔
Soluble Fiber	-	✔
Total Sugars	-	✔
Added Sugars	-	✔
Sugar Alcohol	-	✔
Protein	✔	✔
Vitamin D	-	✔
Calcium	✔	✔
Iron	-	✔
Potassium	-	✔
Additional Vitamins
Fat-soluble vitamins
Vitamin A	-	✔
Vitamin D	-	✔
Vitamin E	-	✔
Vitamin K	-	✔
Water-soluble vitamins
Vitamin B-1 (thiamin)	-	✔
Vitamin B-2 (riboflavin)	-	✔
Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine)	-	✔
Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)	-	✔
Biotin (Vitamin B-7)	-	✔
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)	-	✔
Choline (vitamin-like essential nutrient)	-	✔
Folate (Vitamin B-9)	-	✔
Niacin (Vitamin B-3)	-	✔
Panthothenic Acid (Vitamin B-5)	-	✔
Additional Minerals
Chromium	-	✔
Copper	-	✔
Iodine	-	✔
Magnesium	-	✔
Manganese	-	✔
Molybdenum	-	✔
Phosphorus	-	✔
Selenium	-	✔
Zinc	-	✔
ADDITIONAL FATS
Monounsaturated Fat	-	✔
Polyunsaturated Fat	-	✔
Omega-3 (total)	-	✔
Omega-3 EPA	-	✔
Omega-3 ALA	-	✔
Omega-3 DHA	-	✔
Omega-6 (total)	-	✔
Linoleic acid	-	✔
Other
Alcohol	-	✔
Caffeine	-	✔

Missing nutrient values

Although MyNetDiary offers more than 50 nutrients to track, manufacturers are only required to list the following nutrients on food labels: total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, total sugars, added sugars, protein, vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium.

Some manufacturers voluntarily provide data for additional nutrients. If you wish to track nutrients beyond those required on the food label, you are more likely to encounter missing data for these nutrients.

Minimize missing nutrient data by logging generic foods whenever possible. In general, using generic foods for unprocessed produce, meat, fish, dairy, nuts/seeds, dried beans/peas, and grains will give you more detailed nutrient information. If you are surprised that your report is low in a particular nutrient, check for missing nutrient data in the foods you have logged.

Good luck with your nutrient goal-setting and formulating your personalized nutrition plan! As you can see, you have excellent tools to track your nutrient intake with MyNetDiary.

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