I have used it. As a matter of fact, I recently joined a gym and am on a program where I have training sessions once a week and assessments every now and then. When I first started it, I had to track my calories so I used My Fitness Pal. When I went in for my assessment I had lost 5 pounds in a month so my trainer told me I didn't have to continue tracking if I didn't want to, because I had an idea of what to eat. So I stopped tracking. Well....yesterday I went in for another assessment and I had not lost any more weight. Because if I'm not tracking, I'm not nearly as conscientious of what I am eating! Sometimes I like it, and sometimes I don't. It definitely works, its just that sometimes I don't feel like breaking down recipes and meals into calories. But it is definitely worth it! It stores foods you have eaten before so after a while much of what you eat is already calculated and in the app so that makes it easier. Today is going to be my first day back on it in fact. When you have to account for everything you eat, you begin to eat much better!

I use My Fitness Pal along with a FitBit. Keeping track has helped me immensely! I'm down about 14 pounds since May.

I feel like it isn't as easy to use as the WW app, but it does get easier as you go along. I'm following a low carb type plan, so keeping an eye on calories has been helpful. It is easy to get carried away. When I first started I read the message boards for inspiration and that was helpful as well.

Beth P.

Yes, I use it and I like it a lot. Tracking has been proven to help with weight loss and maintenance. It is free and very easy to use, easy to save favorite and repeat meals, good connectivity, intuitive to use and a huge database of nutritional info.

The thing about tracking for me is that, if I have a specific daily caloric goal in mind, knowing how much i have "left" at dinner is really helpful. My breakfast and lunches are pretty standard, but dinner can be a wild card. If I start "budgeting" for dinner before I sit down and I eat, I can usually find a way to stick to my caloric goal.

I went back to WW but only for a short time. I just can't stand not knowing my calorie intake so now I'm using MyFoodDiary.com. It's very much like MFP but it has a much nicer interface. However, it does have a monthly fee of $5.90 per month whereas MFP is free.

I like knowing how much macronutrients I'm taking in per day and find that if I keep my carbs between 30-35% I lose weight much easier.

I found this so interesting:
DH was losing weight just by adding exercise and not changing his diet. He eventually stopped losing and I told him he was going to have to eat a little less to start losing again. He did and sure enough, he started losing again. The weight loss stopped once more so I told him to start writing down what he was eating. Nothing fancy, just a note pad and vague tracking, like "bowl of cereal, milk, banana." Sure enough he started losing again.

He just needed to have more awareness about what he was eating - and it worked!

I use Tap&Track iPhone app and have used if faithfully every day for well over a year. It really helps me control my weight otherwise I delude myself about how much I can eat. Tracking exercise is also motivational for me plus you can really see how it impacts how much you can eat.

I used MFP and loved it. I really need to get back to it, but for some reason I just can't make myself do so right now. I planned on using it the rest of my life. When I was using it I lost 37 pounds without much exercise in five months. I've gained about ten or twelve back, going up and down a few pounds here and there, but have yet to make myself use it again which makes no sense since I know it works.

I used it for a while this summer and dropped 9 pounds. It takes time at the beginning but once you start using it it is very easy. It was quite an eye opener for me. Up until a few years ago, I hadn't been overweight since I graduated from college. I stopped running a few years ago and the "pushing 50" weight creeped on. Although I was eating healthy I was eating too many fruits. It is great way to "reset".

Thank you for all of your replies. I just need to get started! I bought a HRM and that is a real eye-opener. I am just amazed at how hard I have to work out to burn what I think are very few calories. I hosted a baby shower here on Sunday - and I have been eating and eating - leftovers are so good! - Now they are gone and I need to get back on track. I know I have stalled because I am just taking in more than I am expending. Thank you all for taking the time to reply.

My DH has been using MyFitnessPal since the end of May. He and a bunch of friends from work are in their own Biggest Loser competition from May to early Dec. So far he has lost over 30 lbs and feels great. He looks great too!

Things he likes:
-Tracks calories on a daily and weekly basis, so if you have a big splurge one day, you can still be good for the week.
-Lots of exercise options
-Scanning food using the barcode
-Lots of chain restaurant food is in the app, and also the meals from Dream Dinners, a meal prep kitchen we use regularly
-saves regularly eaten foods to make logging them easier
-very data driven and visual with charts to mark progress (he's an engineer, LOL!)
-he has been on a very consistent pace of weight loss
-it has taught him a great deal about portion control
-you can get emails with new records and milestones for motivation
-can link to runkeeper to track runs/walks more easily

Downsides/caveats
-you really have to commit to logging all the food and exercise you do to get the full benefit
-homemade foods or foods at non-chain restaurants are the biggest challenge as they can vary widely in calories

Good luck to you!

I use myfooddiary.com and I love it as far as the ease of use. When you log in your food info, you can click on
"fridge" and it will store that food info , so you can build a fridge full of often used foods and not have to look them up all the time. It's also easy to enter a new food or search for one.

I find that knowing at any give time during the day what my food intake is so far really helps me make better decisions, specially if we go out that day. It tabulates all info, salt, fat, etc.. and warns you if you are close to your desired daily totals. Tabulating my food really is an eye opener for me : it also helps me get my hand away from that candy bar at the store, I know I'll have to enter the 400 calories or so and I know it will throw off my numbers, and I'll regret eating it, lolâ¦â¦

congratulations on your hard work so far.