Feature request: “suggest remaining food” Topic

U1190458989 09/14/21
It would be nice if the app had a feature that suggested specific foods, along with specific weights, in order to help meet the remainder of a person’s daily (or meal) target nutrient values. I find myself doing this manually and repeatedly trying different weights of food to hit a specific target — it’s more time consuming than it needs to be and the app could be more helpful.

For example, I am following the DASH diet which includes these targets:

55% carbs
20% protein
25% fat

500mg magnesium
1250mg calcium
4700mg potassium

Let’s say that I’ve had 450mg magnesium so far today, and want to eat something that would take me to 500mg. Currently, I know that dried figs have a lot of magnesium, so eating some amount of those would help. I then weigh a few dried figs, check the amount of magnesium, and adjust the amount of figs until I hit the right number. But instead of doing all of that, I’d like the app to both suggest eating dried figs (chosen from foods that I’ve eaten recently and am likely to have on hand) and tell me “50 grams” (the amount that I need to meet the 500mg target).

In addition, it would be great if it would make the suggestion in a way that best helped meet the other nutritional targets as well. For example, let’s say that I still need 50mg more of magnesium, but my carbs for the day is currently 70% and fat is 20%. Dried figs wouldn’t be a good choice in this case because they are high in carbs and would make me even further off in carbs. Instead, the app could suggest a certain amount of pumpkin seeds, which are also high in magnesium but are low in carbs (and are within my target for fat as well).

Rosesareblue 09/16/21
I find your knowledge of your own diet , really wonderful . It sounds like you are really trying to have a real balance in your food plan , good for you . I hope your suggestion is implemented for those who would enjoy it , like yourself as well as others .

Dietician 09/16/21 replied to U1190458989
Hello U1190458989, Thank you for posting your thoughtful suggestion and feedback about the app making suggestions for tweaking your diet to meet your macro and micronutrient targets. We will pass these suggestions on to the app developers. Perhaps there is a way to develop a program that makes an individualized suggestion for each user. In the daily and weekly report summaries, we do have the food lists of nutrients to increase or decrease specific nutrient targets, along with links for additional food sources of each nutrient so that you can pick and choose per your personal preference.

In the meantime, unless you are in a metabolic study kitchen, you will have difficulty meeting the exact targets for macros and micronutrients for any diet, including the DASH diet. I am impressed though that you are trying to make adjustments to meet the targets. Yes, the DASH diet and lifestyle plan and the MyNetDiary app set specific targets and rely on evidence-based guidelines as their foundation. However, in reality, and for practical application of the guidelines to meet your goal of improving your health (ie. weight loss, blood pressure reduction) you are doing great when you are getting close to these targets. The guidelines are definitely not written in stone. They are simply evidence-based guidelines that make suggested targets of macros and micronutrients. No need to be perfect.

Here are some suggestions that I hope you find useful: 1.)I would suggest you keep learning along the way just as you are. If you make personal tweaks in your eating plan, you may find that you come close to your targets more often than not. That is what it's all about - learning along the way and becoming more aware of your food choices while you are using the MyNetDiary as an excellent tool to do so. 2.) You may find some of this article that Joanna wrote useful to learn more about the DASH diet and lifestyle plan. You can click the links in the article to dive deeper into the practical application and detail of the DASH diet and healthy lifestyle plan. https://www.mynetdiary.com/benefits-of-the-dash-diet.html

Thanks again for your thoughtful feedback. We really appreciate your time.

Best of health to you!
Brenda Braslow, MS, RDN, LDN, CDCES, consulting dietitian, MyNetDiary

Suzib123 09/19/21
Recipe! 1 1/4 cup pecans
8 oz. Dried figs (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/4 cup flaked coconut😃😃
Chop nuts in food processor
Add figs and coconut
Form into balls....keep in frig. for power snack!
Enjoy. Blessings Suzi ❤

Feature request: “suggest remaining food”