My Fitness Pal App – How To Use For Sustainable Weight Loss
Hello friends! If you have searched for health and fitness apps on the Google play store, you must have come across my fitness pal app.
I first heard about it on one of my favorite fitness youtube channels. I recall how Alan said it is a great free app to help you lose weight.
Without hesitation, I installed the app but uninstalled it a few weeks later because I had no idea how it works and I wasn’t ready to try.
Then after a few months of still not liking the number on the scale or how my tummy protrudes in my bodycon dresses, I reinstalled it again.
Best decision ever.
This time around, I made sure to record my activities, and I’ve experienced some weight loss and also gained a few pounds back.
Trust me, gaining back the pounds lost broke my heart, but it didn’t stop me.
And after months of struggling and sweating (sometimes), I am finally getting close to my goal weight. I’m 11lbs down and feel fantastic.
Plus, I can actually see my collarbone that’s been hiding behind all the weight I gained.
So today, I’ll be sharing how to use my fitness pal app for sustainable weight loss.
Let’s get started.
How My Fitness Pal App Works
- It helps you record, track, and count calories conveniently.
- My fitness pal logs both indoor and outdoor exercises automatically with its partner-apps.
- Helps you manage and track your weight.
- With the help of the diary, you can plan meals for days.
- This app introduces you to delicious healthy recipes.
- Lastly, it has loads of helpful articles on fitness in general.
How I Used My Fitness Pal To Shed Excess Pounds
My Fitness Pal App made it super easy to count calories
Before my fitness pal, I used to guess the number of calories I consumed daily.
And that showed in my mirror and on the scale.
However, when I really took my time to enter every single thing I ate in the diary, I could see my macro and micro-nutrient consumption too.
And I also noticed that I wasn’t eating enough protein, so I added cottage cheese and a few other protein-rich foods to my diet.
Who knew I’d like cottage cheese?
I even started scanning bar codes on food packaging, and sometimes, enter pieces of snacks like M&Ms.
You’d be shocked at how quickly those add up.
Using My Fitness Pal app diary, I could plan my meals for the day
With the diary on my fitness pal app, you can plan meals within your caloric needs for days.
It makes my life so much easier and takes out the frustration of not knowing what to eat.
And I can easily adjust food servings and substitute some if needed, to balance out my required consumption.
So in the morning, I already know what I’d have for lunch, dinner, and snacks.
Cool right?
On My Fitness Pal App, I can easily log my outdoor exercise
When I realized that losing weight would take more effort than just at-home workouts, I decided to break out of my comfort zone.
Then I started taking walks, and sometimes I run, so I installed both Map My Run and Map My Walk Apps as guides.
The best part is that I could connect both apps to my fitness pal and automatically log my outdoor exercise.
It just made mad sense to have everything in one place, as opposed to operating many apps to track my exercise routine.
Though I still workout with other health and fitness apps that cannot sync to my fitness pal, and that’s okay.
As long as I got my workout in, that’s all that counts.
Before I forget, you can also sync your Google Fitbit to my fitness pal.
You may also love How I Fit A Workout Routine Into My Busy Schedule.
The app helped me keep my eyes on my goal weight
Based on the food and workout I enter on the diary, my fitness pal app gives me an estimate of how much I’d weigh in 5 weeks.
While it is great for me to keep track of what I’m eating to achieve my goals, it sometimes makes me anxious when I see what I wasn’t expecting.
As if that’s not enough, it also tells you when you’re not eating enough based on your entries because it won’t encourage you to starve to lose weight.
To deal with the anxiety that comes with seeing crazy numbers, I stopped clicking the “complete diary” button for a while.
But I continued entering my meals and workout.
I had to take time off to get my mental health in order.
And I started weighing myself again and also completing my diary.
You may also enjoy 7 Intermittent Fasting Mistakes That Make You Gain Weight.
