Suddenly Frugal Seal of Approval: MyFitnessPal

Like most Americans I couldn’t get away from all the commercials for weight loss products and programs in these first few days of 2012. I saw ads for Jenny Craig (now just called “Jenny”), Nutrisystem, and Weight Watchers.

Technically, I am a Lifetime Weight Watchers member, having reached my goal weight more than a decade ago and then maintained it for quite sometime. But then last year Weight Watchers introduced the Points Plus program, and everything I loved about Weight Watchers disappeared. The new Points program simply didn’t work for me and, a year later, I was no longer at my goal weight. That meant that like millions of others who have made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight, so have I.

At first I thought I would give Weight Watchers a try again. I mean, I couldn’t help but find all of those commercials showing skinny people displaying their Smartphones with the Weight Watchers app on them to be intriguing. The notion of being able to track Points via an app, versus pencil and paper in a Points Tracker, or on my laptop, seemed so convenient.

So I fired up my iPod Touch and went to the App Store, where I easily located the Weight Watchers Mobile app. Before downloading it I decided to read through some of the 250+ reviews for the app.

And boy am I glad that I did.

While downloading the Weight Watchers app wouldn’t have cost me any money, it would have been an alleged exercise in frustration and disappointment, it seems, based on the hundreds of reviews I’d read. Sure, some people had good things to say about the app and how it helped them to move towards their weight-loss goals, but most were not happy. In many reviews the users referred to another app and program called MyFitnessPal, which seemed to have the usability and tools that people hoped to find in the Weight Watchers app–things like an integrated bar code scanner that allowed you to upload food information automatically, and an extensive and easily searchable food database.

I closed out the Weight Watchers app and searched for the MyFitnessPal app, which was also free. I downloaded it, signed up for an account, and began using it immediately.

I must admit that it was disconcerting to be tracking calories after more than a decade thinking about food only in terms of Points values. At first I thought I would freak out when I added in formerly “free” foods, such as vegetables, and have to admit to their calorie counts. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that those vegetables barely put a dent in my daily calorie total. So I enjoyed more vegetables, knowing they were the healthier choice when I wanted to munch on something or round out a sandwich at lunch.

Here was another part of MyFitnessPal that I found surprisingly positive and encouraging: the app told me upfront how much exercise I should be getting each day and how many calories I should be burning. As I added that exercise in to my total, MyFitnessPal applied it to my total calorie count and “refunded” me the calories so that, in essence, I could eat more if I wanted. Now I realize that Weight Watchers does this as well, with Activity Points, but there was something about “trading in” Activity Points for Food Points on Weight Watchers that always left me feeling guilty. With MyFitnessPal that “trade in” left me feeling invigorated.

The reviews I’d read that had touted the MyFitnessPal food database and integrated bar code scanner weren’t kidding–these tools together were amazing. Using my iPod Touch, I was able to bar code scan any food with a bar code on its label and, voila, there it was added to my database. If I didn’t need to scan a bar code, I found the food database easy to search and intuitive in how it listed foods.

What I like about the MyFitnessPal food database is that it gives you options on how you want to “track” food when you add it to your diary. For example, last night I was planning on having shrimp cocktail for dinner. I discovered that I could think of the shrimp in terms of ounces, grams, and per piece. (I have a food scale to help with weighted measurements.) I chose the latter option, where four pieces were a serving, for about 20 calories, and ate to my stomach and brain’s content. At the end of the meal, I’d consumed about 100 calories in shrimp and felt utterly satisfied.

Throughout a typical day, I might access MyFitnessPal via my laptop or my iPod Touch (which is the frugal version of an iPhone, in case you were wondering), and that back and forth worked seamlessly. Regardless of which device I’d used to add to my food diary, my account was always updated and current.

I’m a bit stumped on how MyFitnessPal, which has 14,000+ followers on Twitter and 188,000+ “Likes” on Facebook, makes its money. Like I said the app was free to download, and registering for an account was free, too. I’m guessing that the online ads that I see whenever I visit MyFitnessPal.com are how the site makes its money. However, I must admit that even if the site charged a nominal monthly fee, I’d still continue to use it.

Taking all of this into consideration, I see MyFitnessPal as a terrific tool to use to lose weight and, considering it’s free, it’s frugal too. That’s why I’m giving MyFitnessPal the first Suddenly Frugal Seal of Approval for 2012. If you’re on the fence about a frugal way to lose weight, I would recommend checking it out.

In the meantime I’m finishing up my blog post on a walking desk (aka a treadmill desk) that my husband built for me as part of my Christmas/Chanukah present. It allows me to walk and work, which will go a long way (pun intended) as I work towards my goal weight and overall fitness goals in 2012. Stay tuned!

Tags: free app, lose weight, MyFitnessPal, new year's resolutions, Weight Watchers