My Fitness pal ..is it accurate? Is there a better app? page

[tinacristina]

I am using Myfitnesspal to help calculate my carbs, etc..in order to lose weight. My goal is less than 50 carbs a day. What I find interesting is based on a 1500 calorie diet and 48 grams of carbs or less a day myfitnesspal says that I am projected to lose .4 lbs a week. However, I know on the low carb diet we should be losing more than that, right?

Is there a better app out there for low carb eating?

Is there a recommendation for the % of protein and fat we should also be shooting for or is is carb the only thing to try to manage?

My goal is to lose weight but .4 a week seems sorta low...but is it accurate?

Thanks for all your input...I just want to be sure I am doing this right.

[Lorena]

I like Fitday.com. The app is good too. You can view the macros of your daily intake displayed as a pie chart. Searching for food is a little tedious, but if you tend to eat the same things often, you can find foods from a "frequently eaten" list or something.

[HilaryJ]

I use MFP just to track calories in and out ... even then, I have to tweak it every once in a while. I ignore what it tells me to eat. I strive to eat the correct amount of protein for my lean mass and balance the carbs/fat to keep my target caloric intake. I do eat more calories in fat then carbs plus I use it to track potassium and calcium. I keep my carb between 50 - 100 g as I have no desire or need to go into ketosis, but I do want to maintain being a fat-burner.

I've checked a few of both the food items and the exercise data against other data on the internet and it seemed fairly accurate. I'm using it as a check-point for my weight-loss and I am losing. I still have 50 pounds to go. After that, I'll use it to track macros until I get a good feel for what I need for maintenance.

There are probably other calculators and trackers out there ... but I have a small group of friends all using MFP so we can keep each other motivated and encouraged.

[tinacristina]

Is there a ratio to what is best: ie. 45% Protein, 15% carbs and to ?% to Fats for a weight loss goal? I know you can set it on MFP but I am not sure the primal ways says...my goal is to lose though.

Anyone know this?

Is there a goal of calories to shoot for?

Is this all a guessing game until you find what works?

[IcarianVX]

I usually shoot for 10% C, 30% P and 60% F when I do track. And when I track, I use MFP because I have used it for years and it just works for what I need.

[cayla29s]

I am using Myfitnesspal to help calculate my carbs, etc..in order to lose weight. My goal is less than 50 carbs a day. What I find interesting is based on a 1500 calorie diet and 48 grams of carbs or less a day myfitnesspal says that I am projected to lose .4 lbs a week. However, I know on the low carb diet we should be losing more than that, right?

Is there a better app out there for low carb eating?

Is there a recommendation for the % of protein and fat we should also be shooting for or is is carb the only thing to try to manage?

My goal is to lose weight but .4 a week seems sorta low...but is it accurate?

Thanks for all your input...I just want to be sure I am doing this right.

I use it and I love it. I like that I just scan a barcode and its come up. I only use it to count calories and see if my macro and vitamin intake is balanced out. I really don't rely on it in terms of how accurate the projected weight loss is.

you can also plug in your % of carb, protein fat etc. intake is just go to the custom goal. It divides it for you based on the calorie amount you put in. I think it's a pretty straight forward app.

In the end its just a calorie estimation so adjust accordingly if you are not losing. Plus going low carb doesn't necessarily mean you will lose fat. I managed to lose some lbs without having to eat less than 50 g of carbs a day.

[sbhikes]

I use it but since I eat so few items with barcodes, it's a little limited. It can be difficult to find an entry for just a plain old tomato, for example. I use it to track things and I completely ignore all the suggestions, the little red warnings that I've eaten too much fat or not enough carbs and all that jazz. Plus the whole "if you ate this way every day you'd weigh XXX in YYY weeks" is laughable. It doesn't seem to work that way for me, the whole CICO thing.

[cayla29s]

Is there a ratio to what is best: ie. 45% Protein, 15% carbs and to ?% to Fats for a weight loss goal? I know you can set it on MFP but I am not sure the primal ways says...my goal is to lose though.

Anyone know this?

Is there a goal of calories to shoot for?

Is this all a guessing game until you find what works?

I usually do 30% Protein, 30% Carb and 40% Fat. This works for me sometimes I lower the carb if I'm not working out and eat more fat but keep the protein roughly the same. As well, you have to find out for yourself how much carb intake your body can handle. I experimented with going lower that 75 g for carbs and I didn't feel well with that so I try to shoot now for at least 100g but under 150 g.

I use the Harris Benedict Equation. I have been using this for years to drop body fat or if I'm trying to just lean out my abs. However, I use this as a guideline and I play with the calories depending if i'm dropping fat or not.

[cayla29s]

I use it but since I eat so few items with barcodes, it's a little limited. It can be difficult to find an entry for just a plain old tomato, for example. I use it to track things and I completely ignore all the suggestions, the little red warnings that I've eaten too much fat or not enough carbs and all that jazz. Plus the whole "if you ate this way every day you'd weigh XXX in YYY weeks" is laughable. It doesn't seem to work that way for me, the whole CICO thing.

Yeah I mean I use the barcode if I'm baking some paleo food ie bread or muffins. I like that i just plug in the ingredients and servings and it splits it up for me. For the most part I have to customize the food and plug in my own stuff.

[catholicchick]

I like it and I think it works well for me. I have tweaked my carbs, protein and fat ratios on it. The part I ignore is the cardio calories - I spent four hours doing yard work the other day and it told me I burned 1600 calories. It adds in the burned calories to your allowance - I cannot fathom eating 3500 calories in a day no matter how much yard work I did.