You’ve probably heard of the Calories In, Calories Out (CICO) method for weight management. It’s probably the most popular approach—and the most effective.
The concept is pretty straightforward: to lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than your body burns. And if you consume more calories than your body burns, you gain weight. CICO is a flexible approach to weight loss backed by science (1).
If you’re new to the CICO diet or calorie tracking in general, you may not know exactly where to start. And maybe you know that MyFitnessPal can help you track your calorie and nutrient intake. Actually, MyFitnessPal can be your best friend on the CICO diet. The app can help you set your goals and stay on track while tracking.
Wondering how to use MyFitnessPal can help with CICO method? Let’s go into it step by step.
Step 1: Set your goals in MyFitnessPal
First, when you sign in to MyFitnessPal, application it will ask you for some essential information: your age, weight, height, gender and daily activity level.
Your answers help calculate the most important statistics that 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.
Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE): The total number of calories your body burns in one day, taking into account your activity level (eg how much you exercise, whether you have a physically demanding job, etc.).
You will then select a goal:
- Weight loss
- Maintaining current weight
- Gaining muscle
If your goal is to lose weight, MyFitnessPal will suggest a caloric goal that will put you in a caloric deficit. If you meet that goal, you’ll take in fewer calories than you burn each day.
Calories consumed – TDEE = calorie deficit
Then you will set a goal of how quickly you will lose weight. MyFitnessPal it will ask you how much you want to win or lose per week.
You can choose to gain 0.5 lbs or 1 lb per week.
For weight loss you will choose 0.5lb, 1lb, 1.5lbs or 2lb per week as your goal.
You can also choose to maintain your current weight.
The standard recommendation for safe weight loss is a caloric deficit of 500-1,000 calories per day, which usually results in a loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week (1).
But a bigger deficit doesn’t mean faster weight loss, according to Stephanie Nelson, RD, CEO of MyFitnessPal. In fact, 68% of MyFitnessPal users who have achieved at least 90% of their target weight lost less than 1 pound per week on average.
Step 2: Record what you eat (aka “calories in”)
When you write down what you consume during the day in MyFitnessPal, you will know what the “calories” portion of your CICO diet looks like.
MyFitnessPalThe food database includes millions of food items, from grocery items to popular restaurant dishes.
To record your meals and snacks, look up the item in the database and select the items you had and add them to your diary. Ideally, select the “Best Matches” option in the app.
Professional advice: Upgrade to Premium to access our barcode scanner. This makes recording packaged food even easier.
Cook from home or prepare meals often? You can add your own recipes MyFitnessPalalso. Enter the ingredients you used and the app will calculate the total calories and nutrients for the entire dish or per serving. This is very helpful if you want to repeat the same recipes.
Professional advice: Weighing or measuring and portion sizes can help improve recording accuracy—but every recording is a win! It’s all about progress, not perfection.
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Step 3: Log your exercise (also known as “calories burned”)
MyFitnessPal makes it easy to track your calories burned, whether you’re logging workouts manually or syncing the app with a fitness device like a Fitbit or Garmin.
When you sweat, write it down. MyFitnessPal can estimate your burn for all types of exercise, from strength training to running to swimming.
MyFitnessPal it will take the calories you’ve burned through exercise and adjust your daily calorie goal for you.
For example, if you have a goal of 1,800 calories per day, and you burn 300 calories exercising, MyFitnessPal it will update your remaining daily intake to 2100 calories. And if you sync your fitness device, your calories are displayed automatically!
Some MyFitnessPal members choose to turn this feature off, which is easy to do in the app. If you do this, you can still log your exercise, but the calories won’t go back to your goal.
Step 4: Add macros to the mix
Not all calories are created equal! Calories consumed are the essence of the CICO diet. But paying attention to macronutrients (protein, fat, and carbohydrates) can help you optimize your results.
“One downside of focusing solely on calories in versus calories out is that it doesn’t teach us the importance of the nutrients in those calories,” says Melissa Jaeger, RD, LD, director of nutrition at MyFitnessPal.
“Tracking with MyFitnessPal can help you identify not only your total daily calories, but also key nutrients to support your overall health and wellness when it comes to weight loss such as protein, fiber, saturated fat and more!”
MyFitnessPal has tons of food info, including macros. When you’re logging your food, you can check your daily macros under the “Nutrition” tab. (If you’re a premium member, you can find it on your dashboard.)
This section provides a breakdown of the amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates you consume and how they contribute to your total calorie intake.
Customizing macros can help you accomplish certain goals. For example:
- Higher protein can support muscle maintenance and recovery, especially if you lift heavy weights.
- Balanced carbohydrates and fats it can keep your energy levels steady throughout the day, helping you avoid fatigue or mood swings.
MyFitnessPal gives you a default set of balanced macros for optimal overall nutrition. If you have a premium membership, you can customize your macro goals, which is especially useful when following a specific high-protein or ketogenic diet.
Step 5: Get your data and review your progress
It is extremely gratifying to see a record of your efforts. One of the most motivating aspects of use MyFitnessPal is the ability to track your progress. Consistent journaling can show you how well you’re sticking to your goals. you can see what works—and what doesn’t.
In the “Progress” section of the app, you can track changes in weight, measurements and fitness goals. MyFitnessPalVisual charts allow you to see trends over time, helping you visualize opportunities for improvement.
Well, good. Not exactly. No day is perfect. No two bodies are the same. Even when it comes to calorie counting and macros, don’t dwell on being fluid.
Instead, strive for consistency over perfection. As Stephanie Nelson says, “It’s more sustainable to take a slower approach because you end up making changes that you can sustain in the long term. Instead of just focusing on the numbers, focus on the smaller behavioral changes you can make.”
Other tips for the CICO diet
A few more tips for use MyFitnessPal to succeed on the CICO diet:
- Report the food as soon as possible: Whether it’s before or right after a meal, writing down your food as soon as possible means you’re less likely to forget what you ate.
- Set reminders: Use MyFitnessPal’s built-in notifications to remind you to track your meals and exercise.
- Customize your experience: Premium MyFitnessPal members can tweak their macros, customize their dashboard, and customize their experience to fit their goals.
- Join the community: MyFitnessPal’s community of members helps you connect with others on the same path. Talk to friends and read success stories to stay motivated.
With the right tools and mindset, the CICO Diet can empower you with information and insights into what you’re eating, how much you’re burning, and help you reach your goals with some simple math—and science.
Check out some success stories from MyFitnessPal members to see how tracking has helped change their lives.
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