Why I no longer use MyFitnessPal
Hear me out. MyFitnessPal and other nutrition tracking apps aren’t inherently bad, if you use them with caution. For me, using this app caused me to fall into unhealthy behaviors that I needed to break away from. It was so freeing to hit that delete button, and I want you to do the same if you’re feeling this way too.
Back when I first started using MyFitnessPal, I was at a point in my life where I wanted to make significant changes to lose weight. I didn’t have great knowledge of overall nutrition and I didn’t know anything about the foods I was eating. At first, using the app helped me make more informed decisions — like choosing a steak with a side of broccoli at a restaurant instead of the more caloric salad. I think there’s great value in learning more about the makeup of your food — calories, carbs, protein, vitamins, etc. But it’s when this becomes an obsession that it takes an unhealthy turn, especially if you already struggle with body image and disordered eating.
When you first sign up for a MyFitnessPal account, you have to add in some basic information about yourself including your age, weight, height and goal weight. Based on that info, the platform will give you a set number of calories that you should consume per day. For most women I’ve talked to, this was 1,200 calories a day. THAT’S INSANE. Do you realize how hard it is to stay under that number every single day? If you’ve ever tried to do this, you probably felt really hungry at the end of the day like I did.
Over time, I became obsessed with tracking my food in the app, down to every…last…ketchup packet. It became such a burden. At the end of the day, the app will reveal if you’re in the green (meaning you stayed under 1,200 calories) or in the red (meaning you ate over 1,200 calories). Seeing that red number at the end of the day really stung. It made me feel awful about the choices I made. No lie, I would often force myself to do a workout at the end of the day so I could get the number back to green.
That number had power over me in the opposite direction too. If I got to the end of the day and realized I had extra calories to spare, I used that as an excuse to binge or treat myself, even if I wasn’t hungry. Getting into this pattern was so unhealthy, and I realize that I rarely allowed myself to indulge in things I loved.
Today, I no longer track my food. I’ve become more educated on nutrition and follow more of the “intuitive eating” method. This means that you follow your body’s cues. Eat when you’re hungry, don’t when you’re not. I still struggle with the guilt of not finishing everything on my plate, and that’s something I’m working on.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight, and a calorie deficit can absolutely help you do that. But whatever you do, it should be sustainable and not leave you feeling hungry all the time. You need food! I promise that I can help you meet your goals while still getting to enjoy the foods you love! Sign up for my next fitness challenge to join my WWM Squad to see for yourself.
