MyFitnessPal App Review

By : Jodie Shield | 3 Comments | On : January 1, 2014 | Category : Adults, Apps & Websites, Seniors, Teens

Keep track of your eating and exercise with this easy to use app!

By: Jodie Shield, RD 

What’s the most popular New Year’s resolution?  If you said losing weight, you’re so right!  Losing weight always ranks in the top three along with saving money and getting organized.  While it’s important to know your BMI, and to invest in a good body fat scale,  this year take your NYR diet plans “high tech” and use an app to track your progress.  There’s all kinds of research out there showing that simply recording what and how much you eat each day will result in weight loss – no matter what diet you’re on.  It’s called self monitoring and it’s a behavior change strategy that works.  To help you sort through the thousands of weight loss tracking apps, throughout 2014, I am going to feature reviews of some of my favorites.  First up: MyFitnessPal.  It’s been around for awhile, but a great app for newbie trackers.  If you have used MyFitnessPal, let everyone know how it worked for you.

MYFITNESSPAL

Guest Review By: Alicia Williamson, RN, BSN

 

Platform and Price

Free: Available online to PC’s as well as mobile phones.

RD Score

4 out of 5

Synopsis of the App

This app is designed to let you monitor your food/calorie intake and help you set up a calorie count to help you lose weight.  It has pre-programmed food choices that are available at a click to record calories consumed. It tracks what you eat for a given day and lets you know the calories available for your daily diet. It records your weight and shows you progress as you advance toward your goal weight. It also lets you track your output (exercise) to show how many calories you burn.

Pros

• Available to all PC’s and Mobile devices.
• Easy to navigate.
• Large database of food choices to keep calorie counts
• Includes food analysis such as fats, proteins, Carbohydrates.
• Tracks progress throughout day.
• Tracks progress as you continue on toward your goal.
• Includes physical activity as well as diet.
• Can add friends to follow and discuss with for support and motivation.

Cons

• Not very visually appealing and dull to look at and navigate through.
• Database for foods could be updated regularly with more healthful choices.
• Exercise database should include exercise programs such as Insanity products and P90X.

Bottom Line

The app is good for beginners as a convenient way to document food intake and exercise. It has an easy to read progress report and access to support and motivation with peers. It has the ability to break down food intake by way of nutrients so you can keep track of your individual nutrient intake.