MyFitnessPal: What it is & How I Use It

This is an amazing app that I've been using for more than four years. Since 2011, I have been through three iPhones, and the one app I always download onto my new phone first? MyFitnessPal!

     This app is great for setting your weight loss goals and then giving you a daily amount of calories to eat to help you reach them. Based on the weight you'd like to lose, MyFitnessPal gives you options for a half pound to two pound loss per week and how many calories you should consume daily based on those goals. It's not done to an exact science, so keep in mind that everyone's body and diet are different, but it does give you a pretty solid idea of where you'll be at in your fitness goals when you routinely track your calories. I find that I am most successful in losing weight and keeping a solid handle on my diet when I log my meals and calories!

     Currently, I've set my daily caloric intake at 1,650. However, if I exercise, I log the calories burned, and then it adds them to my remaining balance, making it look like I have more calories left to eat. Some people advise eating those to get your energy back, but I don't like to look at it as extra food I can eat at the end of the day.

     In addition to an awesome calorie counting tool, the community boards online at MyFitnessPal.com are amazing! I can always turn to my fellow calorie counters for advice and motivational stories. So many users have lost weight using MyFitnessPal; it seems that there is always a new weight loss story floating around the website!

     I log my calories regularly (I formerly said "religiously"), but I don't obsess. Sometimes the day gets so busy that next thing I know it's 10PM and I've not logged a single thing. I brush it off and plan to track my calories the next day. Sometimes by early afternoon, I've already racked up nearly all of my calories for the day. I don't skip dinner or cut it down to a measly amount; I accept it as a day of a little excess and move forward. I'm comfortable with my 1,650 allowance, but I know that a hundred calories above or below will not hurt me. Actually, according to the app I'd have to eat more than 3,000 calories daily to gain a noticeable amount of weight.

You can track your macronutrients as well!

   
      I highly recommend MyFitnessPal if you're looking for a great app to help you log your food and calories. You can customize your caloric intake, as well as manage your macros--another win for this amazing weight loss tool! If you download the app, please add me so we can cheer each other on!

 My username is kpace9009.