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  • Essay / Creating and Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle: A MyfitnessPal Tutorial

    Table of ContentsSummaryIntroductionUseful DefinitionsTask 1: Create an AccountTask 2: Select Your Fitness GoalsTask 3: Your First Day of EatingConclusionSummaryYou are receiving this letter because I Completed my MyFitnessPal tutorial, titled “Creating and Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle: A MyFitnessPal Tutorial.” I chose the popular fitness app MyFitnessPal as the subject of my tutorial because in addition to having a passion for working with computers, I have a passion for helping others live long and healthy lives. Growing up, I played several sports, but it wasn't until my first year of college that I became interested in the world of fitness. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Around this time, I had begun training with a classmate of mine at the school I had transferred from in Appalachia; The University of South Carolina. I had started lifting weights several times a week and reading books on nutrition. Within a few months, I had lost thirty pounds and added forty to my bench press. It felt amazing to achieve my goals, and since then I've looked for ways to help others feel what I felt. After my first year of college, I had begun to share my interests with those around me. I had started pushing my little brother, who was 15 at the time, to start training. He quickly became as interested in fitness as I was, which led him to try out for his high school football team. In just a few months, he became stronger, more muscular and secured a starting spot on his school's varsity football team. After seeing how much I influenced my little brother, I knew I could help others achieve their goals too. Over time, I began coaching a high school lacrosse team at the junior varsity level. I focused heavily on strength and conditioning, and helping my players get in game shape. As the season progressed, the players I had trained were much faster and fitter than they were at the start of the season. After our last game, at the team's annual lacrosse banquet, many players and their parents thanked me for coaching that season. It really meant everything to me. In the future, I hope to use my passion to inspire people around the world to live happier, healthier lives. By completing the three tasks I have chosen, I believe the reader will be just as inspired as I am to change their life for the better.IntroductionThe purpose of this tutorial is to educate those who wish to improve their health through several diets. and goal setting techniques. In order to propel the reader towards achieving their fitness goals, we will need to use the popular fitness app MyFitnessPal. This tutorial was designed for beginners, but can also be used by those who are already familiar with the MyFitnessPal app. This tutorial will also include fundamental information for creating an effective diet that fits any lifestyle and can be adapted to meet a wide variety of needs. When downloading a fitness app, the endless list of options can be extremely intimidating for those just starting out. What I would like to do through this tutorial is shed light on how easy it is to get and stay in shape. I also hope to simplify all the vocabularyseemingly complex and putting those words into terms that everyone could understand. However, my main goal is to light a fire in those who may have become discouraged in their quest to lose weight. Useful Definitions Planning a healthy diet can sometimes be stressful, especially if you're unfamiliar with how your body works from a biological perspective. Knowing how the foods you eat directly affect your body will give you a head start. This list will give you a number of definitions of foods, diet, and health for your convenience. According to Merriam-Webster, a calorie is a unit of heat used to indicate the amount of energy that food will produce in the human body. The purpose of our intake of calories through our diet is to enable our body to convert them into sustainable energy through metabolic processes. Although calories are normally associated with food, they actually apply to anything that contains energy, like gasoline. The amount of calories we ingest daily is extremely important for maintaining a healthy weight and promoting a healthy lifestyle. According to Kidshealth.org, carbohydrates are one of the three main macronutrients found in the foods we eat. They induce the production of ATP in our body through metabolic processes, which gives us the energy to do the things we love. The two main forms of carbohydrates are sugars (e.g. fructose, glucose and lactose) and starches found in cereals, rice, cereals and starchy vegetables such as corn. According to Genetics Home Reference, a section of NIH.gov, Proteins are large, complex molecules that play extremely critical roles in the body. They do the majority of the work in our cells and are necessary for the structure, function and regulation of the body's tissues and organs. Proteins are made up of smaller units called amino acids. There are more than 20 types of amino acids, designed to help carry out different functions such as transporting nutrients and producing antibodies. Protein is the building block of the body's muscular system, and a protein-rich diet is the best way to build and increase muscle size and density. Some high protein foods are: chicken, beef, fish, beans, legumes and Greek yogurt. According to Medline Plus, a section of NIH.gov, fats are a type of nutrient that gives and helps our bodies with energy. to absorb vitamins and nutrients. There are many types of fats, such as saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, and trans fats. In order to maintain a healthy diet, you should try to avoid foods high in saturated fats like butter, shortening and lard. Trans fats are found in foods high in hydrogenated oils like cookies, fries and chips, and should also be avoided. Contrary to popular belief, fat is not the root of all evil for dieters. Studies have shown that diets high in healthy fats and low in carbohydrates are extremely effective for weight loss. This style of diet is known as “Keto” because it induces a state in our body called “ketosis”. Healthy fats can be found in olive oil, eggs, nuts and avocados. This is the amount of calories you should consume after taking into account your daily exercise. For example, if your calorie needs for the day were 2,800 calories and you needed to liftweight for one hour; you would burn around 200 calories. In order to meet your net calories for the day, you will need to eat 200 calories more than you normally would, which would bring your total daily calorie intake to 3,000 calories. Task 1: Create an account Assuming you have If you have already installed MyFitnessPal for the Android platform, the following instructions will teach you how to create an account. If you have not yet downloaded the MyFitnessPal app, please go to the Google Play Store and do so. Click the blue box that says “Register.” Select “Sign up by email”. Select your primary fitness goal; e.g.: “Lose weight”, “Maintain your weight” or “Gain weight”. Then select “next”. Select your activity level. This will mainly depend on your profession, as well as the amount of time you spend on physical tasks each day. Then select “next”. Enter your height. Enter your current weight. If you are unsure of your exact weight, please give a rough estimate. This option can be changed later. Then select “next”. Re-enter your email address, a desired password, a username and the country you reside in. Then select "Next". Congratulations, you've created your own MyFitnessPal account. On the next page, your daily net calorie goal will be displayed. In order to proceed to the second task, please select “Start tracking now”. Task Two: Select Your Fitness Goals After creating a MyFitnessPal account, you have the option to select your goals to create an identity within the app. . The goals you choose will in turn change your daily calorie needs and the amount of each macronutrient (carbohydrates, fats and proteins) you should consume daily. In this task, you will learn how to use MyFitnessPal as a tool to achieve your fitness goals. From the MyFitnessPal home page, click on the three lines in the upper left corner of the app next to the MyFitnessPal logo. After completing this step, a tab will open including your username and the weight you have gained/lost so far. Select “Goals” and continue to the next step. You will now see three distinct sections. At the very top, your goal weight, current weight, weight loss goal, and activity level are displayed. In the first task, you entered your current weight. Here you can both change your current weight and select your goal weight. By entering your goal weight, MyFitnessPal will slightly change your daily calorie intake. Next you will find a section called “Nutritional Goals”. Here your “Net Calories Consumed” are displayed. Under your “Net Calories Consumed,” the app will display the particular number of each macronutrient you should consume in grams, as well as the percentage of each relative to your overall diet. To change the percentage of a particular macronutrient, click on that macronutrient and increase or decrease its percentage. However, the three will still have to add up to one hundred percent. For example, if you were to change your protein intake to forty percent of your overall diet, you would need to change your percentage of carbohydrates and fats so that they make up the remaining sixty percent. Task Three: Your First Day of Eating Now that you have created a MyFitnessPal account and selected your fitness goals, let's move on to the most important part of the tutorial; follow the !.