I’ve had the app MyFitnessPal on my phone for a while. But I would only really use it on days where I had done a big workout and wanted to see how many calories I burned, or if I was eating fast food and wanted to know the nutritional facts. Starting in January, I decided to try out a new resolution and start using the app almost every day for a couple of months and see what happened to my lifestyle.
One of the first things I did to jumpstart my healthy lifestyle is that I registered to run Bay to Breakers in San Francisco. I ran cross country and track in high school, but had not really followed through with running since graduating. I figured that actually paying money to participate in a big-deal race would motivate me to train regularly.
Something else that encouraged me to work out more was purchasing a fitness pass for my school’s gym. $30 bought me a nine-class pass, and I knew I needed to use all of them up. During this time is when I began going to cycling classes and realized I loved it. I also started doing yoga a couple of times a week with some friends in my building.
It felt good to be exercising. Not only did I feel better about myself after completing a workout, but I felt a sense of accomplishment after entering it into the app and seeing how many calories I had just burned. Something else that’s great about MyFitnessPal is that it syncs with your phone to track your steps, and shows how many calories you burn from walking. One day I went to the mall and walked over 18,000 steps, which is almost 650 calories!
Over the past few months, I was feeling stressed out from many factors, which eventually caused trouble falling asleep at night. By working out more regularly, I was going to bed feeling more tired, which resulted in a better night’s sleep. I was waking up earlier and more refreshed—sometimes I even had enough energy to go on a run before class!
Of course, using the app really helped me understand what exactly I was putting into my body. To start the day, my breakfast would usually consist of carbs like cereal, oatmeal, or avocado on toast. Whatever my meal choice, the app would tell me something interesting about my food, such as it has low saturated fat or contains lots of calcium and iron. It also let me know what things I was eating that weren’t as healthy as I thought, like my morning Odwalla or caramel macchiato.
An additional thing I learned from using this app that you don’t have to use it all the time. An instance where I put the phone down and don’t stress about calorie counts is when I’m out to dinner with friends. I’m already dressed up and feeling good about myself, so I don’t need to be worrying about the salt or fat content of my food. I’m going to be spending money on whatever I end up ordering, so it might as well be something that tastes good and makes me happy.
As for the app itself, it’s very user-friendly. It’s easy to specify what meal you’re entering your food for, and there’s even an option to scan the barcode of the food you’re eating. Also, there’s a separate water tracker feature, which makes it encouraging to drink up. It’s simple to insert new progress data points and to change your weekly goals. Sometimes, it can be a bit difficult to track certain things—such as a Bistro special. Most of the time when I’m eating at school, I have to make guesstimates when entering my food information into MyFitnessPal that are not perfect.
Since January, I have lost 11 lbs. thanks to MyFitnessPal, but the number on the scale is not what’s important. Through my food and exercise tracking, I now understand what it is I need to put into my body in order to fuel it correctly and do amazing things.
Every day I’m now asking myself questions like, “Do I need both guacamole and sour cream on this burrito?” to try to conduct a healthier lifestyle. I love this app and would recommend not just for those who want to count calories, but for anyone who wants to learn more about their eating habits or manage their exercise regimens. Plus it’s free, so you don’t really have an excuse not to!