MyFitnessPal App: Helps Reduce Sugar & Calories In Your Diet

I am reminded that real bears live wet and wild on sugar after seeing this animation of bears drinking too much soda. I am also reminded of the hidden empty calories within some of our foods. I am working on eating clean and upping the ante on my fitness game. While my diet wasn’t all that bad (so I thought), I started running and trying some strength training and CrossFit workouts. I had to painfully take a closer look at my food consumption. I decided to reduce sugar and calories in my diet.

I quickly made some changes, like hiring a personal trainer who walks the talk. You know, the kind who competes in fitness physique competitions. I was completely scared to death to even talk to him, much less hire him to kick my butt back into shape. Yeah, I know, it may seem selfish but so be it! It is hands down the best decision I have made this year.

I see it as an investment in my own healthcare plan. Since healthcare and healthcare insurance is in the toilet here in the U.S., what better way to make a difference than to take control (as much as possible) of myself, right? My trainer suggested the MyFitnessPal app. I really didn’t like this app at all at first. Let’s be real, I really didn’t like facing the truth. I am a design geek and entrepreneur who sits at a desk in front of a computer for many hours a day with an extra 20 pounds that needs to go pronto! Like you, I am tied to social media, social networks, meetings, client events, time crunches, and the whole shebang. Sitting at a desk or sitting all day was leading me down a dangerous path awarding me with a wide butt.

While using the fitness app, I started to discover all the hidden places that I was losing the battle in controlling my weight. I discovered that there is a lot of hidden crap that adds up quickly. I could go on and on about my discoveries. I am almost as obsessed with it as I am with search engine optimization (SEO).

One of those hidden things over-consumed in the standard American diet is sugar. It’s in everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not in our tap water or used in manufacturing our toilet paper. If you want to reduce sugar and calories in your own diet, the MyFitnessPal app can really help you too. All of this leads me to therealbears.org public service announcement. I totally agree with the bears opinion. While this movie takes aim at the soda industry and the ungodly amounts of empty calories and sugars consumed in sodas by bears (or humans), they should have really pointed a finger at the entire American diet which has sugar in just about everything. When I made a real effort to reduce sugar in my diet, I finally started to see huge changes in my own body. I didn’t believe fitness gurus when they say the body is made in the kitchen and sculpted in the gym (I know, cliché). I now believe there is truth in that saying.

I am not here writing this to brag about myself or shove some pie-in-the-sky idea that lifestyle changes are easy, but I would like to introduce you to the app if you haven’t tried it yet and to invite you to reduce sugar in your own diet. Just so you know, I will never claim perfection, and I do eat and drink sugary things occasionally. I also wanted to share with you this really well illustrated animated bear story PSA.

I encourage all geeks to make healthier choices and to educate themselves about the quality of their foods using this helpful app. You can squeeze in a half hour a few days a week of exercise. I promise, if you’re committed, you will make time. You too can be a fit geek! If fitness will never be your goal, maybe you will at least enjoy the creativity behind this public service message or perhaps the fact that Alex Bogusky helped to create this movie (as well as the famous Coca-Cola campaign with bears) will peak your curiosity.