App of the month: MyFitnessPal

This month's App of the month feature comes a week late because, as you know, last Sunday I was traipsing around Brussels, doing the touristy thing and I could post the feature as I had planned.  You can read about my Brussels trip here.

Anyway, partly inspired by the fact that I had some changing room let-downs while shopping in Brussels and partly inspired by the fact that the Malta Fashion Week is less than 2 months away and I want to look good in my favourite getups, this last week has been a calorie-counting reality check.  And I find no better way of doing that than through the MyFitnessPal app I have installed on both my iPhone and my iPad. There is also a web-based version which I use at times, but honestly speaking I find the mobile version so much more convenient.

The main reason for this is that I can really check my weight intake on-the-go as the app comes with a 'barcode scanning' feature which allows you to just scan the barcode of the food that you'd be about to have and hey presto! all the nutritional details are logged in on your profile according to the serving size you indicate.  Most internationally renowned and available brands are listed so there's no excuse ... and there is even data for more local items such as Twistees, gbejna or galletti! If there really is an obscure product is not on the list, you can still add the details from the nutritional values table on the product itself (N.B - all products SHOULD have such labels - don't buy anything that doesn't: you have a right to know what's going into your body!)

Another feature which I love about this app (though I use it more on the web in this case) is the 'My Recipes' option.  Cooking is one of my hobbies but I don't always necessarily follow recipes and like to get a bit creative in the kitchen.  When I'm planning such a meal, I log into MyFitnessPal and create the recipe online so I know what the nutritional value of such is, even before I cook it and eat it!

Last but not least, you can track your weight and exercise regimes on MyFitnessPal as well.  This week I've been weighing myself every single morning (this morning's peak was due to an ill-advised Badass Burger fest last night! urgh!) - I know that there are schools of thought which recommend against this, but I find that even the slightest move up or down on the scales motivates me to do better or to get back on track.  I still have to get back into a proper exercise routine but with the Summer time kicking in today (much to my usual confusion) this should come easier as the days get longer.  A great thing about it is that I can link my Endomondo exercise tracker to MyFitnessPal and the two apps do all the work. There's a whole list of apps that can be linked to MyFitnessPal.

For more information on MyFitnessPal, click here.

N.B. This is not a paid or sponsored post and all opinions are my own thoughts.