What did you learn using MyFitnessPal that changed your habits?

Singing_Banshee · January 2022

First thing I learned was using the food diary/calculator ..Most low fat products are full of sugar 🤨

Also it’s not just about eating lower calories to lose weight, but what foods you eat and more calories works better when you eat the right balanced diet of food.

samdner · January 2022

2 things so far:

Adding substance to my breakfast, like mixing protein powder into my cereal milk, helps control hunger all day.

Nearly all of my calorie excess is due to booze. Not to say that I need to drop alcohol completely, but getting it in more moderation would be helpful for my goals.

violetfire1978 · January 2022

I realized between using MFP and my Withings scale that my protein intake and muscle mass were both low. I had been wondering why I was feeling weak since starting my weight loss effort. It looks like I was losing muscle, likely due to eating very little protein. I was lifting weights, however my muscle mass was still low. Once I added protein, and it took using MFP to see which foods to eat and in what quantity at what time, I was able to start gaining muscle. It will be a process, but I will continue to pay particular attention to protein in my diet and keep using both MFP and the Withings scale to track these things.

KipDrordy · January 2022

I learned a long time ago that I simply cannot be trusted with my diet. I need to log my food even after reaching my goal weight. The problem is, I don’t do what I know I need to be doing, then end up back where I was.

saltNpepperVal · January 2022

How much sodium I was eating. It also makes me think twice before I snack on something. I stop to think that I only burned 240 calories in my exorcise and this little sweet is going to erase that. Much easier to stop it at the mouth than the feet!

anew45 · January 2022

Ah ha moments!
1. I have been lied to!! The health and fitness industry is about making money and I was fed their propaganda teachings!
2. A pound is 3,500 calories and your weight is a math equation of calories in and calories out.
3. Being healthy isn’t so much about eating “good for you foods” but about learning real nutrition, food balance, calories in/out, and macros
4. Holy crap! I bought a food scale. Did you know how many calories are in that brownie!
5. Without a food scale I sincerely lied to myself while estimating food portions. If I was hungry I would subconsciously believe food portions were smaller.
6. Realizing why people are obese when I see them eat.
7. Work out calorie estimates are wrong and not eating back my work out calories.
8. Water, water, water!
9. Lots of protein for satiation. (.7g-1g per lbs body weight)
10. 5% of fat calories, 5%-10% of carbohydrate calorie, 35%-40% protein calories intake respectively are used for digestion. When I switched my already low calorie diet to high protein it was like a 200 calorie cut per day without knowing it.
11. Body composition vs. weight loss
12. Bogus feeding windows!
13. Ah SLEEP! Regenerative sleep. I love sleep!
14. 5 years in and I finally learned a little about fiber! Fiber grams are listed under carbohydrate calories. Your body can’t digest them. A man should eat about 38 grams of fiber per day. There’s a couple great things about fiber. A) you feel full for longer b) everyone likes to be able to go number 2 regularly. Especially on a deficit. C) I reward myself at the end of each day and look under nutrition and find my fiber grams. I then multiply them by 4 for calories for carbohydrates. That gives me a nice little calorie reward for a snack towards the end of the day! Yes, I use net carb calories.
15. Lifting at a calorie deficit! Wow, the change is incredible! (Yes, it’s hard)
16. 70lbs down and I can finally see some abs!! Ah ha! Yeah baby! Just the start but I’ll take it! Haha
17. Understanding competing goals. Ah ha, endurance cardio muscle killing skinny fat work outs.
18. The importance of steady state, ebike, walking, or other low impact work outs as your body gets closer to low body fat goals
19. Understanding I will probably have to log and track my foods forever. As a lifestyle.
20. Another ah ha moment was the first time I logged everything on my plate from the “healthy salad bar” and had a 3,000+ plate.
21. When I starting eating high volume low calorie foods.
22. Feeling bad for people when I see them stuck in the over do it, crazy cardio cycle. Trying to meet there body composition goals without nutrition or resistance training. It’s really sad seeing people work so hard just to be skinny fat, disappointed, and then after total failure try even harder the next time with a new crazy cardio fad.

