Sixty days ago I deleted my Runtastic and MyFitnessPal apps from my iPhone, and for the first time in almost two years went about my daily business without painstakingly logging every morsel of food eaten; every step taken; every bar lifted. I was curious as to whether prolonged use of these apps had instilled good behaviours, or actually left me reliant upon them forever more.
Thankfully, it’s the former. All that nutritional information has long-since been burnt into my brain; all those good practices have become part of my daily routine.
Since Day #601 I’ve gained 2lbs and increased my 10-rep bench press (a good yardstick for strength) by 10lbs, both of which are in keeping with my average rate of gain over the previous 600 days (they’re both actually a little better, no doubt thanks to my less strictly-controlled portions over the past sixty days).
And so, whilst I’ll continue to use MyFitnessPal for a strict fat-cutting week of protein and veg every couple of months, for the most part now I’ll be going it alone.
The MyFitnessPal app is free to download from the App Store. Since my 2012 review, it has been updated to encourage weight gain as well as weight loss, depending on your goal. Runtastic is also free to download from the App Store, with the more feature-packed Runtastic Pro costing you £3.99.
