Intermittent Fasting Tool, worthless?

keviwan
keviwan Posts: 11 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I’m wondering why the My Fitness Pal folks haven’t made the intermittent fasting tool an actual timer to prompt you when to stop eating and when you can start eating again. Maybe it does that and I’m not using it correctly? It seems like this would be an easy as pie feature to create.
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Replies

  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,235 Member
    I can't check to see if it has a hidden timer. Even after updating the app on my iPad a couple hours ago, I still don't have the feature available.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I don't have it myself, but haven't seen any posts that indicate that the new IF tool is anything other than a marketing gimmick, especially as last I saw they had 12:12 as an option. :lol:
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,598 Member
    keviwan wrote: »
    I’m wondering why the My Fitness Pal folks haven’t made the intermittent fasting tool an actual timer to prompt you when to stop eating and when you can start eating again. Maybe it does that and I’m not using it correctly? It seems like this would be an easy as pie feature to create.

    Maybe try putting this suggestion in this part of the Community:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/categories/feature-suggestions-and-ideas

    There, there's at least a chance MFP staff will see and consider it. They don't read every one of the hundreds or thousands of daily posts in the whole Community.

    Here, you're just talking to other regular MFP users who have no more power to change the app than you have yourself. 🤷‍♀️

    FWIW, I don't think many of the long-term successful long-experienced MFP users do IF. It's kind of a newly popular thing, seems like. Lots of the long-termers here lost weight the old fashioned way, mostly, I think.
  • soniakircher1
    soniakircher1 Posts: 13 Member
    Hi hate to ask the obvious but we’re is it in the app. I havnt been able to find it , I might be at day 115 fasting love to find it. Thanks for any hints!yes we totally need a timer to show us soo many hours to go ect when fasting ! I thought it existed but can never find it ! Thanks for any help
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,235 Member
    soniakircher1 wrote: »
    Hi hate to ask the obvious but we’re is it in the app. I havnt been able to find it , I might be at day 115 fasting love to find it. Thanks for any hints!yes we totally need a timer to show us soo many hours to go ect when fasting ! I thought it existed but can never find it ! Thanks for any help

    I read that it's in the menu under the ". . . MORE" button, but I still don't have the option so I can't confirm.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,598 Member
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    soniakircher1 wrote: »
    Hi hate to ask the obvious but we’re is it in the app. I havnt been able to find it , I might be at day 115 fasting love to find it. Thanks for any hints!yes we totally need a timer to show us soo many hours to go ect when fasting ! I thought it existed but can never find it ! Thanks for any help

    I read that it's in the menu under the ". . . MORE" button, but I still don't have the option so I can't confirm.

    Yes. In the phone/tablet app, touch "More" and "Intermittent Fasting" is on the resulting list of options. It's not available in web MFP, and it's a premium feature (AFAIK).

    I can't say how to use it, because I don't and wouldn't IF. Doesn't suit my undisciplined, hedonistic nature, and it wasn't necessary (or helpful) for me to do in order to lose weight or to maintain that loss long term. Some others may find it helpful, based on posts here: I'm not implying it's universally useless or unpleasant, just because it's not for me.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,235 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    soniakircher1 wrote: »
    Hi hate to ask the obvious but we’re is it in the app. I havnt been able to find it , I might be at day 115 fasting love to find it. Thanks for any hints!yes we totally need a timer to show us soo many hours to go ect when fasting ! I thought it existed but can never find it ! Thanks for any help

    I read that it's in the menu under the ". . . MORE" button, but I still don't have the option so I can't confirm.

    Yes. In the phone/tablet app, touch "More" and "Intermittent Fasting" is on the resulting list of options. It's not available in web MFP, and it's a premium feature (AFAIK).

    I can't say how to use it, because I don't and wouldn't IF. Doesn't suit my undisciplined, hedonistic nature, and it wasn't necessary (or helpful) for me to do in order to lose weight or to maintain that loss long term. Some others may find it helpful, based on posts here: I'm not implying it's universally useless or unpleasant, just because it's not for me.

    It seems that they aren't rolling it out to everyone at the same time as it's still not showing up on my iPad app. Granted, if it is a premium feature it could be hidden to me. However, I doubt that because showing it would be a marketing feature to tempted people to buy premium. That being said, I also don't plan on using it, so I'm not too worried about it.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    soniakircher1 wrote: »
    Hi hate to ask the obvious but we’re is it in the app. I havnt been able to find it , I might be at day 115 fasting love to find it. Thanks for any hints!yes we totally need a timer to show us soo many hours to go ect when fasting ! I thought it existed but can never find it ! Thanks for any help

    I read that it's in the menu under the ". . . MORE" button, but I still don't have the option so I can't confirm.

    Yes. In the phone/tablet app, touch "More" and "Intermittent Fasting" is on the resulting list of options. It's not available in web MFP, and it's a premium feature (AFAIK).

    I can't say how to use it, because I don't and wouldn't IF. Doesn't suit my undisciplined, hedonistic nature, and it wasn't necessary (or helpful) for me to do in order to lose weight or to maintain that loss long term. Some others may find it helpful, based on posts here: I'm not implying it's universally useless or unpleasant, just because it's not for me.

