Best Macro Tracking Apps: MyFitnessPal Review

(Ad) There are many macro-tracking apps out there, but for the complete health picture,  MyFitnessPal is one of the best, giving you not only the chance to track the macros in everything you eat, but also the opportunity to build better habits by understanding how food choices impact nutrition, fitness, and overall wellness.

Macro Tracking vs. Tracking Calories

In today’s advanced understanding of nutrition, science tells us that tracking calories alone doesn’t tell the whole story about the food we’re eating. Each person, each body, is different, and individual health, fitness, and diet goals are as unique as each one of us. Enter macro trackers. "Macros" is short for “macronutrients,” a term used to describe the nutrients your body needs—specifically carbohydrates, fat, and protein. The ideal diet creates a balance of carbs, fat, and protein; however, “the ideal diet” differs person to person, based on a variety of important individual factors as well as personal goals. MyFitnessPal, a macro-tracking app, offers convenient tracking not only of the calories you consume but also what’s in those calories—making it much easier for you to make wiser choices about the foods you eat in relation to your personal dietary goals.

What Is MyFitnessPal?

MyFitnessPal is the #1 global nutrition and food tracking app, offering an all-in-one food, exercise, calorie, and macro- and micronutrient tracker. The app was launched in 2005, and has empowered over 200 million users in over 120 countries to log food intake, record exercise activity and weight, track wellness habits, and achieve their health and fitness goals.

Key Features of MyFitnessPal

• Simple food logging system:

MyFitnessPal features one of the world’s largest food databases, with over 18 million foods. MyFitnessPal users can search and log the foods they consume using MyFitnessPal’s easy food-tracking tools; from there, MyFitnessPal does all the work, displaying a complete macronutrient breakdown for each food and meal.

• Barcode scanner:

Premium members have an additional time-saving tool: MyFitnessPal offers premium members an unlimited number of barcode scans, allowing them to scan the barcode label of packaged foods using their phone's camera to instantly identify the best match. Once a match is found, users have instant access to the nutritional values of the product.

• In-app plans:

MyFitnessPal offers much more than a macro tracker. The in-app plans provide you with coaching, actionable tips, and education that will ultimately help you form better nutrition habits. MyFitnessPal Plans, which include everything from New Year inspiration to sustainable eating content, can help you achieve your individual health and fitness goals.

• Recipes:

MyFitnessPal has a wide selection of recipes, including ones selected by a registered dietitian. These recipes include nutritional information you can read, and you can even log in to your personal diary using the “Log-It” button on the app to help you select meals that meet your macro goals. Additionally, you can view MyFitnessPal’s recipe selection in the “Recipe Discovery” section of the app.

• Personal food, water, and exercise diary:

Studies show people who keep a food diary are more likely to reach their goals. MyFitnessPal allows users to create a personal profile and personal diary. In this way, goals are completely customizable according to the diet, fitness, and overall health goals of the individual.

With MyFitnessPal’s macro-tracking app, logging your own foods is easy: you can search through millions of food items and adjust calculations to your serving size, which helps you learn about how portion sizes affect macros. One of the most innovative features of MyFitnessPal’s diary is that it adjusts your calorie and macronutrient budget when you log exercises.

Pros of MyFitnessPal

Along with the features above, pros of MyFitnessPal include the following:

• The app is easy to download for Apple or Android users.
• There are both free and Premium versions of the app, both allowing for food and exercise tracking, with additional features included in the Premium version.
• MyFitnessPal lets you track so much more than macros, including steps, weight, workouts, and more, through its integrations with supported apps like FitBit, MapMyRun and MapMyWalk, and Glow, to name just a few!
• You don’t need to know how many calories you’ve burned during a workout. Using your personal profile and your food diary, and leveraging its integrations with third-party apps, MyFitnessPal can estimate that information.
• MyFitnessPal features access to a robust community: everything from expertly moderated discussion boards, recipes, and food tips; forums in which users can engage, chat, and support one another; a blog; nutritional news; and more.

What Customers Say About MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal has excellent reviews as well as impressive user success statistics.

For example:

• At the Apple Store, approximately 3.9K reviews resulted in a 4.8 out of 5 star rating.
• At the Google Play Store, over 100 million people have downloaded the app, and it is the editor’s choice for offering “the most comprehensive food diary,” among other features.
• 8 out of 10 Premium members report that they have made progress toward their goals since using MyFitnessPal.
• The MyFitnessPal website reports 3.7 million five-star reviews and quotes numerous users who offer glowing testimonials.

How Does MyFitnessPal Work?

One of the reasons MyFitnessPal is the #1 global nutrition and food tracking app is that using it is so simple; yet despite how easy the app is to use, the results you get are in-depth and personalized.

