Written by: August 21, 2022
Track your nutritional inputs and reach your weight loss goals with MyFitnessPal. What gets measured gets managed.
Principle-First
Let's get this straight:
I'm not here to tell you how to live.
Your body is your body.
And if you're happy with it, that's great.
For those who are interested in shedding a few lbs, here are the benefits:
- More daily energy
- More mental clarity
- Extended lifespan expectancy
Here we go…
INTRODUCING MYFITNESSPAL
MyFitnessPal (iOS, Android) is a powerful app to log your nutritional inputs and body weight. Food tracking can be a pain. But MyFitnessPal has the most extensive catalog of foods/meals to easily select from (including menu items from popular chains).
The free version will take you far. But you can upgrade to the Premium plan for $9.99/month or $49.99/year. Here is a list of premium features (Notable: meal scan, no ads, macronutrient goals).
Sidenote: Today’s focus is weight loss, emphasizing nutrition. MyFitnessPal is also popular for logging workouts.
SUPERHUMAN SCORING
In every edition of All Systems Go, I assess the featured product across four superhuman dimensions: impact, setup, maintenance, and aesthetics.
Unlike your typical product review, I focus on factors that influence personal growth. Get to know the evaluation system.
Impact (9.0/10)
The #1 method to lose weight that works for everyone:
Calorie deficit.
It means consuming fewer calories (food and drink) than the body expends (through regular activity and exercise).
By eating and drinking fewer calories (calories in) than the body requires to operate (calories out), your body must burn fat stores.
To create a calorie deficit, pull these levers:
1) Reduce intake of calories
2) Exercise more
Most weight loss experts recommend operating in a calorie deficit of 500 calories daily. Do this, and you can safely lose 1 pound per week.
Here’s a helpful calculator to determine your target daily calorie intake to operate in a deficit.
Step 1 is knowing your daily calorie target. Step 2 is knowing the number of calories in foods you consume—exactly where MyFitnessPal shines.
Search an extensive food catalog to log your daily meals, understand the calories in each, and make better choices.
Setup (8.0/10)
A few pro tips for weight loss:
- Intermittent fasting (16:8 Method): Limit your feeding window to 8 hours daily, and you’ll consume fewer calories. It’s challenging to overeat during the shortened time frame.
- Stay hydrated!: Drink a full glass of water before every meal.
- Portion control: When eating at a restaurant, immediately box up half of your dinner in a to-go box (hat-tip to James Clear).
Maintenance (7.5/10)
Logging your calories and regularly weighing yourself is a habit.
I recently wrote about my favorite habit-tracking app, Productive.
Add these daily habits to your Productive list:
- “Meal tracking” (marked complete after tracking in MyFitnessPal).
- “Weigh-in,” once daily or weekly (after you weigh and log).
Self-identifying as “Fit” will fast-track your habit development. Here are some affirmations I’ve found helpful:
- Nothing tastes better than natural pulsing energy
- I get nutrition from food. Not feelings
- Eating well is an expression of self-love
Aesthetics (8.5/10)
MyFitnessPal has stellar reviews in Apple’s App Store (4.7/5 stars with 1.7M ratings).
In addition, that app is surprisingly intuitive given all its functionality.
BRINGING IT HOME
Personal Development 2.0 means working with technology to become healthier, wealthier, or have more free time.
Use MyFitnessPal to upgrade your health.
All systems go,
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Resources
- Newsletter Archive: Read past issues of All Systems Go
- Energy Dashboard: Get an under-the-hood look at my self-tracking metrics for energy management (updated weekly)
- [Quick Win] Phone Charger Challenge: Save 60 hours every year with this simple morning hack
