Last Updated on May 21, 2023 by Michael Brockbank
Want to use MyFitnessPal to lose weight but not sure where to start? It’s actually not all that difficult. In fact, it’s helped me lose and keep off the past 70 pounds. In reality, any app is beneficial if you spend time working with it.
So, how does one use the MyFitnessPal weight loss app efficiently to lose weight?
Being Positive to Use MyFitnessPal
Before we get started, you need to have a positive mindset about using MyFitnessPal. No diet, app, or exercise routine is going to help if you approach it in a negative way.
If you don’t believe something is going to work, there’s a good chance it won’t.
This free app isn’t some magical tool that will instantly slim your waistline. It’s simply a platform that will help you see how your eating habits are affecting your health.
With that being said, let’s get started…
How to Set Up and Use MyFitnessPal to Drop the Pounds
This is how I lost 80 pounds without restrictive diets or special exercise routines. The best part is that it doesn’t have to cost you a single dime to start seeing and feeling results.
It’s mostly about your mindset. Though, I have set up an effective method for me to lose weight by connecting Fitbit to MyFitnessPal. But just keeping an eye on what you eat throughout the day can be insightful when thinking about what to snack on next.
Step 1: Set Up Your Account
The first thing you’ll need to do is obviously create an account. This is quite simple, and you can use your Under Armour or Facebook accounts if you’d like.
Personally, I connected Facebook. This lets me share my progress with friends and family. And this is a key element as it helps keep me motivated when those closest to me praise my achievements.
Think of it as positive reinforcement.
Step 2: Install the App
When I started, I was using the MyFitnessPal desktop browser app. From my computer, I can keep track of my food and exercise while having access to a variety of other tools and features.
Plus, I didn’t have a smartphone at the time.
Today, I use the mobile app on a daily basis to keep track of what I eat. Between searching for foods and the barcode scanner, it’s a quick method for keeping an eye on consumption.
You can find the app in the Google Play store.
Or you can install it for iOS at the Apple store.
I would suggest getting the app. It makes recording your food much simpler, especially if you’re not always at the computer.
Step 3: Enter Your Measurements
This next part is probably easier to do on the desktop.
Click the “Check-In” function to enter measurements.
This will give you a starting point and a great way to keep track of losing weight.
You see, the scale isn’t always going to be accurate. A lot of things can cause your weight to fluctuate. But measurements can show what areas of the body are reducing in size.
For instance, I’ve watched my biceps and waist shrink over the course of two months even though the scale says I didn’t lose anything.
Step 4: Connect Your Favorite Apps
One thing that’s helped a lot with how I lost weight with MyFitnessPal is connecting my other fitness apps to the system. I kind of have an intricate web of fitness tools feeding data into this one.
If you don’t have any other apps, it’s OK. You can use the system without them. In fact, it was nearly a year before I connected my other apps.
Case in point, I lost 20 pounds in just over a month using nothing but MyFitnessPal.
Click the “Apps” item on the toolbar and connect what you have.
You currently have over 50 to choose from. I often use Fitbit for calorie burn, Runkeeper, and Exercise.com. They’re all part of my fitness tools.
But for losing weight, I just have Fitbit connected. It’s a great way to see how much I’ve burnt compared to the amount of food I’ve eaten.
Step 5: Set Your Personal Goals
Go back to the home page for MyFitnessPal.
Click the “Goals” function from the toolbar.
MyFitnessPal will set basic goals for you by default. However, you can alter these to better match what you’re trying to accomplish.
You can edit:
- The number of calories you can consume per day.
- Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins you’re allowed.
- The different kinds of micronutrients.
- Your fitness goals, should you have any.
If you pay for the premium service, you can also create goals centering on what you’re allowed for each meal.
When you’re first starting, it’s probably a good idea to stick with the default settings. I did, and it helped me lose a lot of weight rather quickly.
Today, I set the calories to 600 per day. But that’s because I am doing my Net 600 calorie diet, which increases how much I can eat according to my physical activity.
It’s easy to track this for me because my Fitbit sends calorie-burn data to MyFitnessPal.
Have Realistic Goals
Before you commit to goals, make sure they’re realistic. You don’t want to set something that is simply impossible for you to do.
It will affect your mentality as it might set you up for failure.
Start with easy numbers to achieve and work your way from there. As I said, I started with the default settings and made adjustments over time.
Each person will have unique needs. And you want to make sure you’re not inadvertently starving yourself or hurting the body in any way.
If you need certain dietary requirements, consult a physician before setting up your goals.
It’s possible to experience MyFitnessPal weight loss without exercise, but I don’t suggest it. Getting physical activity does more than just help you burn fat. It strengthens the body and makes living so much easier.
For instance, I geeked out when I first picked up a 50-pound bag of dog food and tossed it into the shopping cart. I thought for sure it was a smaller bag until I realized…nope! I was just getting stronger.
But it’s really up to what you want to do. You can use MyFitnessPal for nothing more than a weight-loss tool quite easily.
Step 6: Start Recording Your Food Intake
Now, this is perhaps the most important step for efficiently using MyFitnessPal. It determines whether MyFitnessPal is accurate with weight loss.
You need to record every morsel of food you eat every day.
The system is based on collecting data to give accurate results. If you don’t put in something because it makes you look bad or if you forget, the data is going to be skewed.
Scan or Record Every Meal and Snack
Over the past two years, I’ve created a habit of scanning and entering food as I go. It’s just simply part of the process of preparing a meal.
It doesn’t take but a few seconds. And if you enter food as you go instead of trying to do it at the end of the day, you won’t have to worry about trying to remember everything you put into your mouth.
Besides, seeing the numbers as you progress helps determine what kind of food you eat next.