My Fitness Pal has helpful articles to guide you through your weight loss journey
I have learned a lot from articles published on my fitness pal. It’s as if they read my mind.
They always have articles related to the questions on my mind, and some I never imagined. For example, How To Activate The Good Kind Of Body Fat.
I got creative with my food
When I was still guessing calories, I use to leave out ingredients like vegetable oil.
Unknowing to me, it was sabotaging my results.
Then I remembered a physical trainer mentioned how to count calories up to the oil used to make the food. So I began counting vegetable oil and realized I was eating too much of it.
So instead of frying eggs or sauteeing vegetables with oil, I now cook them in the microwave.
Also, I introduced cottage cheese to my diet and reduced my butter consumption.
Asides from swapping ingredients, I’ve discovered lots of healthy foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacks on my fitness pal.
If you’d like to see a few recipes I created, let me know in the comments.
You may also love I Ate Kale Salad For Breakfast For 5 Days! This Is What Happened To Me.
I’ve cultivated healthy habits, thanks to My Fitness Pal
Over time, I guess my body got used to eating smaller portions of food.
Also, I drink 16ounces of water first thing when I wake up.
Though I’ve practiced it for a while, it is now second nature.
Additionally, there are times when I get the “you are not eating enough” message when I complete my diary. Though it only happens when my entries are below 1000calories.
But if I get that when I’m actually full, I know my entries may be inaccurate.
Of which there are occasions when I feel hungry even after eating 1200 calories. When this happens, I sometimes drink water because I might be thirsty. And other times I eat food because I’m hungry, obviously.
You may also love How To Eat Healthy Foods On A Budget.
Let’s wrap up
So that’s how my fitness pal app helped me sustainably lose weight and also cultivate healthy habits.
I can’t wait to rock the clothes I stopped wearing due to weight gain.
Though I’m not at my goal weight yet, I celebrate every step I take towards it.
I hope this helps you understand how my fitness pal works and simplifies your weight loss journey.
Plus, if you are considering installing the app, do not hesitate. You’d be glad you did.
Thanks for reading!
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I would love your snack ideas
Hi Linda,
A few snack ideas are:
1. 1 small or medium apple, dust some cinnamon on it and eat it with 2 tbsp. cottage cheese or apple & 1 tbsp. peanut butter. I usually eat less than a tbsp of peanut butter.
2. Low-fat Greek yogurt, 2 to 3 dried pitted plums, 1 tbsp walnut, 1 tbsp. raisins, a few pieces of chocolate chips. I sometimes add a tbsp. of shredded coconut. These ingredients would add some sweetness to your Greek yogurt if it is plain and very sour. Or drizzle a tsp. of honey on it. Mix it up and enjoy.
3. Try your hands on oatmeal banana muffins.
Preheat your oven at 350
First, blend 2 cups of oatmeal plus 1/4 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, a dash of salt, add 1 tsp. cinnamon and nutmeg together.
Then blend 2 very ripe medium bananas with 1 egg, 1 tbsp. vanilla extract, 1/2 cup of sour cream, or Greek yogurt.
Mix the dry and wet ingredients in a wide bowl.
Then add 1/2 cup raisins and/or chocolate chips, 1 to 2 tbsp melted butter. Mix until well combined.
Next, scoop tablespoons full onto a cookie tray lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil, and bake at 350 for about 10 to 15mins.
When these are ready, they’d rise and you’d smell it in your kitchen. They are usually soft like bread or like applesauce cookies, but very filling.
I think this measurement makes about 10 to 12 pieces.
I eat 1 or 2 with a glass of milk/coffee/green tea/water and it satisfies.
4. One more thing, don’t forget the regular hard-boiled eggs, carrot sticks or baby carrots, etc.
These are things I learned from fitness trainers, dieticians, etc., and I’ve tweaked them to work for me.
So find what works for you too. And make sure to include some protein in every meal or snack you eat.
I hope this helps.
xx, Buayifa.