Can this app recommend foods for me to eat to meet my fitness goals?

BenDeRue7769

If not this app can you recommend one.

AnnPT77

I'm not sure I understand. When you say "fitness goals", do you mean exercise performance, weight management, or something else?

Most of those aren't about specific foods, but rather calories and the overall balance of good nutrition from the totality of what we eat, on average over a few days to a week.

Weight management, directly, is about calories. Food choices matter to the extent they help keep a person full, happy, and energetic, but those things tend to be somewhat individual.

MFP has meal plans (in the premium version). There are also things about meal planning and food choices in the MFP blogs, here:

https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/category/meal-planning-recipes/

If you're looking for something that will give you very specific meal plans with actual menus, there are apps or sites like this one:

https://www.eatthismuch.com/

(I don't work for them or benefit in any way by posting that link. It's just an example of a type of thing that's available.)

I know there are sites where you can type in ingredient(s) and get suggested recipes.

If you're trying to fill out your macros to balance your eating, I don't know of a site for that (one may exist), but there are charts at many places like this one to help with that:



It's not essential to be exactly exact on macros, though: Pretty close is good enough.

BenDeRue7769

After I gave it my personal information it spit out these recommended macros. I can't reach them with the normal low calorie food I eat so I would like to know what the site recommends I eat.

AnnPT77

BenDeRue7769 wrote: »

After I gave it my personal information it spit out these recommended macros. I can't reach them with the normal low calorie food I eat so I would like to know what the site recommends I eat.

It's a process. This app doesn't do that automatically, but you can do it . . . and IMO there are some advantages to looking at it that way, since we each tend to have unique food preferences and finding a personally sustainable plan is essential to sticking with it long enough to lose a meaningful total amount of weight.

First, let me say that if your most important goals have to do with increasing or decreasing body weight, calories are the most important thing. Macros only matter indirectly. If overweight, reaching a healthy weight will be a health improvement in itself for most overweight people. People have lost weight eating only McDonald's food, mostly snack foods, and other tricksy diets. (I don't recommend that at all, since I think nutrition is important, but it illustrates that calories are key for weight loss.)

Macros are for health, body composition, energy level, and that sort of thing. Obviously, that's important, too, even if it doesn't directly control weight loss. Hitting the right calorie goal in a way you find sustainable (filling for example) is probably first priority, if weight loss is the goal.

Beyond that, protein and fats are "essential nutrients" in the sense that our bodies can't make them out of anything else.

If you're low on protein, low on fats, or both, start there. Find foods in your routine eating patterns that don't have much of the nutrient(s) you're aiming for, but that are "costing" you quite a few calories, and that aren't important to you to feel full or for happiness with your eating. Reduce or eliminate those foods, find other foods you enjoy eating to spend those calories on instead, foods that better meet your nutrition goals. (Reduce = eat less often, or in smaller portions.)

This thread can help you identify calorie-efficient protein sources that you enjoy:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

MFP's plans (in premium MFP) include a high protein plan, too.

Many people already get enough fats without paying close attention, but if you don't, then it may make sense to add the types of fat sources that many people under-consume: Nut butter, nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, fatty cold-water fish, and that sort of thing. Obviously, since fats are calorie dense, portion sizes are important.

You can also find things in the MFP blogs about those nutrients, especially protein.

Carbs are flexible, so you can fine tune your carb levels based on how they affect your appetite and energy level, which tends to vary from one individual to the next. It's fine to get extra protein (within reason) or extra fats instead of hitting any particular carb level, as long as it works well for you.

This answer may not be satisfying to you, and if so, I understand and empathize. I would say, though, that the kind of thought process I outlined above is pretty much how I remodeling my eating habits, lost 50 pounds, and stayed at a healthy weight for 8 years since, so I'm pretty sure it's one method that can work. However, different people have different preferences, and this approach may not suit you.

Whatever you decide, best wishes for success: The results are worth the effort!

springlering62

Calories are king. I assume you’re new. Spend the first couple months or so simply learning the app and creating the habit of weighing and logging accurately.

That’s a bundle to take on.

Once you’re comfortable with that, I think you’ll be surprised. As I learned the “cost” of various foods and began deleting this one and replacing with that one, my macros started to fall into place.

It’s like Tetris. I typically log several days ahead. If I see I’m going to be low on protein, I’ll remove popcorn and substitute something high protein. Likewise, if protein is too high, I’ll pull something and stick in popcorn or extra fruit.

It’s always a work in progress but logging ahead helps me to see the bigger picture.

Another thing that takes the pressure of is not worrying so much about daily macros. I check the 7-day view every Sunday evening and find that averages out over the course of a week, I’m doing pretty well. It takes the “daily frantic” out of the equation.

yirara

BenDeRue7769 wrote: »

After I gave it my personal information it spit out these recommended macros. I can't reach them with the normal low calorie food I eat so I would like to know what the site recommends I eat.

Don't eat low calorie food but normal food then? I suppose the macros you got are the standard 50/30/20% split. Everyone gets that and it's a good starting point. If you feel you need more protein or fats then eat that way and ignore the macro numbers.

Also, the calories you're given depend on your input: If you want a too fast weightloss goal you're getting less calories to work with. This might be too little for you. There's no point in starving yourself, losing lots of muscle along the way, then binging and giving up. Slower and steady is a lot more sustainable in the long run.