How these apps can help with your weight loss journey!
Tech and wellness are two areas that have been increasingly growing closer in the last couple of years. The easy access to tools and resources that can support wellness efforts has increased the popularity of different fitness apps.
Calorie tracking apps like MyFitnessPal are some of the most commonly used products in the health and wellness world. From weight loss support to specific nutrition tracking, these apps can help establish healthy habits, make healthier food choices, and promote a fitness routine. However, as useful as these products can be they all come with their downsides and can actually have negative effects in health and wellness if not used mindfully. Let’s take a look into some of the pros and cons of calorie tracking tools.
MyFitnessPal may be one of the most popular companions for fitness enthusiasts. The app is owned by the fitness apparel brand Under Armour, and its most popular feature is the calorie tracker. People with different kinds of fitness goals including weight loss, muscle building, and maintenance, use this feature regularly to set goals, track their caloric intake, and gain knowledge about the nutritional value of the food they consume. (Note that although we will be focusing on this specific app due to its popularity, the material touched upon is relevant to all forms of calorie tracking tools.)
MyFitnessPal has one of the most complete nutritional databases I have ever seen. Type in any food, from a single ingredient like flour to a specific commercial product like a Starbuck Soy Chai Latte, and you will get the calorie count, macronutrient information, grams of sugar per serving, and even vitamin and mineral profile. On the off chance that you don’t find the product you are looking for you can actually manually enter and save the nutritional profile with the option of making it accessible to all other users. This means that the community keeps building the database, constantly adding more and more products. You can get access to nutritional information almost immediately when you scan a product’s barcode, which is quite a convenient feature. It does all calculations for you, including BMI (body mass index), BMR (basal metabolic rate), daily caloric expenditure, and daily calorie intake goal depending on your goals. Keeps your frequent foods saved so you can easily log them, and allows you to create custom menus.
Overall the app is quite easy to use, and after just a little practice it can blend seamlessly with your routine.
For people who are just trying to get a clearer view of their eating habits, this app is a great resource to just get a general idea without having to invest too much time. For those who want more meticulous insight, the app can be used to track food intake to the gram, which is more useful to people who are on a strict regime such as bodybuilders, elite athletes, and other fitness professionals and enthusiasts.
If you are into cooking and meal prepping you can actually create your own meal profiles adding single ingredients up to generate your complete meal nutritional information. You can then save this and use it later again for meals that you cook regularly.
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