Our patients know that food logs take a center role in our program. Although they can be tedious and require extra time and diligence, they are so important for long term weight loss. Most of us don’t remember what we ate yesterday, let alone three weeks ago. Not only do the logs help your dietitian personalize your plan, but they bring awareness to what we are eating and drinking throughout the day. How many times have you walked past a candy bowl and grabbed “just one”? Without knowing it you may have repeated this action several times as the day went on which can add up to a big impact on your waistline. The biggest complaint I get from people about logs is that they take too long.

Enter My Fitness Pal©. If you have not yet tried this app, I highly recommend it. There are two options, a free one and a premium option. Honestly, while the premium may offer several additional benefits, I find the original version to meet most people’s (myself included) needs. A great feature is the option to scan barcodes. It is so simple and once the food is scanned, you just need to enter the quantity consumed and the app does the rest. For recipes you make often, they can be saved and brought up when needed. Also, foods that are frequently used are saved and can be selected instead of entering them daily.

This app can be linked to other apps on your phone such as Samsung Health©, Garmin©, and Fit Bit©. This allows you to track your fitness as well as food, and calories will be adjusted automatically. It is particularly helpful with monitoring nutrient intake including grams and percentages of protein, carbohydrate, fats, fiber and more. You may want to adjust your settings to align with macronutrient recommendations if you have had bariatric surgery. Those guidelines are: 35% protein, 30% carbohydrate, and 30% fat. The app may also be accessed on your computer at www.myfitnesspal.com.

Let us know how you like it!