My Fitness Pal or My Fitness Fail?

-

As a busy college student, it can be really hard to eat well.  You’re always on the run, taking a handful of this or just a bite of that, never really paying attention to what you’re eating or how much.  I didn’t like the fact that I never could remember what I ate throughout the day.  Because of this, I decided to download my fitness pal.  It’s an app that you can track all your food.  It will track the calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, fiber, sugar, and even some vitamins that are in your food and give you a daily recommendation for all of them.  It was super helpful.  I always did my best to put everything I ate into my app. Occasionally, I’d miss a day or two but for the most part I was pretty consistent with it.  However, there were some days where I was confused how my carbohydrates were so low for the day because I knew I had consumed more than what the app had calculated for me.  Also, before I’d go to a restaurant I would search in my app for the different foods they had so I could look at the nutrition facts before I got there but I noticed many times that the foods would be listed on the app more than once and each option was different.  This made things kind of hard.  Of course, I wanted to use the option that had less calories but I wasn’t real sure how accurate that would be and if it wasn’t going to be accurate what was the point in even using the app?  Well, I came to find out that my fitness pal does do some of the research on the food information on their own, but also allows members to submit nutrition content whenever they want.  They even have a link on their website that users can click on if they think the nutrition information is correct or not. Ultimately, it seems that the accuracy of the information is up to its users…which is a bit of a scary thought!  So, the question now is, do we still use it? After looking more in to it, I’ve decided that it is still a useful app.  It still helps keep you aware of what you’re eating throughout the day and gives you an idea of the amount of calories you’re taking in, even if it’s not 100% accurate.  If you are trying to count your macros down to the gram then I would not rely on this app but if you are just looking for a way to keep your eating in check then I think this is a good way to do it!  Think of my fitness pal more as a food journal than a calorie counter.  However, if you really want to use it as a calorie counter just do your own research on the food you’re putting into the app and see if the information from the app is the same as what you find.  You would be doing all of us my fitness pal users a big favor!!

MG

MyFitnessPal. (2018). Some food information in the database is.... [online] Available at: https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/13980-some-food-information-in-the-database-is-inaccurate-can-i-edit-it

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do you struggle with pre and post exercise nutrition?

-
Image
What should i eat before and after a workout? First things first…carbohydrates, proteins and fats are important for the body before  and after exercise. Exercising muscle preferentially uses carbohydrates from stored glycogen, but fats are also an important fuel source for energy production during exercise. Fats and carbohydrates are the two major fuel sources during exercise. Fats must be translocated and broken down from their storage form before they are used. Typically there is enough carbohydrate stored as muscle glycogen for exercise but as muscle glycogen stores decline, the skeletal muscle will then use some amino acids (basic components of all protein). More specifically, the amino acid leucine is used for energy.              It is important to consume an adequate amount of carbohydrates exercise to delay fatigue and minimize gastrointestinal distress. It is also important to consume enough fluids to prev...
Read more

Child Malnutrition

-
New approach to childhood malnutrition may reduce relapses, deaths http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150211124024.htm               Moderate acute malnutrition is experienced by 35 million children worldwide. A new study led by researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has suggested that feeding children until they have met target measures of arm circumference and weight may be more important than a set 12 week feeding time. However, researchers have found that the current targets, set by the World Health Organization (WHO) may not be sufficient and raising these targets slightly could significantly reduce the risk of relapse in malnourished children; a condition that has a 37% relapse rate. The study took place in rural Malawi and was comprised of 2,349 moderately malnourished children aged 6 months to 5 years old. Children were evaluated 12 months after treatment; 1,967 rec...
Read more

Harvest of the Month

-
Image
Harvest of the Month  August – Corn Good source of  fiber Carbohydrate source for energy Antioxidants Contains vitamins and minerals ½ cup or 1 ear = 80 calories   http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=90 September – Watermelon High in vitamin A and vitamin C Antioxidants and anti-inflammatory support 1 cup cubed = 46 calories http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=31 October – Apples High in fiber Vitamin C Abundant amount of antioxidants 1 medium = 95 calories  http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=15 November – Squash and Pumpkin High in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B2, B3 & B6 Many minerals  High in fiber Multiple antioxidant properties  1 cup = 76 calories  http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=63 Decembe...
Read more