My fitness pal

[James1968]

Need to start to count carbs again is this the best to use?

 

[kitedoc]

Apologies, @James1068. Your thread is called My Fitness pal and you post about counting carbs and 'is this the best to use'?
Could you possibly post something that I can understand or could a site member decipher things for me please??

 

[bulkbiker]

Need to start to count carbs again is this the best to use?

Not really MFP has lots of inputs from the USA where fibre is part of the total carb count so the numbers can be quite misleading. I use my own spreadsheet which I get data from either the food packaging or the supermarket website which I think is far more accurate. A lot of people here swear by the Carbs and Cals app but I've never used it personally.

 

[James1968]

Apologies, @James1068. Your thread is called My Fitness pal and you post about counting carbs and 'is this the best to use'?
Could you possibly post something that I can understand or could a site member decipher things for me please??

My MFP is an app that helps count carbs protein n stuff

 

[James1968]

Not really MFP has lots of inputs from the USA where fibre is part of the total carb count so the numbers can be quite misleading. I use my own spreadsheet which I get data from either the food packaging or the supermarket website which I think is far more accurate. A lot of people here swear by the Carbs and Cals app but I've never used it personally.

May look at this

 

[kitedoc]

Thank you for educating me!!
Certainly in the US, studies have shown carb counts on packaging to be out by up to 30%. Not all sugars may be declared also.
For example, food manufacturers may not have to declare dextrose, lactose, sorbitol, fructose etc - all of which either are glucose by another name or breakdown to glucose or may affect the liver - these type of sugars are often listed in the 'low sugar' and 'sugar free' foods. By all means try them out but do not believe the printing about carb content.
I used to be a fan of low glycaemic index (GI) foods until i realised what the range of some of these measurements were compared to the average reading given.
Finally I am one of those diabetics whose BSL goes up with exercise and only comes down much later.
To me a fitness app that told me how much to eat before exercise would be most unhelpful.
So as my doctor said: find out what happens to you as an individual before believing what the an app, the GI list or the package contents list might say.

 

[NicoleC1971]

Need to start to count carbs again is this the best to use?

Chronometer is another app which also allows you to set up a low carb diet by allocating net carbs but also fat and protein targets.
Same issues as with MFP though in terms of the US database.
I though the whole point of LCHF was being liberated from counting provided you avoid high carb foods? How does this help you?
Seriously, I am asking because my husband has also declared that MFP is the only way he will ever lose weight/avoid diabetes and I can't understand his thinking.

 

[T2#Me]

My MFP is an app that helps count carbs protein n stuff

Morning, James, Happy New Year. Just want to ask where the structure with the horses in your avatar is in the world? Looks absolutely fascinating, I'd like to investigate ... thanks

 

[Boo1979]

Need to start to count carbs again is this the best to use?

I use MFP and find it v good as long as I ensure the data it produces is in UK format - it really very simple to use - You just need to just ensure that when searching for the nutritional info for a food, you include “UK” or better still the name of a UK supermarket
MFP is useful for inputing your own meals / recipes so you know the carb / cal breakdown and it also allows you to customise your nutritional goals in terms of the daily cals and macro breakdown - you can set variable goals for different days if you want to mix things up a bit. The preminum (paid) verson allows you to customise goals per meal and to set a goal of a certain number of grams for macros, rather than just a % goal which is what the free version allows.
The app also has a weight and measurements tracking function
Only problem I find with MFP is remembering to log everything!

 

[bulkbiker]

I though the whole point of LCHF was being liberated from counting provided you avoid high carb foods?

James has just started an insulin regime and is finding it quite a struggle.

 

[James1968]

Morning, James, Happy New Year. Just want to ask where the structure with the horses in your avatar is in the world? Looks absolutely fascinating, I'd like to investigate ... thanks [/here

Here you go

It’s in Falkirk Scotland

The Kelpies Tour

Tours
KELPIES TOURS ARE FREE IN JANUARY!! (T&Cs APPLY)**
Come and see the world's largest equine sculptures up close - and even go inside to marvel at the complexity and the engineering which created these fantastic pieces of art.

The best way to experience The Kelpies is on The Kelpies Tour. Join our 30-minute guided walking tour that takes you through the vision of artist Andy Scott and how history and industry impacted on his designing of these breath-taking sculptures.

