You’ve probably heard of the Calories In, Calories Out (CICO) method for weight management. This is probably the most common approach and the most effective.
The concept is very simple. To lose weight, your body must consume fewer calories than it burns. And when you consume more You gain more weight than your body burns calories. CICO is a flexible, science-backed approach to weight loss (1).
If you’re new to the CICO diet or calorie tracking in general, you may not know exactly where to start. and you may know it my fitness pal Helps you track calories and nutrients. in fact, my fitness pal It will become your best friend on the CICO diet. This app helps you set goals and stay on track while tracking them.
I’m curious about how to use it my fitness pal Will the CICO method help you? Let’s look at it step by step.
Step 1: Set your goals in MyFitnessPal
First, when you sign up for MyFitnessPal, app Ask for important information such as age, weight, height, gender, and daily activity level.
Your answers will help us calculate the most important statistics to make the CICO method work.
your basal metabolic rate (BMR): The number of calories your body burns at rest just to maintain basic bodily functions.
Total daily energy consumption (TDEE): The total number of calories your body burns in a day, taking into account your activity level (how much you exercise, whether you have a physically demanding job, etc.).
Next, select your goal.
- lose weight
- maintain current weight
- increase muscle
If your goal is to lose weight, my fitness pal Suggest a calorie goal that will put you in a calorie deficit. If you can reach that goal, you will burn fewer calories than you burn every day.
Calories burned – TDEE = calorie deficit
Next, set a goal for how long it will take to lose weight. my fitness pal Ask how much you would like to increase or decrease per week.
You can choose to gain either 0.5 pounds or 1 pound per week.
For weight loss, choose a goal of 0.5 pounds, 1 pound, 1.5 pounds, or 2 pounds per week.
You can also choose to maintain your current weight.
The standard recommendation for safe weight loss is a calorie deficit of 500 to 1000 calories per day, which typically results in weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week (1).
But having a bigger deficit doesn’t mean you’ll lose weight faster, according to MyFitnessPal lead researcher Dr. Stephanie Nelson. In fact, 68% my fitness pal Users who achieved 90% or more of their target weight I lost less than 1 pound per week on average.
Step 2: Track what you eat (aka “calorie intake”)
You can see what the “calorie” portion of the CICO diet is by logging what you eat throughout the day in MyFitnessPal.
my fitness pal‘s food database contains millions of foods, from grocery store staples to popular restaurant meals.
To record your meals and snacks, search for items in the database, select the items you eat, and add them to your diary. Ideally, choose from the app’s “Best Match” option.
Pro tip: Upgrade to Premium to access the barcode scanner. Keeping track of packaged food is now even easier.
Do you often cook or prepare meals at home? Add your own recipes my fitness paltoo. Enter the ingredients you used and the app will calculate the total calories and nutrients for the entire dish or per serving. Very useful when you want to make the same recipe over and over again.
Pro tip: Weighing or measuring and portioning can help improve the accuracy of your records, but any record can lead to success. It’s not about perfection, it’s about progress.
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How Patrick achieved his weight loss goals with the CICO diet >
Step 3: Track your exercise (aka “calories burned”)
my fitness pal Whether you record your workouts manually or sync the app with your fitness device like Fitbit or Garmin, it’s easy to track your calories burned.
If you sweat, record it. my fitness pal Estimate your burn for any type of exercise, from strength training to running to swimming.
my fitness pal Measure the calories you burn through exercise and adjust your daily calorie goal.
For example, if you set a goal of 1,800 calories per day and burn 300 calories through exercise. my fitness pal Your remaining daily intake will be updated to 2100 calories. When you sync your fitness device, your calories will be displayed automatically.
some my fitness pal Members may choose to turn off this feature, which is easy to do in the app. Doing this will still track your exercise, but the calories will not be added to your goal.
Step 4: Add macros to the mix
Not all calories are created equal. Calorie intake is at the heart of the CICO diet. However, paying attention to your macronutrients (protein, fat, and carbohydrates) can help you optimize your results.
“One of the downsides to only focusing on calories in and calories out when losing weight is that you don’t realize the importance of the nutrients in those calories,” says nutrition director Melissa Jaeger. my fitness pal.
“When you track with MyFitnessPal, you can not only identify your total daily calories, but also key nutrients like protein, fiber, and saturated fat that support your overall health and well-being as you lose weight.”
my fitness pal has a large amount of food data including macros. When you log your meals, you can check in your daily macros in the Nutrition tab. (If you’re a premium member, you can find it right on your dashboard.)
This section provides a breakdown of your protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake and how they contribute to your overall calorie intake.
Adjusting your macros can help you achieve specific goals. for example:
- high protein Supports muscle maintenance and recovery, especially when lifting heavy weights.
- balanced carbohydrates and fats It helps keep energy levels steady throughout the day and avoids fatigue and mood swings.
my fitness pal Balanced macro default settings are provided for optimal general nutrition. If you have a premium membership, you can customize your macro goals. This is especially helpful if you follow a certain high protein or ketogenic diet plan.
Step 5: Get your data and check your progress
It’s great to see the record of everyone’s efforts. One of the most motivating aspects of using my fitness pal Ability to track your progress. Continuous logging lets you see how well you are achieving your goals. you can look What works and what doesn’t.
The ‘Progress’ section of the app allows you to track changes in your weight, measurements, and fitness goals. my fitness palVisual charts allow you to see trends over time and help visualize opportunities for improvement.
Well, okay. do not have that’s right. There is no perfect day. No two bodies are the same. When calculating calories and macros, don’t insist on being super precise.
Instead, pursue consistency over perfection. Stephanie Nelson said: “It’s more sustainable to take a slow approach because you’ll end up making changes that you can maintain over the long term. Instead of just focusing on the numbers, focus on the small behavioral changes you can make. Please guess.”
More tips on the CICO diet
Additional advice for use my fitness pal To make the CICO diet a success:
- Log your food as soon as possible: If you record your meals as early as possible, both before and after meals, you’re less likely to forget what you ate.
- Set a reminder: Use MyFitnessPal’s built-in notifications to remind you to track your meals and workouts.
- Customize your experience: Premium members of MyFitnessPal can adjust macros, customize dashboards, and tailor their experience to their goals.
- join the community: MyFitnessPal member community It helps you connect with others who are on the same journey. Stay motivated by chatting with friends and reading success stories.
With the right tools and mindset, the CICO Diet provides information and insight into what you’re eating, how much you’re burning, and uses simple math and science to help you reach your goals. Masu.
Check out MyFitnessPal members’ success stories to see how tracking has changed their lives.
The post How to Follow a Calories In, Calories Out (CICO) Diet with MyFitnessPal appeared first on MyFitnessPal Blog.
