MFP Screenshot-Tracking for accountability

Today’s hot topic: myfitnesspal!(*WOW!) What is it? It’s a wonderful fitness/nutrition application that can transform your life. About 2 months ago, I decided that  I could not track my food & drinks on paper anymore (didn’t work, not disciplined enough) and that in order to ensure accountability about working out & losing weight (and yes, even lifting weights), I needed to do this.  On a daily basis, friends now comment on my latest workout or staying under my calorie goal (or not) or where I ate (e.g. Cheddar’s for example-try their Key West chicken & shrimp, it’s really good!) or drank, or weight loss. 

Since July, with the help of the myfitnesspal app, I have lost about 13 lbs. It’s amazing how much the positive peer pressure affects you in running, exercising more, eating right, drinking more water, etc. Who uses mfp? Lots & lots of runners! (even fellow asthmatics!).  I have connected with about 50 pals and the interaction has been healthy, supportive, and positive. Thanks to myfitnesspals/friends too because there’s more to this app than meets the eye and it is the people you connect with that help you turn things around. 

Where is myfitnesspal? www.myfitnesspal.com

myfitnesspal is also a FREE app on your phone so if you eat out/are on the road, wherever you are, it’s easy to login your food, drinks & workouts (and your weight or lack thereof). Using mfp has really exposed how often I am inclined to overeat and my underconsumption of water. 

Detailed mfp screenshot of calorie consumption

Caution: You can link running applications like Runkeeper with myfitnesspal BUT beware–sometimes Runkeeper seems to overestimate the calories burned from runs (not necessarily walks) compared with Garmin. For my convenience, I have linked Runkeeper so that mfpers (my friends) know how long I went running and how many calories I burned when I reenter my house.  I also see friends’ workouts and the great things they are eating (e.g., kale chips). So we can comment on each other’s workouts/nutrition or virtually high-five each other and/or encourage others who are having a bad day or struggling with diet, exercise, or nutrition issues. For some workouts (P90X or T-25, etc.), you have to customize the workout since they may not be entered in the mfp database the way you want them.  There is an unwritten rule that you will enter 1 calorie burned for that workout if we don’t know just to stay conservative on eating-this reinforces discipline. If you don’t wear a heart rate monitor, you cannot estimate the calories burned for indoor workouts. For my indoor runs on my treadmill, I wear my HRM and use the calories burned from that. 

Once you have entered something you ate or drank once (or a specific workout), your mfp app “saves” it for you and you can check that box if you eat/drink it again (or autocomplete function can do it for you as you type it in) or if you repeat the workout again. 

Also, mfp is available on computer (website), ipad app (I use), and on iphone (use this too). 

There is some guesstimation involved (if you don’t have a label to “scan” into the system, sometimes you have to guess). Yes, you can “scan” in the food or drink into mfp instead of typing it in (careful though, sometimes it thinks my kale is some kind of strange cheese!).  Try mfp, you’ll love it! ;D

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