Have you ever wanted to lose weight and searched for weight loss apps in the app store? If the answer is yes, you’ve probably seen the app “myfitnesspal” towards the top of the list. Myfitnesspal is an app that allows people to track their fitness journeys.
Myfitnesspal is an app that allows people to track the exercise they’ve done, calories burned, and calories consumed. When I first started on a journey of weight loss I thought this app was the perfect way to encourage my journey and keep myself accountable.
Using the App:
When you first download the app, it asks for your name, and the second screen asks about your goals. The goals range from…
After choosing which goal you want, it asks you questions about the goal you choose. In my case, I chose to lose weight, so the questions asked were about barriers that have kept me from losing weight in the past.
It then asks how active you are regularly. After choosing your active level it asks for more basics such as…
Gender
Age
Height
Current Weight & Goal Weight
After the essential info, it then asks about how much weight you want to lose on a weekly basis. Then of course you have to finish creating your account by adding your email and creating a password.
Once in the actual app (with the free version) it gives you the ideal average day calorie intake that has been specifically made for the goals you choose. To keep track of your calorie intake you can add the meals you eat throughout the day.
There are basic recipes already entered and there are even restaurant chain food calorie counts that way you can log the meals you eat. There is also the option to create your own recipes and their calorie counts.
The app gives you the option to link your Apple Health, which I did since I have an Apple Watch. This allows the app to track your steps and activity to show how many calories you are burning. Burning calories while being active adds more to the amount of calories you “can” eat.
Why I Do Not Recommend Using This App:
This app was useful until it wasn’t. There are many cons to the app. In the article The Pros and Cons of myfitnesspal for Food Tracking by Karina Inkster, the myfitnesspal calorie count is underestimated, the weight loss and weight gain predictions are inaccurate, and not all of the recipes (even those with a green checkmark) are not complete or correct.
My Journey:
*talk of eating disorders & mental health*
While I was using the app I found myself becoming obsessed with my weight and the calories of everything I was consuming. After I would enter in meals I would check to see how many calories I had left. If I went over calories the app would tell me I would not lose weight if all my days were like that one.
If I went out to eat I would feel guilty and then not eat anything else for the rest of the day. I’d often skip my breakfast just to ensure I had enough calories to eat the food I wanted to eat later on in the day.
I would find myself exercising for hours to ensure that I had a higher option for calorie intake and then I would end up only eating one meal that day because it made me “feel good.”
During my experience with the app my mental health rapidly declined and I also found myself exhausted all the time. My family started noticing a difference in my attitude as well since I was getting more and more negative.
Having the app on my phone and the notifications of logging my meals throughout the day and encouraging exercise became too much and I finally realized how unhealthy I’d become both mentally and physically using it. It also has you weigh yourself weekly to see how much weight you lose, and looking at a scale that often can be very upsetting.
Not everyone will have an experience like this while using the app, but I do feel that people should be aware of the inaccuracy of it and the possibility of becoming obsessive over it due to how often notifications are sent throughout the day.
Apps I Like:
Fitness (Apple’s)
References:
Broida, R. (2018, March 30). Protect yourself from the myfitnesspal hack. CNET. https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/150-million-myfitnesspal-accounts-were-hacked-heres-what-to-do/
Inkster, K. (2023, June 4). The Pros and cons of myfitnesspal for food tracking. Karina Inkster. https://www.karinainkster.com/post/food-logging-pros-and-cons-of-myfitnesspal
Thank you for sharing your experience, Kae. Years ago I used this app and had a similar reaction to it. It can be incredibly challenging for folks with a history of disordered eating and, as you point out, can even lead to disordered eating and other mentally and physically unhealthy behaviors.
At some point I also downloaded this app and I soon realized that trying to fit into the expectations of the applications of what "your routine" should be. In the end it is technology and it won't ever take into account that you have certain restrictions, certain schedules, and other things that the app won't take into consideration. The pressure it builds while having inaccurate results really brings a person down mentally which ruins the purpose of the stress free section in a way because it adds stress. In my opinion it's better to be into better apps that will take you as a person into consideration.
From what you say about this app you used, did you ever delete it or do you still have it. It sounds like a complete waste of time if it was being inaccurate. I do not think using any kind of app would actually help someone lose weight, gain muscles, manage stress, or any other physical problem.
I love using Habit Tracker. I have a hard time staying healthy, so that app is a great help. I honestly can't imagine the mental toll to be spam continuously about losing weight.
It is so odd to me that Under Armour and Sprouts could partner with an app that is this problematic.