Does a diet app (like MyFitness Pal) actually work?

Many of the clients I've worked with over the years have expressed a sense of ambivalence about tracking their food or calories. On the one hand, daily tracking of calories can feel laborious and like a full time job. On the other, using a food or diet app can offer a path of hope, feeling that getting the right types of food in the right amounts could actually contribute to better health (and maybe a different weight or body composition). So how do you really know if a diet app is a good choice for you and if it actually "works?"

When a diet app helps

The following are circumstances that my clients have actually found it advantageous to track their food on an app:

• Wanting to monitor one's baseline intake of fiber, then work toward improving it

• Tracking for a week or day to observe one's default food and macronutrient intake

• When wanting to see how much sugar is in the diet

• Using it every now and then for reassurance that there is enough protein, fiber, or micronutrients like magnesium, calcium, or folate in the diet

• When increasing strength training and wanting to make sure protein intake is adequate

In other words, using an app for a deliberate amount of time to observe a variable or two can be really helpful feedback. You might think you're getting enough fiber (25-30g) but come to realize you're hovering around 18g. This information might prompt you to include fresh fruit with your breakfast to increase your fiber intake. Or perhaps you have a habit of overeating or binge eating and you think you're eating enough each day, but find your attempts to be "healthy" are leaving you at a measly 1300 calories a day, shedding light on the reason for ravenous eating at 4pm. Apps can be great mirrors offering you data, then empowering you to decide what you'd like to do with that information.

When a diet app does NOT help

Here are the circumstances that some of my clients have found that using a food tracking app is not helpful:

• When trying to eat as little as possible as an end goal

• When trying to barely eat carbohydrates (even when diabetes, metabolic syndrome, or neurological disorders are NOT present)

• In an attempt to lose weight rapidly

• As a way to stay ahead of shame or feelings of failure

• As an attempt to increase a sense of control in life by controlling one's food intake

• Randomly picking a calorie amount you "should" be eating and then bypassing body signals to achieve it

It's not to say that these strategies don't ever work. They just don't work long-term. The above situations are hard to MAINTAIN, often because they are trying to do a bigger, unspoken job: mitigate shame, bypass kindness toward oneself, muscle the body into submission, prove something to other people, manage the ambiguous and sometimes heartbreaking nature of Life, etc.

How to decide?

Deciding might ask you to be very honest with yourself and examine your motives. Are you feeling the spirit of curiosity and inspiration? Are you feeling the weightiness of judgment or anxiety? Working with your health, eating, and body can be a beautiful journey of self discovery and self empowerment with the right attitude and support.

With love & respect

Laura

To check on session availability, contact Laura here. To check out Laura's 3-month eating psychology training program, click here