Jun 26, 2015
You know that feeling… when you put on your favorite jeans and … uh oh, they’re a little snug.
Or you look down at your shirt and you notice the buttons are straining a little more than you’d like, to keep things closed up.
That’s what happened to me.
Why Physical Success Has Been a Struggle For Me
Two things that work against me… I LOVE food. Seriously…
The other thing, I don’t don't LOVE exercise. I love competitive sports, but just getting out and going for run around the neighborhood, or picking up some weights and doing some curls… It’s boring to me.
This Is Why I'm Using the MyFitnessPal App and Website
Here's how this fantastic app works:
You start off simple. How many calories go in versus many calories are consumed
How much do you weigh?
How much do you want to lose (or gain) per week (up to 2 lbs a week)
Then it knows how many calories you need to reach that goal
How active are you?
It then adjust your calorie goal based on that projected activity level and then adjust it based on your real activity level.
Now you know how many calories you can consume each day and still hit your weight loss.
For me, given my current weight, I can consume 1,427 calories per day if I want to lose 2 lbs per week.
I’m mildly active so it adds in 25-30 calories for exercise which brings me to about 1,450 calories per day.
It adjusts based on your actual activity level (iPhone Health app - MapMyRun - FitBit - More)
Set Your MacroNutrient Ratios
If you’re a low fat person, you your fat percentage goal at 20% - 40% Protein and 40% Carbs. It will give you a scale to monitor.
If you add a food item to a meal, it will tell you right then and there that you’ve gone over or that this food is high in a nutrient you’re trying to keep low.
You can monitor this closely
Adding Food You’ve Eaten
This is the beauty of this app. There are SO MANY items.
I love using the barcode scanner. It has yet to miss an item.
Everything I’ve scanned has been in the system. It’s amazing.
You can search for homemade or store bought foods
There’s a massive database. People are adding the most popular recipes from you favorite websites like Food.com, AllRecipes, Epicurious, MyRecipe, and more
If it’s not there…
You can add recipes
Easy to add recipes - Type in the web address of the recipe, make sure it’s imported everything correctly and tell it how much you ate. All done.
Checks your Step Count Automatically
As you walk through your day, MyFitnessPal will automatically update based on the number of steps you take. This is already built into your iOS device, and I believe into many Androids.
If you do more than walking, just enter it like you do your food. The database is full of exercises.
Crossfit WOD’s? They’re in the system.
Your favorite machine at the gym? It’s in the system.
This is the beauty of the app
Measure Your Results
Obviously, it tracks your weight whenever you update it
It can also track any other measurement you’d like.
- BodyFat
- Waist size
- Neck Size
- Hips…
- Blood Pressure (the machine at the pharmacy)
- Cholesterol (blood work)
Everything is easy to track.
Social Support
There’s even a social element to the app as others you know who use the app see your updates and give you encouragement. It’s not on your Facebook page, if you don’t want it to be. They see it when they check in with their app, so it’s not public.
It’s a Great App to Make Sure You Stay on Target
Like your time meter
Like your financial budget
You don’t just use it when you’re in trouble… use it to keep you OUT of trouble.
Success is a well rounded life. Not a well rounded body…