MyFitnessPal Calorie Counter: Helpful or Harmful?

Two years ago a desire to lose a couple of pounds led me to register with MyFitnessPal.com, a free online calorie counter. Based on my height, weight, and activity level, MyFitnessPal estimated my calories burned from normal daily activity, anticipated the calorie deficit that would be required for a 0.5 lb per week weight loss, and calculated the net calories that I should aim to consume daily.

MFP's personalized calorie suggestions (just an example; please don't consider this to be weight-loss advice)

I started logging my meals, diligently measuring and weighing out portions. I logged my exercise and "ate back" the extra calories that were added to my daily total. I "checked in" by inputting my weight periodically and scrutinized the resulting progress graphs.

MFP's "food diary" interface (just an example; please don't consider this to be weight-loss advice) 

I perused the forums and marvelled at the vastness of the MFP community -- and the heterogeneity, with goals ranging from weight loss to maintenance to gain.

some of MFP's forums -- lots of support, inspiration, recipe suggestions here

I continued to track meals on MFP for the next eight months and was happy that by maintaining a calorie deficit I was indeed able to lose a bit of weight. The dark side of calorie counting is that its dangerous combination of repetition and positive reward make for an easy slide into obsession. I realized that I was thinking about food constantly, mentally planning my next meal, and often inputting the next day's meals ahead of time. I derived satisfaction from meeting not just my calorie goals, but also matching the recommended ratios of protein, fat, and carbohydrates. I felt guilty when I "cheated". Much time was spent measuring and logging individual items in multi-component meals and I deliberated over how best to log homemade items for which nutritional information was unavailable. Spending time working with eating disorder patients during my pediatrics rotations, I recognized that my own habits were bordering disordered as well.

obsessive measuring!

determining the nutritional information for your recipes -- one potentially useful MFP feature

The most valuable thing I gained from MFP was knowledge of the nutritional value of all the foods I regularly consume. I can tell you that an egg contains 78 calories and 6 grams of protein. I know that my half scoop of oats for breakfast gives me 180 calories, 6 grams of protein, and 5 grams of fibre. I realize that a cup of All Bran Original contains four times the fibre of All Bran Flakes.

After around eight months I found myself logging on MFP less consistently. Why? I was certainly growing tired of measuring every gram of peanut butter and each individual almond I consumed. But more so, I felt that I no longer needed to track my meals. I already knew how my go-to breakfast would measure up. I had learned how a lunch of a peanut butter sandwich would compare to granola and yogurt. I knew which brand of frozen pizza was lowest in sodium. I was ready to start eating intuitively and boy did that feel refreshing.

MFP should be considered a tool to actively learn about nutrition. It has provided me with far more nutritional knowledge than four years of medical school. From time to time I'm happy to be able to share some nutrition advice with family members and patients. I encourage others to consider protein and fibre content of foods, rather than solely calories, and take the time to learn about the food they are consuming.

So what's the bottom line?

• Use MFP not to nitpick over calories but to develop an awareness of the foods you consume (e.g. edamame is a great protein source; but eating a huge salad for lunch will likely not provide enough calories to sustain an energy-intensive afternoon).
• Don't worry too much about calories on MFP -- if you are over by a few hundred but are eating healthy, let it go (remember, calories are only an estimate anyways, as you don't know exactly how many you burn during your daily activities).
• Avoid logging meals on MFP too far in advance. The issue here is that you artificially tell yourself to consume x food at a specific time (even if you're not necessarily hungry) and then later when you really do feel hungry you restrict because you've "run out of calories". Restricting can lead to binge eating, which can lead to more restricting; clearly a dangerous cycle and about as far from intuitive eating as you can get.
• Eat intuitively (more on this later) and if you feel so inclined log retrospectively at the end of the day to see how your calories, protein, fibre, sodium, etc. measured up (I'd often be surprised how little protein or how much sodium my meals contained).
• ...and eventually let MFP go! Once you're familiar with the nutrition content of various foods, stop logging on MFP. (I just keep my MFP account now to look up the odd food every now and then; e.g. I was curious about the nutrition content of beets the other day.)

nutritious intuitive eating -- the goal

...which of course includes treats!