UPDATE--It Just Got Worse / Getting frustrated with MyFitnessPal

This comparison may be of interest to others:

Some doctors are like that. They will ask something like “how much water do you normally drink each day, not counting coke, coffee, etc. Just water.”.

Time to switch doctors… and I don’t track water. I drink enough and don’t partake in the exaggerated “hydration” thing. I would need fluid intake tracking during long bike sessions (now, in the summer), not on office days. The only times I ever ran into underhydration/undersugar were on the bike. Fixed by 2-3 cans of Coke. :smiley:

I learned about hydration in southern Louisiana many years ago. Your body has a “color code” that tells you when you aren’t drinking enough. :wink:

Yes, of course, some doctors are even telling worse things!
But that does not mean, that the App has to mirror that :poop:…!

I was just commenting on a question that has been asked of people I know. Both times it was while the doctor was trying to diagnose a problem.

I’ve used MFP to count calories and am currently using LoseIt, but I have no need to track water/fluids.

How would you compare them and why did you switch?

Cronometer is great. Been using for 6 months and works great for free (for the most part)

1 Like

I put on “a few” pounds in the last couple of years and willpower and 12 - 16 miles of walking per week wasn’t helping. I had used MFP in the past so I downloaded it, signed up with a new “hide my email” account, and started trying to drop some tonnage.

Within a week I started receiving spam from Underarmor, the former? owner of MFT, at my “hidden” email address. That and the fact that MFT seemed to have even more ads than before was too much and I deleted the app.

I’ve only been using LoseIt! for a short time. I created an account on the web and was prompted to purchase their premium plan for $39.99/year. I passed and was immediately offered 1 year for $19.99. I signed up. It’s interface is similar to and integrates with Apple Fitness. So far I’m very pleased with the app.

Thanks for the helpful response. I’m going to give lose-it another look. The ads in MFP are frustrating.

1 Like

MyFitnessPal just got worse. Premium is $80/year. No thank you.

To the MyFitnessPal Community,

Beginning October 1, Barcode Scan will be available only with a > Premium subscription. Members who use the free version of the app will still be able to log food with the search feature.

We never like to disappoint our members. While it was a difficult decision, this change allows us to continue to improve our product offerings, focus resources, and deliver excellent service to our community.

Interpretation: We no longer want to support free users.

@Bmosbacker and @Lars: I admire you and, at the same time, I loathe you (hmm, maybe that combination translates to something like “envy”).

P.S. I hope you will read this with the tongue-in-cheek tone in which I meant it.

1 Like

I understand that but the app was already filled with ads; that may not have provided enough income. I get that. And, MFP has every right to charge whatever they like. But, I’ve moved on. I’m not willing to pay $80/year for a calorie counting app. :slightly_smiling_face:

2 Likes

I use a much simpler “calorie counter”. It’s called a set of scales. If the number on the scales goes up, I’m eating too much, if the number on the scales goes down, I’m eating less. Over time I kind of get an idea if I’m eating too much. I also have an emergency system built in where my trousers no longer fit. If you have a rule never to buy a larger pair of trousers at some point you’ll end up walking around in your underpants which is a pretty big incentive to eat less.

1 Like

I do all of that as well. I weigh myself every morning (I even log the information in a spreadsheet daily) and I never buy bigger clothes or belts. This keeps me honest. That said, it also helps to count calories in and calories out. :slightly_smiling_face:

I tried it once for a few months, but found it not only exhausting (most apps at the time didn’t do well with British barcodes), but tiresome to log every single thing I eat or drink. That was enough to stop me doing it.

1 Like

Yes, it is tedious but on the other hand, it takes me all of 5 minutes total to log three meals a day. I’m able to do this quickly in part because I use the bar scanner and because I have done this long enough to have added meal recipes in the app for dishes my wife makes. So, it is tedious but doesn’t take much time. I have found I do better if I monitor my calories as weight gain is sneaky! :slightly_smiling_face: I even have the log times in Reminders.

I’m always amazed by how many calories small things have. Two cookies can wipe out calories burned during a run. Life is not fair! :rofl::frowning:

1 Like

I stopped using MFP a few years ago because their privacy policies are pretty much non-existent. I didn’t replace it with anything because previously when I’d looked the market was very U.S. oriented, and a lot of our food is diffferent in and across the EU (which was how I ended up with MFP, because they at least seemed to have a broad, international database).

For the last 2 months I’ve been using MyNetDiary, which lured me in with its excellent widgets. No complaints so far. The widgets are great, but I also like the quick entry feature - if you know the calories of a meal but it’s not recognised, you can just type in what your calories were for the meal.