Wednesday App Review: MyFitnessPal

myfitnesspal

Today I’m going to talk about the rather popular calorie counter and all around fitness app MyFitnessPal. And, to break with the tradition of app reviews like this, I’m not going to try and sell you that I lost a ton of weight using this one magical application (Because, well, I didn’t) and I’m not going to tell you that it will solve all of your problems and suddenly make you look like Chris Hemsworth or Scarlett Johansson (It won’t. I wish I could say it would). However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth a look. I ought to start off by saying that I’m not really big into calorie counters or fast weight loss remedies like just about everyone else I know. While I could stand to lose some weight, like most Americans, I know that fad diets aren’t the way to change anything. I’m also kind of lazy so the idea of doing a mile long run or a huge workout every day… well, it’s just not going to happen. I’ve accepted that. When I first heard about MyFitnessPal I was rather skeptical. The idea of a ‘calorie’ is pretty abstract and I’ve never cared for the idea of trying to break down your food to figure out some kind of crazy point value so you can compare it to a mildly arbitrary number in hopes of losing weight. It just didn’t sit well with me. However, MyFitnessPal is actually a very clever little app which helps you track your own eating and exercise habits (including that walk around the park with the dog or even strolling through the mall on the weekend) and get a full picture of what, exactly, you’re taking in and burning off. The app doesn’t try and starve you or make you feel guilty for breaking down and eating a big mac one night. Instead, the app itself is designed to give personal accountability with some help with friends. Much like just about every other app in the world, MyFitnessPal can sync with any number of social media sites, but it’s optional so you can broadcast and have as much (or as little) support as you like. MyFitnessPal syncs with various activity trackers pretty well and has a ton of entries for common food items plus the ability to scan barcodes or enter your own recipes from home or online. It is undoubtedly one of the better systems I’ve seen and it’s incredibly simple to use. Personally, while I didn’t lose a staggering amount of weight in my short week-long test of this app, I can say that I became far more conscious about what I was eating, how much and when. It also really made me stop and think when indulging. If I eat that blizzard, then I probably should go walk around the mall or something. Is that really worth it? It’s the little steps that count, right? MyFitnessPal is free to download for iPhone and Android, although there is a premium subscription-based service available which includes additional services and removes the annoying banner ads. You can either spend $10 per month or $50 for an entire year. I have not tested out the premium services, unfortunately, so I can’t say that they are any better. However, if you’re really serious about your weight loss, then it might be worth the extra money. Either way, if you’re looking for a little motivation or an easy way to see how much (and what) you’re actually eating throughout the day, this little app is a good choice.]]>

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