HOW TO USE THE NUTRITION PAGES

Posted 29 December 2006

LOGGING YOUR MEAL PLANS

Fitbug meal plans

You have seven plans (one for each day of the week) to choose from, so if today’s plan doesn’t appeal to you, click on a different day to find something you prefer. These have been specially calculated for your calorie requirements and adhere closely to the Balance of Good Health to give you all the nutrients you need.

Although we've made sure that we've used foods that most people regularly eat, there may be some foods that you don't like; or you may not always have time to make the recipes from scratch.

If that's the case simply swap the foods for those of similar calorific values or buy a ready-made substitute if you do not have time to make a recipe e.g use a pot of low fat rice pudding rather than making your own.

If you do choose your own substitutes, be sure to make your choices wisely; if in doubt, read the food label.

For guidelines on how to make the Fitbug recipes, visit the Fitbug Recipe Book.

PLEASE NOTE: Unfortunately, we're still working on the Fitbug meal plans for vegetarians, vegans and pregnant women. They will be with you in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, we're afraid you'll have to amend your meal plans.

Creating your own meal plans

If you would rather create your own plan, follow these simple guidelines (as you did in the first week of your membership).

1. Select the meal (breakfast, lunch etc) that you want to enter.
2. Click ’add new item’. You will now be able to search the database.
3. Enter the name of the food you wish to add and the search engine will return all matching items.
4. Select the correct item then choose how much you ate in either units (grams or ml) or servings (where available).
5. If the item you wish to add is not available, you can add it to the database by clicking on 'ADD TO DATABASE' and entering the nutrition information from the food label.
6. Once you have entered what you have eaten so far that day in the plan, click ’SAVE DAY AS FAVOURITE’ and give your plan a name. It will then be stored in the dropdown box for you to amend or select on subsequent days.

Alternatively you can modify a recipe that you have already stored or customise an existing plan by selecting it in the dropdown box.

To modify a healthy eating plan:

1. Select the food that you would like to modify. If you only need to change the quantity, enter the new amount and press save, or click remove to take the item of your plan.
2. To add a new item, select the meal you would like to edit and click on the ’add new items’ link.
3. You can now add a pre-stored favourite or recipe, or search the database for the food you want to add.
4. Click on 'add to plan' and either select units (grams or ml) or servings (the size of a serving will be stated).
5. If the item you wish to add is not available, you can add it to the database by clicking on the 'add to database' icon.
6. Once you have entered your daily food plan click on the ’save day as a favourite’ icon and name it. It will then be stored in the drop-down box for you to choose on subsequent days.

To add foods to your favourites:

1. As soon as you select a food from the database and add it to your mealplans it will automatically be added to your favourites.
2. You can now choose this food each time you customise your plan without having to search the entire database.

To create a recipe:

1. Select the 'Recipes' tab.
2. Click 'New' and a new recipe template will appear.
3. Give your new recipe a name by clicking on New Recipe.
4. Search the database for the required food and enter the quantity.
5. Select as many ingredients as you require. Your recipe will automatically be saved as you go along.
6. Take a look at the pie chart to see how your recipe fits into the balance of good health.