Auto-Scaling in Meal Plans
What Is Auto Scaling in Foodzilla?
Auto Scaling is the process Foodzilla uses to automatically adjust recipe portions when generating a meal plan so the plan matches your selected calorie target as closely as possible.
For example, if you generate a 1,500 kcal per day meal plan with three meals, Foodzilla may scale the meals to approximately:
• Breakfast: 500 kcal
• Lunch: 500 kcal
• Dinner: 500 kcal
This helps the generated plan align with the daily energy target you selected.
Important: Bulk Imported Recipes and Auto Scaling
Bulk CSV recipe imports skip ingredient matching. Recipes are imported using the ingredient text and nutrition values already included in the CSV. Because those ingredients are not matched to the Foodzilla food database, bulk imported recipes cannot be used by the meal plan auto generator or its Auto Scaling process.
If you want an imported recipe to work with the auto generator, import it individually using Paste Text or Web Link so Foodzilla can match the ingredients to its food database.
What Happens if I Edit the Meal Plan Afterwards?
Auto Scaling applies during meal plan generation.
If you replace or edit a recipe after the plan has been generated, Foodzilla does not automatically rescale the new recipe to match the original calorie target.
For example:
• Original plan: 1,500 kcal per day
• Breakfast: 500 kcal
• Lunch: 500 kcal
• Dinner: 500 kcal
If you replace breakfast with a 600 kcal recipe, the new daily total becomes 1,600 kcal.
Foodzilla will use the replacement recipe as it is rather than automatically reducing its serving size.
Why Doesn’t Foodzilla Automatically Rescale Edited Meals?
This gives practitioners more control when making manual changes.
Automatically changing serving sizes after every recipe swap could result in portions that are not appropriate for the client or the recipe.
How to Adjust the Plan Manually
If the meal plan no longer matches your target, you can:
• Adjust the recipe serving size or quantity
• Replace the recipe with one closer to the desired calorie target
• Review the daily nutrition totals and make additional changes
• Regenerate the meal plan using your preferred calorie and macro targets