General

What is tipsforgoodlife.com?
Is tipsforgoodilfe.com free?

My Account

How do I edit my profile?
How do I edit my Account Details?
I can't log in to my account.
I forgot my password.
I forgot my username.
How do I change my email address?
How do I change my password?
How do I cancel or delete my account?

Ingredients - Recipes - Activities

How accurate are the food entries in your database?
What is activity MET?
Is your activity calories calculations accurate?
How are the nutrition data calculated in recipes?
How to create a new recipe?

Daily Plate

What is the Daily Plate?
How does it work?
Do people really lose weight using the Daily Plate?
What physical activity level should I choose?
Can I track my BMI?
How can I calculate my daily calorie goal?

General

What is tipsforgoodlife.com?

tipsforgoodlife.com is all about good life habits. Launched in summer 2010, tipsforgoodlife.com's mission is to help people take charge of their life by providing a full 360 degree view on diet and nutrition, fitness, personal and health-related topics.

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Is tipsforgoodlife.com free?

Absolutely! All features and functions you currently see on the tipsforgoodlife.com site are free.

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My Account

How do I edit my profile?

To change your profile information, click on the "Profile" link on main menu.

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How do I edit my Account Details?

To change your account details, click on the "Account Details" link on main menu. To change your username, please contact us, or send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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I can't log in to my account.

Please ensure that you are logging in with the correct username and password and that you have confirmed your account by clicking on the email sent by tipsforgoodlife.com at the time of registration. You should also try to clear your browser's cookies and temporary internet files and then try logging in again. If you cannot log in or find your profile on the site, your membership may have been cancelled or your profile may have been deleted. tipsforgoodlife.com may cancel memberships or delete profiles if they violate the site's terms and conditions. For assistance you may contact us, or send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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I forgot my password

You can retrieve your password by clicking here. You will need to enter the email address that we have on file for your account. We'll then email your password to that address.

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I forgot my username

Your member name is the name you used to create your account. You can retrieve your member name by clicking here. You will need to enter the email address that we have on file for your account. We'll then email your member name to that address.

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How do I change my email address?

Go to your "Account Details" page from main menu. Once there, type in the new email address you want to use and click on "save".

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How do I change my password?

Go to your "Account Details" page from main menu. Once there, type in the new password you want to use and click on "save".

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How do I cancel or delete my account?

Only tipsforgoodlife.com can cancel or delete user accounts. If you would like to cancel your account, you may contact us, or send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please note that all your entries on the site such as recipes may continue to be shown.

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Ingredients - Recipes - Activities

How accurate are the food entries in your database?

We recognize that accuracy is of the utmost importance when you're using the Daily Plate to track your daily intake. Our nutrition information is compiled from the US Government's USDA federal database.

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What is activity MET?

MET (Metabolic Equivalent): The ratio of the work metabolic rate to the resting metabolic rate. One MET is defined as 1 kcal/kg/hour and is roughly equivalent to the energy cost of sitting quietly. A MET also is defined as oxygen uptake in ml/kg/min with one MET equal to the oxygen cost of sitting quietly, equivalent to 3.5 ml/kg/min.

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Is your activity calories calculations accurate?

When using MET values to estimate the energy cost of activities, you should recall only the time spent in movement. The MET values was not developed to determine the precise energy cost of physical activity within individuals, but rather to provide a classification system that standardizes the MET intensities of physical activities used in survey research. The MET values in the do not estimate the energy cost of physical activity in individuals in ways that account for differences in body mass, adiposity, age, sex, efficiency of movement, geographic and environmental conditions in which the activities are performed. Thus, individual differences in energy expenditure for the same activity may vary and the true energy cost for an individual may or may not be close to the stated mean MET level as presented.

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How are the nutrition data calculated in recipes?

Unlike other sites, all recipes are created from the ingredients database, therefore accuracy is based on the US Government's USDA federal database.

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How to create a new recipe?

Click the link "Create" in main menu under the Recipes. You may view all your recipes under "My Recipes" link in main menu.

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Daily Plate

 What is the Daily Plate?

The Daily Plate (DP) is a free tool on at tipsforgoodlife.com devoted to people who want to eat smarter.

DP's core features are:

1. A huge database of foods and recipes.

You can search over all USDA food items in our database plus many recipes. Whether it's food you order at your favorite fast food place (e.g., McDonald's cheeseburger, name-brand food you purchase at the local supermarket (Campbell's Tomato Soup), or a homemade meal (meatloaf) -- you'll find it on the Daily Plate. And we'll show you all the calorie and nutrition information for that food, just like the "Nutrition Facts" label on the packages in the store.

2. Daily Plate food and fitness tracking.

Call it a food diary, call it a meal or fitness journal, it's all of these things. With DP, tracking all the foods you eat each day (as well as all the exercise you do) is as simple as a few clicks. We help you figure out your daily target calories based on how much weight you want to lose (or gain) each week. And by tracking all the foods you eat with DP, you can make sure you're meeting your goals, and identify and potential pitfalls/problem areas as well. Every single food item in our system has a big, blue "I ate this" button; just click it to instantly add whatever you've eaten to your DP log.

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How does it work?

Using the Daily Plate (DP) is pretty simple once you get the hang of it. You'll find that tracking your workout and the foods you eat becomes just another part of your routine when you stick with it for a few days.

With food tracking, people tend to use DP in two different ways. Sometimes, you'll look up a restaurant before you go there, to find out the nutritional info (e.g., calorie impact) of the foods on the menu. More often, you'll be coming to the site to find foods you've already eaten.

Either way, the process is the same:

1. Search for the foods using the search box at the top of every single page on the site.

2. Once you've found the food item you ate, click the big, blue "I ate this" button.

3. The food is immediately added to your DP tracking log. You can now adjust the serving size to match what you actually ate.

4. If you haven't yet entered in your weight and your weight-loss goal, do that next. (You'll only need to do it once.) That way, DP can tell you how many more calories you can afford to eat for the rest of the day.

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Do people really lose weight using the Daily Plate?

Absolutely! The Daily Plate doesn't endorse any one diet over another; we're simply about holding yourself accountable for what you weight as a means to smarter, healthier eating. People who try us out and stick with it lose weight -- it's as simple as that!

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What physical activity level should I choose?

The Daily Plate calculates your recommended daily calorie goal based on several factors, including your age, height, weight, and your daily activity level.

That daily activity level can be a source of confusion sometimes. The dropdown menu on the calorie goal page explains the options we have to choose from pretty well, ranging from Light to Extremely Active.

The source of confusion is this: The Daily Plate tracking also takes into account your daily fitness. You can track your daily exercise, like running, weight-lifting, yoga, cardiovascular workout machines, etc. But you can also track activities like "sitting in class" or "driving to work."

In general, we recommend that if you choose any of the "active" activity levels on the calorie goal page, that you don't track activities like "sitting in class" or "driving to work" separately; those are already included in our calculations for you based on your activity level. If you prefer to track those activities yourself, we recommend choosing the "Little" activity level instead.

Example: If your job has you up on your feet most of the day and you take the stairs a few times each day, you'd probably want to choose the "lightly exercise" or "moderately exercise" lifestyle. Then, if you workout twice a week for an hour on the elliptical machine, track that exercise separately, since it's "above and beyond" your daily activity level that you set.

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Can I track my BMI?

Yes! Just click on BMI chart on main menu.

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How can I calculate my daily calorie goal?

Your daily calorie goal is calculated based on your height, weight, age, activity level, and overall weight goals. You can view your weight history and modify these levels by clicking on weight link on main menu.

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