Fitness Pal Helped Me Lose Weight

You've likely heard of My Fitness Pal, one of the world's most popular macro and calorie counting apps. In the US alone last year, a whopping 19.8 million people used it, according to Statista reports.

The app is simple to download and easy to use, allowing you to search, scan or manually enter your daily meals and snacks and delivering you with an overall picture of your daily nutrition, whether you're focusing on calories, macros or micronutrients.

Work for helping you to reach specific goals, like fat loss or muscle gain? For the eight women below, the short answer is yes—it's been the simplest way they've found, many after years of trial and error, to educate themselves on their nutrition and start to properly understand how to fuel their bodies healthily.

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Keep scrolling to read how eight women used My Fitness Pal in their success story—from fat loss, to muscle growth and more.

Three months after having my second child, I decided it was time to get back into shape. At 182 pounds, I had put on over 40 pounds since before my pregnancy. I decided to cut calories and start running, which I had never done before. With my new routine, I started to see changes on the scale, but I felt miserable. I didn’t enjoy running very much, and I was starving all the time on my 1, 200-calorie-a-day diet—but I thought ramping up my cardio and lowering my calories was the only way to lose weight. I hit 140 pounds, and was back to my more ideal weight, but was completely unhappy with the way I looked. I had lost a lot of body fat, but I was still wobbly—I was, as some people call it, skinny fat.

My husband convinced me to go to the gym with him—I felt very intimidated and thought everyone was going to be looking at me, but no one really cared, and once I tried a few machines, I realised liked it. Soon, I got the bug and was heading to the gym four times a week, learning from PTs and online videos how to lift properly, and with good form.

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After a few months of training, I started to see noticeable differences in my muscles as they began to tighten. Plus, I tracked my macros on My Fitness Pal, which was one of the biggest factors contributing to my success was ditching my 1, 200-calorie diet. I discovered that the more food I fed my body, the more the muscles would grow, so I kept upping my calorie and protein intake until I was consuming 2, 000 calories per day—and this is when I started to see the real progress. I track my macros to make sure I am getting the right amount of protein, but I am not too strict about it. If I am hungry and I want a snack, then I have one.

Educating yourself on nutrition and fitness isn’t just about changing your body, it changes your mind too. I love my body now. It’s in no way perfect—I still have stretch marks and cellulite. I had two kids, after all. But I love the new curves that weight lifting has created for me.

Growing up, I completely lacked knowledge about nutrition. In sixth form, I would eat whatever I fancied – takeaway lunches and endless frappuccinos. My dress size kept increasing, but I was in denial. I’d see pictures of myself and think, ‘That’s just a bad angle.’

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I’d always hated even the idea of exercising, so I began by walking the two miles to work and back each day. I joined Slimming World and started cooking some Slimming World recipes, tracking my meals using My Fitness Pal. I found the community aspect of both hugely supportive.

As the fat slowly dropped off, I plucked up the courage to join a gym as a beginner, and then consulted a PT. My confidence grew and grew and I started running to the gym four times a week. In addition to the personal training sessions, I tried out new classes and found I actually did enjoy exercising – even cardio.

I’m a lot wiser about nutrition now and feel confident about making my own healthy food choices. I’ve maintained my weight for two years, focusing less on the scales and more on how my clothes fit. Plus, I ran my first marathon last year and I’ve become addicted to CrossFit; it’s really fuelled my passion for exercise and I train five or six times a week.

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I weighed in at 13st 4lb when I started wedding dress shopping in November 2016. I wanted to try wedding dresses on without hating my body and every one I tried on

As well as joining Slimming World online, I tracked my nutrition and decided to document my progress on my Instagram account. It motivated me: within a year, at 5ft 3, I'd lost 5 stone and weighed in at 8 stone. I ate the foods I loved, and flexibly: occasionally, I have a 'carby' weekend but then making it up by cutting the amount of treats - or 'syns', as they're called in Slimming World - each day that week.

I didn't actually go to the gym at the start of my weight loss journey. I walked to work & back every day, I started tracking my steps & aimed to hit 10, 000 steps a day.

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I was thrilled to achieve my goal in time for her wedding. I not only lost over 5 stone in a year, I hit my target and gained so much confidence, plus I look back at my wedding pictures & love how I look. My wedding was my motivation to make a change in my life I am so proud of myself for sticking at it. Its so much more than losing the weight, my confidence & outlook in life has improved so much.

I always loved fast food, but when I worked out I was eating about 5, 000 calories a day—from multiple servings of junk food, sugary beverages and high calorie snacks, I knew something had to change. At my heaviest, I weighed 307 pounds.

I had to find a diet I could stick to in order to see any real changes. I implemented lots of small changes that helped me break bad habits. At first, I started cutting back on sugary beverages and fast food until they were totally out of my daily meal plan. After that, I started tracking my macros and meals on My Fitness Pal and holding myself accountable for what I ate during the day.

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I set a 1, 500-calorie limit for myself, typically eating greek yogurt for breakfast, a turkey and cheese lettuce wrap for lunch and protein (usually chicken), a veggie and a cup of potatoes for dinner, snacking on fruit.

I started to exercise as soon as I started my new eating plan. I started my walking on the treadmill, and as I got more comfortable, I tried different exercises like strength training and cardio workouts. Since January 2018, I've lost 157 pounds. Trust in the process: you'll get there if you're kind to yourself, yet consistent.

Growing up, I was always overweight, but after getting into an abusive relationship aged 19, I started using food to cope. I neglected my own health. Soon, I was 378 pounds and eating high-calorie junk food like ice cream on a daily basis.

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The turning point came when I couldn't fit into a seat on a amusement park ride with my kids. I’d always told myself my obesity wasn’t a problem, but it was ruining our lives.

I became determined to change. First, I started hiking—my first one-mile loop left me beetroot-red with swollen and tingling fingers. I was sore, but I started hiking two miles every other day, and once I got up to three miles, I started going every day. By the 18-month mark, I was hiking five to seven miles per day and 15 on Sundays.

Once I started being more active, I revamped my diet. I used MyFitnessPal to remind myself to eat, so I didn't go long stretches without food followed by binges. I didn't cut any specific food groups out of my diet, but I made sure to eat healthy foods like lean meats, veggies and whole grains. Now, I eat eggs and veggies for breakfast, nuts for a snack, fish and sweet potato for lunch and chicken and quinoa for dinner. If I fancy a peanut butter cookie as a treat, I'll have one.

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It helped me to lose 167 pounds. I was sick of my weight affecting everyone around me, so I made a commitment to change. And now that I've reached my goal, I'm determined to pass these healthy habits on to the rest of my family.

I was raised on a diet of junk food, so by the time I reached early adulthood, I was overweight. I tried everything to lose weight but nothing stuck—I'd give up each diet after just a few weeks. I tried one fad after another, feeling