excellent tool to help manage weight and exercise

[Ben]

Hi all,
My daughter told me about an iphone/ipad 'app' that she was using to help keep her motivated to attend the gym and abide by a healthy eating regime.
Its called "MyFitnessPal" and is available for free from Apple's App Store and online on their page (listed below). It comes in Android and Apple flavours.
Basically, it helps you to diarise your exercise regime, meals, and progress (weight loss, waist and neck measurements). There is a social media component to it so you can link it to facebook or have friends on MyFitnessPal and keep in touch and motivate each other - or keep it private. The app calculates calories burned (exercise) and consumed (food diary) and lets you know if you are on track to lose weight and how many additional calories you can consume as a result of exercise performed and still be in track to meet your goal. Many food items if they have a bar code can be scanned and all the essential nutritional information is uploaded and tabulated. I have been using it nearly constantly for the past few weeks and it has been a great aid.
It is also good to use to realize how calorie laden some foods are and how much effort is required to burn those calories.
So if you have an issue with motivation or commitment - this application is well worth a look.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
kind regards

Ben

[Mawkish1983]

I recommend it too

[Buckwheat]

I can't believe it... a genuine reason to have a fancy phone.

[Ben]

I can't believe it... a genuine reason to have a fancy phone.

Yeah, if you've got one then its definitely an excellent application.
There are plenty of really useful (and less than-useful) apps out there.

[Roland]

Apps like myfitnesspal were one of the most important tools for me when I lost weight. I don't remember if I specifically used myfitnesspal, but I tried 2 or 3 similar apps during my weight loss period. I currently use cronometer dot com. I like it because it keeps track of all micronutrients as well as macronutrients. I don't currently use the smartphone app but I'm sure it is great.

[Śūnyatā]

I agree that it’s a terrific app for holding one accountable for their consumption-related actions ("That's 846 calories?? Seriously?? Yikes."). When I use it consistently, the weight really does drop off. The key word here is when...

[Ben]

I agree that it’s a terrific app for holding one accountable for their consumption-related actions ("That's 846 calories?? Seriously?? Yikes."). When I use it consistently, the weight really does drop off. The key word here is when...

Thats right, Sunyata. It'll work if one has some self-discipline. To assist with motivation, I recommend that you use the social network module of the app/web site and take advantage of getting support from - but also giving support to your friends. You might actually find that giving others support is one of the best ways to maintain your own motivation.
kind regards,

Ben