IndexAbstractIntroductionUseful DefinitionsActivity One: Creating an AccountActivity Two: Selecting Fitness GoalsActivity Three: Your First Day of EatingConclusionAbstractYou received this letter because I completed my tutorial on MyFitnessPal, titled "Creating and Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle: A MyFitnessPal Tutorial." I chose the popular fitness application 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, healthy lives. I played a variety of sports growing up, but it wasn't until my freshman 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 Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay At that time I had started training with a roommate of mine at the school I transferred from in Appalachian; 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 fifteen pounds and added forty to my bench press. It felt amazing to achieve my goals and since then I've been looking for ways to help others feel the same way I do. After my freshman year of college, I began sharing my interests with those around me. I had started pushing my little brother, who was 15 at the time, to start training. He soon became as interested in getting in shape as I was, and this led him to try out for his high school football team. Within 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 had influenced my little brother, I knew I could help others achieve their goals too. As time went on I began coaching a high school lacrosse team at the Junior Varsity level. I focused a lot on strength and conditioning and helping my players get into “game ready” shape. As the season progressed, the players I had coached were much faster and in better shape than at the beginning 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. This really meant a lot to me. In the future I hope to use my passion to inspire people around the world to live happier and healthier lives. Through completing the three tasks I have chosen, I feel that the reader will be as inspired as I am to change their life for the better. Introduction The purpose of this tutorial is to educate those who are interested in improving their health through multiple diets and goal setting techniques. To push the reader to achieve their fitness goals, we will have to use the popular fitness application MyFitnessPal. This tutorial is designed for beginners, but can also be used by those who are already familiar with the MyFitnessPal application. This tutorial will also include key 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 someone just starting out. What I would like to do through this tutorial is shed light on how simple it can be to get and stay fit. I also hope to simplify all the seemingly complex vocabulary available and translate those words into terms that anyone can understand. My main focus, however, islight a fire in those who may have been discouraged in their attempt to lose weight. Helpful Definitions Planning a healthy diet can be stressful at times, especially if you're not familiar with how your body works from a biological perspective. Knowing how the foods you eat directly affect your body will put you at an advantage. This list will give you a number of definitions related to 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 foods will produce in the human body. The purpose of consuming calories through diet is so that our body can convert them into long-lasting energy through metabolic processes. Although calories are normally associated with foods, they actually apply to anything containing energy, such as gasoline. The amount of calories we consume daily is extremely important for maintaining a healthy weight and promoting a healthy lifestyle. According to Kidshealth.org, a carbohydrate is 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 in turn give 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 grains, 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 most 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, known as amino acids. There are over 20 types of amino acids, designed to help perform diverse functions such as nutrient transport and antibody production. Protein is the building block of the body's muscular system, and a high-protein 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 energizes our body and helps it absorb vitamins and nutrients. There are many different types of fats, such as saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, and trans fats. To maintain a healthy diet you should try to avoid foods high in saturated fats such as butter, shortening and lard. Trans fats are found in foods rich in hydrogenated oils such as biscuits, chips and French fries and should be avoided. Contrary to popular belief, fats are 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 losing weight. This style of diet is known as “Keto” because it induces a state in our body known as “Ketosis”. Healthy fats are found in olive oil, eggs, nuts and avocados. This is the amount of calories you should eat after taking daily exercise into account. For example, if your daily calorie requirement was 2800 calories and you had to lift weights for an hour; you would burn about 200 calories. To meet your net calorie intake for the day, you would need to eat 200 calories more than normal, which in turn would bring your total daily calorie intake up to 3000 calories. Task One: Creating an Account Under the assumption that 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 application,go to Google Play Store and do so. Click on the blue box that says "Sign Up." Select “Sign Up with Email” Select your primary fitness goal; e.g. “Lose weight”, “Maintain weight” or “Gain weight”. Then select "Next". Select your activity level. This will mainly depend on your occupation and how much time you dedicate daily to carrying out physical activities. Then select "Next". Enter your height. Enter your current weight. If you are unsure of your exact weight, please provide a rough estimate. This option will be editable 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 very own MyFitnessPal account. Your daily net calorie goal will be shown on the next page. To move to the second task, select "Start tracking now". Task Two: Selecting Your Fitness Goals After you create a MyFitnessPal account, you are given the option to select your goals to create an identity for yourself within the application. The goals you choose will in turn change your daily calorie needs and the amount of each macronutrient (carbohydrates, fats and proteins) you will need to consume daily. In this activity, 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 top left corner of the application next to the MyFitnessPal logo. After completing this step, a tab will open that includes your username and how much weight you have gained/lost so far. Select "Goals" and go to the next step. You will now see three separate sections. At the top, your goal weight, current weight, weight loss goal, and activity level are displayed. In activity one you entered your current weight. Here you can both change your current weight and select your goal weight. By entering your weight goal, MyFitnessPal will slightly adjust your daily calories. Next you'll find a section titled "Nutrition Goals." The "Net Calories Burned" are shown here. Under “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 in relation 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 reach one hundred percent. For example, if you were to change the protein intake to forty percent of your overall diet, you would change the percentage of carbohydrates and fats so that they make up the remaining sixty percent. Task Three: Your First Day of Nutrition Now that you've created a MyFitnessPal account and selected your fitness goals, let's move on to the most important part of the tutorial; monitor the food you eat. At first glance, entering all the things you eat into a phone app seems strange. I promise this is the best way to track your dietary needs and ultimately achieve the fitness goals you set for yourself. First of all, select "Add to diary". In your diary you have the possibility to add entries relating to the foods you have eaten during the day. You can scan the food barcode or enter it manually using the in-app search function. Now you will add a meal in the "Lunch" subsection. To do this, select "Lunch" in the list of subsections. You will be taken to another screen with five tabs in the!.