There have been a few times when I would go for extensive walks just so I could have something like pizza for dinner. This was because I didn’t have enough calories to have something so “expensive” in terms of calories.
Make Better Choices for What You Eat
Part of losing weight with MyFitnessPal is making better choices in your diet. Just because you can eat 1500 calories today doesn’t mean you can have nothing but cupcakes to reach that number.
After seeing what Taco Bell does to me in terms of nutrition in MyFitnessPal, I greatly reduced how often I eat out.
The bottom line is that you’ll need to add more nutritious elements to your day if you plan to lose weight and keep it off. A lot of diets out there are not sustainable, which is why many folks will put the weight back on.
While the best diet is one that works for you, can you see yourself doing it for the next five years?
You Only Cheat Yourself
I know some out there might not want to record all of their eating habits on MyFitnessPal. It makes you feel guilty when those numbers start changing from green to red.
But if you don’t, you’re only cheating yourself. MyFitnessPal will only work if you’re honest.
Always keep in mind that you’re only in competition with yourself. Everyone has a unique physiology, and we’ll all burn fat at a different rate. Focus on just improving yourself at a pace at which you’re comfortable.
It’s not a race.
Watch the Portion Sizes
I lost more than 70 pounds so far mainly because I reduced the amount of food and snacks I eat. I try to maintain proper portion sizes according to what I need…not what I want.
And that’s the trick to losing weight. Knowing the correct portion sizes of food is ideal if you want to eliminate fat.
Food is fuel for the human body. And if you overfill the tank, the excess is stored.
Try to stick to eating a logical portion. This means staying away from restaurants as most will serve enough food to technically feed you two or three times.
What if your food is not on the list or different from what MyFitnessPal shows?
There will be times when your food isn’t listed or the calories and nutrition numbers are different. This is because manufacturers change recipes often or have different ways of making the food according to region.
In this case, you can search for the best match or enter your own numbers.
When I started, I was constantly correcting meals that were saved in the system. It doesn’t happen as much today, but it’s a good idea to do so if you want the best results.
Step 7: Continue Working on Eating Better Every Day
Watching MyFitnessPal calories centers around making better choices when eating. Using the system, you can see how much stuff you’re putting into the body while getting an idea of your overall health.
If you eat nothing but garbage, that’s how you’re going to feel.
I’m not saying that you need to stick to specific diet plans to succeed with MyFitnessPal. In fact, I still eat anything I want. The biggest difference is I don’t eat as much of it today.
Not only has this eliminated a lot of fat on my body, but I also find I spend less money at the grocery store and throw away far less trash.
This is because I only cook proper portion sizes of what I am going to eat and then freeze the rest to create my own microwave dinners.
I don’t throw away food.
More Tips to Lose Weight when You Use MyFitnessPal
You can use the app as nothing more than a food calorie counter. However, it does come with a lot of extras you might want to explore. Even the free version has some fun and engaging tools.
For instance, you can:
- Add saved recipes section
This acts like a personal cookbook where you can add your own recipes for private use or share them with the world. - Use the saved meals area
When you combine multiple food types into one meal, you can save it for future use. This makes entering the meal much quicker, and you can even add a picture of the dish if you’d like. - Explore the community
You have access to forums, discussions, and finding friends on MyFitnessPal. It adds a bit of a social element to the system. - Add exercises
Even though you can still lose weight with MyFitnessPal without exercising, I still recommend being more physical. Personally, I have my Fitbit recording my activity, so I don’t use this area as much today. - Take a look at the reports
In the report screen, you can find data regarding your progress such as tracking your weight or various types of nutrition. - Connect a smart scale
I use a Renpho smart scale in the mornings. It records all of my biographic data and then uploads it to MyFitnessPal. It saves time in having to “Check-In” with my actual weight.
It’s a good idea to explore the system and get comfortable with what’s available. Personally, I like the recipes and meals addition. It makes recording food so much faster at a later date.
How accurate is the MyFitnessPal Weight Prediction?
When you click the button to “Complete this Entry” in the system every night, MyFitnessPal will give a prediction of what you would weigh in five weeks. This is based on your eating throughout the entire day.
It’s a formula based on the average number of calories in a pound, which experts say is 3,500.
MyFitnessPal will then take the calories you consumed and subtract them from average dieting. The problem is everyone burns calories at a different rate. There are simply too many personal variables that will skew this number.
However, it does provide a good approximation of what you would weigh if you eat the same way every day.
Use the Free Blog from MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal gives you a very basic, free blog to use to track your journey. It’s very limited, but can be a great method for sharing your progress with others on the platform.
In the beginning, I was trying to keep track of writing about my weight loss journey. However, I decided to put more effort into this blog, especially since I have far more flexibility in what I can post.
Still, the free blog from MyFitnessPal can be shared on social sites, use to engage others on the platform, and help keep you inspired to reach healthier goals.
Perhaps the biggest downside to the free blog on MyFitnessPal is the lack of image function. There’s no obvious method to add an image to your post, such as sharing before and after pictures.
Nonetheless, it does have a basic word processor built into the system as well as HTML coding functions and linking. So, it can easily be used as a journal of sorts if you’re interested in keeping track that way.
One last thing to keep in mind is that this blog is free. It’s all built directly into MyFitnessPal, which is probably why they’ve disabled images. With so many people who use MyFitnessPal, the storage could get full wicked fast.
Be Honest When You Use MyFitnessPal
No system is going to work well if you don’t put in the effort. MyFitnessPal is a food tracking app. If you don’t input all of your eating habits, you won’t have the best results.
Just keep in mind the quality of food you eat will also impact whether you lose weight or not.
It’s all about making smarter and healthier choices when dining.
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