The pinnacle of the tour is that you get to experience a Kelpie from the inside, and see for yourself the breathtaking engineering and design of The Kelpies.

WHY NOT TREAT THE KIDS? AFTER ALL THEY ARE FREE!*

Ticket prices
Ticket Type

Price

Adult (16+ yrs) £7.50
Child (under 5) Free
Child (Aged 5-15) Free*
Concessions £6.50
*Two free children per one paying adult. Free child ticket does not apply to school bookings.
**Free Kelpies Tours in January are not available to group, travel trade or school bookings. If you are booking a group/travel trade group please visit our group booking page. For schools please visit our school booking page.

The Visitor Centre at The Kelpies
We are open 9.30am to 5:00pm 7 days a week, pop in to browse our gift shop and sample some tasty home baking or lunch. You can find the new visitor centre down by The Kelpies, The Helix, Falkirk, FK2 7ZT.

Booking
Tickets are sold on the day from The Visitor Centre at The Kelpies, but the best way to avoid disappointment is to pre-book your tickets online. You can also contact The Visitor Centre on 01324 590600 for more information.

Kelpie tour gift vouchers are also available by calling the box office team on 01324 590600. Please note, gift vouchers are not yet available with tickets bought online.

Group bookings
If you're looking to bring a group for a Kelpies Tour, please go to our Group Bookings page and complete the appropriate booking form.

School bookings
If you would like to bring your school/class to The Kelpies, we offer curriculum-based tours from P2-S2. For more details, and to request a booking, please visit our Education Bookings page.

Arriving for your tour
The tour will begin adjacent to The Visitor Centre and not at The Kelpies. Please report to reception before your tour starts.




Book Tickets

 

[lovinglife]

I've used myfitnesspal for about 10 years - I just input my own stuff , recipes etc - you can build up quite a personal database that is very useful - anything that you scan in from a barcode just double check it against the info on the pack as the person who added it may not have put the info in that you require e,g carbs

When I add anything I put carbs, protein and fats along with calories- yes I'm one of the unfortunate ones that has to count calories also

You may find it a bit time consuming at first but as you add to it it gets easier and quicker- its my touchstone and I fill it in almost every day - apart from Christmas

 

[Charis1213]

I use myfitnesspal but i can't seem to change the food settings to up the fat and lower the carbs so gave up .

 

[Boo1979]

I use myfitnesspal but i can't seem to change the food settings to up the fat and lower the carbs so gave up .

Go to the far right hand side of the screen to where it says “more” click on the circles, then on goals, then on nutrition goals. Click on the first option ( customise default or daily goals) then set the calorie level you want and the % of those cals you want to be carbs / fat / protein. Can take a couple of goes to get it to where you want in terms of a specific number of grams for each nutrient category - play around with it

 

[Charis1213]

Go to the far right hand side of the screen to where it says “more” click on the circles, then on goals, then on nutrition goals. Click on the first option ( customise default or daily goals) then set the calorie level you want and the % of those cals you want to be carbs / fat / protein. Can take a couple of goes to get it to where you want in terms of a specific number of grams for each nutrient category - play around with it

thanks

 

[rmz80]

With My Fittness Pal (MFP) you have to double check any new food against the packet label. There are a number of types of errors.

1) The ingredients may be different for different countries.


2) The ingredients change over time


3) Fiber (or Fibre in UK) mean different things in different countries.


4) User entered foods are rife with errors. Sometimes only the calories are filled in


5) Looking up Sodium content is a complete waste of time as people confuse Salt with Sodium and mg with grams.


6) Trying to figure out from a packet label if they mean cooked or uncooked is a pain in the a***. E.g. Burgers can lose 1/3 of weight when cooked.



7) Some foods are listed by weight cooked with water added e.g. Rice, Lentils. The water content can vary enormously.

You can double check for a lot data entry errors if you know the calories listed on a packet per 100 gram (this applies to all food databases) by totalling up the carbs, protein and fat i.e. 1 gram Carb=4 Cal, 1 gram Protein=4 Cal, 1 gram Fat=9 Cal. The Calorie total should match the label.

I personally add to a user defined private list of foods (with the year added in the description) to the MFP list and never use a food until double checked.