    It seems that they aren't rolling it out to everyone at the same time as it's still not showing up on my iPad app. Granted, if it is a premium feature it could be hidden to me. However, I doubt that because showing it would be a marketing feature to tempted people to buy premium. That being said, I also don't plan on using it, so I'm not too worried about it.

    Yes, I have it within More from the app dashboard (iphone), and then I am prompted to get Premium:

    6uypv8x1u2r0.png
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Would someone with Premium or better search-foo than me post a screenshot of the "three fasting options"? It was in another thread about the new IF feature, and I cannot find that thread.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,598 Member
    edited February 2023
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Would someone with Premium or better search-foo than me post a screenshot of the "three fasting options"? It was in another thread about the new IF feature, and I cannot find that thread.

    gclf3fupuu6m.png

    For those who are having trouble finding it, there's also this announcement thread:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10884156/check-out-our-new-in-app-intermittent-fasting-plan#latest

    The announcement thread links to other resources, but the links are single words, and it seems like some people are missing those because there are even comments on the announcement thread that people can't find it (or maybe there's a bug in some environments?).

    Anyway, here are the info sources that thread links to, in case people can't see them:

    https://www.instagram.com/myfitnesspal/ - on this one, look for the right IG post, has a big splashy title and is near the top, so shouldn't be able to miss it
    https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/introducing-the-intermittent-fasting-tracker/

    I can't answer questions about it, I don't work for MFP, I don't use the feature, I don't IF. It appears to be premium only, phone/tablet app only (not web MFP). I'm just posting the photo kshama asked for, and the other info links, trying to be helpful.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,235 Member
    Glad I don't want it. Still not there:
    9wfsyqvzp5ih.png
  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,783 Member
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    Glad I don't want it. Still not there:
    9wfsyqvzp5ih.png

    For me, it shows up on the main page of the dashboard. Who knows🤷‍♀️ mfp does weird things depending on which version you use.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,235 Member
    sollyn23l2 wrote: »
    For me, it shows up on the main page of the dashboard. Who knows🤷‍♀️ mfp does weird things depending on which version you use.

    Not on my dashboard either. For reference, I'm currently using an up-to-date app on an iPad with a US location setting. No big deal. It's not the first time they've released a change to different users over time versus all at once.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    Lol, I don't think it's too hard to figure out when you start eating and when to stop.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • zamphir79
    zamphir79 Posts: 21 Member
    The 12:12 option is hilarious. I don't know about anyone else, but I just call that "eating normally." Even 14:10 is something I routinely do without trying. In my mind, the 16:8 option is like Level 1.

    I turned this feature on in the app just to test it. I ate some breakfast outside of my window, expecting some sort of feedback, but...nothing. Other than a little note in my diary to reference my selected window, turning IF on makes 0 difference to the User experience.
  • knitsend
    knitsend Posts: 2 Member
    I have it on mine, but it doesn’t work. I can’t stop the fast once started. It tells me I already logged a fast that day, but when I go back to my diary it tells me I’m on hour 26 of my fast. 😂
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Would someone with Premium or better search-foo than me post a screenshot of the "three fasting options"? It was in another thread about the new IF feature, and I cannot find that thread.

    gclf3fupuu6m.png

    For those who are having trouble finding it, there's also this announcement thread:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10884156/check-out-our-new-in-app-intermittent-fasting-plan#latest

    The announcement thread links to other resources, but the links are single words, and it seems like some people are missing those because there are even comments on the announcement thread that people can't find it (or maybe there's a bug in some environments?).

    Anyway, here are the info sources that thread links to, in case people can't see them:

    https://www.instagram.com/myfitnesspal/ - on this one, look for the right IG post, has a big splashy title and is near the top, so shouldn't be able to miss it
    https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/introducing-the-intermittent-fasting-tracker/

    I can't answer questions about it, I don't work for MFP, I don't use the feature, I don't IF. It appears to be premium only, phone/tablet app only (not web MFP). I'm just posting the photo kshama asked for, and the other info links, trying to be helpful.

    Thanks! For years I've been mentioning fasting 12:12 ironically, and it slays me that MFP included 12:12 as a feature.
  • paints5555
    paints5555 Posts: 1,233 Member
    The_Lonely_Wolf wrote: »
    The 12:12 option is hilarious. I don't know about anyone else, but I just call that "eating normally." Even 14:10 is something I routinely do without trying. In my mind, the 16:8 option is like Level 1.

    I beg to differ on this. Although a lot of people naturally have a "fast" longer than 12 hours, many people struggle with this. Think of all the posts about how to avoid evening eating and where a snack at 9PM turns into a full fledged meal. Then breakfast again at 6AM. For those people, 12:12, would be a great start to limit situations where they would otherwise add to their daily calories.
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
    Silly question - why wouldn’t you just use your phone’s alarm clock to let you know when to start and stop eating?
  • lukembarton
    lukembarton Posts: 1 Member
    Intermittent fasting also isn't available via the web browser, there's no iOS widget for it, and of course, no watch complication. 2/10 feature.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    bathsheba_c wrote: »
    Silly question - why wouldn’t you just use your phone’s alarm clock to let you know when to start and stop eating?
    I know right?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

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