This meant MyFitnessPal gave me 1200 calories to work with each day. My BMI is slap bang in the middle of average/healthy weight, so even though I didn't need to be quite so extreme I felt a shock to my system would make for a much more interesting experiment.

MyFitnessPal has a huge following and wearing a fitness band isn't 100 percent necessary, but it does make everything about a million times more accurate, which means you're less likely to over eat or under eat in the long run - or at least that's the official line.Īs well as syncing up both the (new and improved) UP app with MyFitnessPal, I filled out all of my details, selected a 'light' activity level and set a goal of losing 2lbs per week. Metrics gathered are useful in painting a picture of your overall health and general wellbeing, but it's worth pointing out they don't provide a more accurate picture of calorie burn. Instead, the UP3's heart rate tracking smarts are used to gather data about your Resting Heart Rate and Passive Heart Rate. Jawbone UP3 to monitor my activity levels and exercise - syncing them both up from the start so I'd get the most accurate picture of the calories I've eaten and the calories I've burned.ĭespite having a built-in heart rate monitor, the UP3 is able to calculate your calorie burn, based on your step count, using a basal metabolic rate (BMR) method derived from your age, weight, height and activity. One of the best calorie tracking apps on the market, to track my calories, as well as keep tabs on my intake. The experiment was simple: track every meal for two weeks and see whether calorie counting was a revolutionary way of losing weight or a pain in the backside. So, armed with a realisation that I was afraid of calorie tracking, a fascination with trying a new diet and a love for wearable tech and data driven by me, I decided to take part in a mini experiment. While many do it without the stress, for me it seemed dull, boring and something people only did if they had a serious amount of weight to shift.īut deep down I knew it was all based on a fear of not being able to do it.

Depending on who you speak to it can invoke worried emotions and all kinds of pressure. For many, calorie counting is a loaded term.

Myfitnesspal exercise calories