Review: MyFitnessPal Weight loss assistant app

   Today I am reviewing an app I have been reviewing quite a bit lately, MyFitnessPal.  This is an app that I have been using quite a bit lately.   Recently, our second child was born and I have been on paternity leave.  Paternity leave has not been kind to my weight goals (not to mention the sympathy eating before the arrival of the baby).  MyFitnessPal is an app that is designed to help people manage their weight.   It has the goal of being a one-stop shop for all things related to weight loss.   The primary feature is its diary, where you can track your calories and what you eat.  You are also able to track your weight loss progress, either by manually inputting your weight or using a Bluetooth-supported scale (I don't use this feature).   The app also has diet tips, workout routines, and recipes you can review.  There is a blog you can create to share with your friends regarding your weight loss journey and progress.   You can set goals for yourself, which the app will track and reward you with a feel-good message when you achieve them.   The app does a rather good job of giving you all the tools you need to succeed.  Like I said previously, I primarily use it only for the diary aspect, but for someone looking for more tips and guidance, this would be an excellent choice.

 

 

     The program is free, but there is a premium service you can purchase that removes the ads, gives you a more detailed look at diet and workout tips, and food nutritional breakdown. You can access the program via an internet browser or a downloadable app. I primarily use it as an app on my phone due to convenience.  The app will keep a log of past items you have entered into your diary for easy access next time you eat them, you can adjust serving size and portion amount within the app.  You can create common meals that you eat, so rather than adding each item, you add the meal.  There is also a barcode scan feature that allows you to use the camera on the phone to scan a barcode and add the food to your diary.   The diary information is provided by both the manufacturer and in some cases users.  Because of the large number of users, there is very rarely an item that will have no information regarding nutritional value when you add it.  If that were to happen, you can manually add that information.  Information provided by a manufacturer will have a "verified" checkmark on it, akin to Twitter.  Those that are not added by the manufacturer or another trusted source are similar to Wikipedia in a way, since it is user entered, it is typically accurate, but you may want to double-check that the nutritional information lines up.

    

     I do not have many complaints about this app at all.  It does rather well for its intended purpose.  I mean, I wish it could lose the weight for me, but short of that, there are a few minor tweaks I would make.    As I previously stated, in some cases, there is not a verified input for an item's nutritional value.  First, I would like to see them put more effort into making sure more items had a verified account of what is in the food.  I honestly do not see this happening, because you can add items yourself, so if you don't see a previous input you like or isn't verified, you can create your own and verify the data is correct.    Once you have created that input, it will be saved to your favorites and easy to find.  However, it would be more convenient not to do this step.  Secondly, I like to see them put more effort into assisting with food that does not come in nice clean packaging.  For instance,  have more regarding foods when dining out and give tips on how to quickly assess how big a serving is (for instance, "3oz of chicken breast is about the size of your palm").  Third, I would like them to put a weight loss calculator straight into the app.  Something similar to  https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html (Links to an external site.) so that you can put your weight, age, activity level, and weight loss goal in, and get a good measure of how many calories to aim for.   I have been using this app on and off for many years and overall I am very happy with what it provides.  I do recommend it for those in need.