ToneGrail · February 2022

MFP taught me portion control. I had no idea about the amount of calories I was actually consuming on a daily basis. It basically taught me that going back for seconds will cause you to exceed your daily calorie intake and cause you to gain weight. Now I rarely go back for seconds and weight everything I eat.

ctm127 · February 2022

After using MFP and talking with my sister, I realized I had a tendency to eat only refined carbs with lots of sugar and lots of coffee of course. This becomes especially bad when I become stressed or busy.

siouxgirl46 · February 2022

I have learned that when I write everything down I am accountable and I am able to lose weight .. when I either don’t use it or am not exact I either stall weight loss or gain weight

fatfish420 · February 2022

I know it is simple but realizing just how much I was eating and how big some of those meals were

aikzilla · February 2022

I learned that portion distortion is a real thing. When I log every bite I eat it was eye opening to see how much nibbling I do through out the day. I now ask myself if that Hershey mini worth the 80 calories of real food I could eat later. Sometime the Hershey wins because....chocolate. But most times I can wait it out and it passes.

Sam

thewhipple12955 · February 2022

How quickly calories can add up. Made me more vigilant what I put in my meals

LiveOnceBeHappy · February 2022

I used to come home from school/work, grab food out of the pantry (usually chips and dip) and sit on the couch to regroup. Now I make a meaningful selection. 38 grams of popped corn right now is a common one. Or an apple. Sometimes both! Everything is tracked and fits in my calorie goal.

kittensden72 · February 2022

My meal tracker tells me that I need to eat more. My calorie count is always low. Plus I noticed that I need to up my protein and good fat intake and reduce my sugar just a smidge.

RanaBoBana · March 2022

I learned how frequent I was eating! All the little snacks added up, and now that I was taking actual count, I realized I would eat impulsively.

Opalescent_Topaz · March 2022

1. Using the scale's tare function for multiple uses.
2. Using a food scale, period.
3. Patience.
4. I have to log. When I reach maintenance, I still have to log. Other people apparently don't have to, but I do or I gain weight. This is the 3rd time now. You'd think I'd learn.

KobiHensley · March 2022

The most shocking was I wasn't eating enough calories. I was eating only around 900 a day due to "being on a diet." I stuck to what I thought was the calorie goal but I was eating way to much junk food instead of healthy food.

DragonCat53 · March 2022

My aha is understanding MFP is a tool that only works as well as the information I put into it. Sometimes when I’m feeling a little desperate about my weight, I will think I need to join “pay for” services like Weight Watchers online. Inevitably I get the same results from that as I do here in MFP. So…. Why spend a huge amount of money when MFP is a free or economical choice and just commit to myself to be honest with food diary entries.

Caroline2808 · March 2022

mel941980 wrote: »

I started my weight loss journey in January, 2020. There have been several ah-ha moments along the way, but the biggest one for me has been to acknowledge and accept this is a marathon, not a sprint. I have failed at losing weight so many times because I insisted on setting a lofty goal in too short of a timeframe, failed to hit it, and became discouraged, or I did hit the goal, then couldn't stick to the restrictive diet I was on.

This time around I set small goals along the way and have rewarded myself generously each time I hit the goal. I have lost 92lbs and I'm just about to reach the normal weight range for the first time since middle school. I still have 12 pounds of weight loss to go. I made the decision to slow my weight loss down from a pound a week to half a pound a week today. I would love to lose 100lbs by the end of the year, but the calorie allotment is so low and I'm already exercising 5-6 days a week. My sanity and happiness is worth more to me than that 100lb loss by 12/31. This is huge for me as type A virgos don't like to let themselves down. Lol!

Hi fellow Virgo, that’s just what I needed to hear… at almost fifty I have weighed the least of my adult life, primarily due to an unexpected hospital ‘vacation’ I then put the weight back on, lost it again , went skiing last month where the food although healthy was far too plentiful and I cannot seem to shake off this greed. I will take your inspiration and set myself more realistic targets … I Would like to lose 4-7lbs but am struggling with greed albeit I am pretty active 🙏🏻💪🤞

[edited by staff]

michellelawson00 · March 2022

I was recently diagnosed with a few health issues that require me to limit my sodium, fat AND carb intake. Plus I am gluten-sensitive. What a complicated eating plan I have! The MFP tracker has taught me how much sodium and how many carbs are in some of the foods that I love! MFP is enabling me to make better self care choices. Thank you!

What did you learn using MyFitnessPal that changed your habits?

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