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My fitness pal

James1968

Well-Known Member
Messages
441
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Need to start to count carbs again is this the best to use?
 
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??
 
James1968 said:
Need to start to count carbs again is this the best to use?
Click to expand...
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.
 
kitedoc said:
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??
Click to expand...

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

May look at this
 
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.
 
James1968 said:
Need to start to count carbs again is this the best to use?
Click to expand...
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.
 
James1968 said:
My MFP is an app that helps count carbs protein n stuff
Click to expand...
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
 
James1968 said:
Need to start to count carbs again is this the best to use?
Click to expand...
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!
 
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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
 
I use myfitnesspal but i can't seem to change the food settings to up the fat and lower the carbs so gave up .
 
Charis1213 said:
I use myfitnesspal but i can't seem to change the food settings to up the fat and lower the carbs so gave up .
Click to expand...
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
 
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.
 
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