Here's how the basic process works:

1. Based on your age, weight, height, and other factors personal to your goals, MyFitnessPal will generate a daily target for you to achieve your goals (whether weight loss, weight gain, or maintenance).
2. Log your eating and exercising throughout the day using MyFitnessPal’s Food and Exercise diaries. MyFitnessPal will calculate the number of calories you've consumed as well as those you’ve burned from exercise. If your goal is weight gain, loss, or maintenance, you have easy access to the number of remaining calories you need for the day in order to stick to your goals.
3. The total number of calories consumed also includes a breakdown of your macro intake, again allowing you to calculate what you need to maximize your eating for the rest of the day.
4. Logging your food and exercise data gets easier the more often you use the app. MyFitnessPal remembers the foods and exercises you like most, making it simple to add those factors into your daily diary. You can adjust your personal profile as your weight changes and the calculations will adjust accordingly. In this way the tracker is able to keep an accurate record of your progress, and so are you!
5. In just a few minutes a day, you have a much deeper understanding of both the quantity and quality of what you’re eating and how those factors impact your health and goals.

Is MyFitnessPal Worth It?

Keep in mind that the free version of MyFitnessPal is exactly that: free. And users can interact with many of the app’s basic features using that free version—for as long as they want.

The Premium subscription, running $19.99 a month or $79.99 per year, adds an unlimited barcode scanner, an ad-free experience, customization of macros, and more! That means for less than the cost of an hour’s one-on-one coaching from a nutritionist, you get access to a complete and accurate system for tracking your eating, exercise, and overall wellness—access that’s yours 24/7, for as long as you need it.

Who Is MyFitnessPal Good For?

MyFitnessPal can work for anyone who wants a better understanding of how the food they eat affects their health and fitness goals. Whether you are trying to lose, gain, or maintain weight, or just better understand how to improve your well-being, MyFitnessPal is one of the best options for a comprehensive view of your daily food intake and exercise output.

The MyFitnessPal free version works best for self-disciplined users, as the app’s tools work best if you are careful and regular in your food and exercise logging. The addition of recipes and a vibrant supportive community make it easy to stay motivated.

Alternatively, for those users who have found it difficult to maintain health and diet goals in the past, a Premium membership might be better. Unlimited scans with the barcode scanner make tracking easy and quick, and the addition of plans that feature personalized coaching and content helps keep you on track.

Maco tracking app and MyFitnessPal FAQs

Do I need to track macros?

For the best results in terms of overall educated food choices, tracking macros is extremely important, especially if your goal is to establish lifelong habits that lead to better nutrition and health. 

A macronutrient, or macro, is a bucket term for the three types of nutrients that make up the bulk of what we eat: carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Our bodies require ample amounts of each to function properly.

Counting macros is a sustainable way to eat, and one of the greatest benefits of tracking macros is that each macronutrient amount will have an effect on your energy, satiety, and overall health. You’re not just eating the right amount of food you’re eating the right foods to help you reach your goals. And with MyFitnessPal, you can easily and accurately track macros with each meal, each day, or even over a week.

Do I need to track calories?

Short answer: maybe. MyFitnessPal allows you to approach calorie counting from a more full-picture lens. Based on your fitness profile, the app will recommend a daily Net Calorie target for you to achieve your weight loss (or gain) goals. However, calories are only part of the picture: since macros, exercise, and even water intake are part of your overall success, MyFitnessPal gives you a much better idea of how the food you eat affects you.

Will I need to use MyFitnessPal forever?

This is an impossible question to answer because each person’s goals are unique to them. Some users will want to log their food indefinitely, while others will begin to recognize patterns, portions, and food and exercise rhythms that they can repeat. Since the goal of MyFitnessPal is to help users create sustainable, healthy habits for life, it is very possible that you won’t need to use it forever. On the other hand, because of the benefits, convenience, and supportive community, you may want to!

How much does MyFitnessPal Premium cost?

• A monthly Prepremium subscription costs $19.99 per month.
• A one-year Premium membership costs $79.99, which is 67% less than a monthly subscription would be after 12 months.

Which apps can MyFitnessPal connect to?

MyFitnessPal connects to over 35 connected fitness and wellness apps to give you a holistic picture of your health. MyFitnessPal pairs easily with these third-party apps and devices, many of which you may already be using in your fitness and wellness routines. Integrate your MyFitnessPal app with partners such as Fitbit and Wahoo; cardio-exercise partners such as Finis Swimsense, Expresso exercise bikes, and FitStar; total-energy partners such as Apple Watch and Google Fit; and glucose-level partners such as Dexcom G6.

These are only a few of the possible ways you can connect and track every aspect of your journey to your personal health goals. For a complete list of products and apps that you can integrate with MyFitnessPal, visit this page.

How accurate is MyFitnessPal?

MyFitnessPal is one of the most accurate trackers in the business when it comes to tracking not only calorie intake but also the macros in the food that you eat. Independent research has confirmed that MyFitnessPal is accurate and efficient for total energy intake, macronutrients, sugar, and fiber. This accuracy can only be as accurate as the data input, however, so users would be wise to carefully and completely log food and exercise regularly as well as input the correct data in their individual profiles.

Why MyFitnessPal app?

Offering incredibly convenient and accurate tracking of food, macros, calories, exercise, water intake, and more, MyFitnessPal is the best option for any person seeking a comprehensive system for tracking and managing nutritional, weight, and fitness goals. The highly rated MyFitnessPal app features an enormous database of foods, a supportive and vibrant community, dietitian-approved recipes, workout plans, and more. With both a free and premium version, MyFitnessPal easily integrates with other apps and products you may already be using in your wellness journey, helping you educate yourself about your habits and how those habits contribute to your overall success.