Recently, MyFitnessPal introduced a brand new meal planning tool, powered by AI. This tool is designed to help Premium+ subscribers create healthy meals each week and remove the hurdles of brainstorming tasty dinners while maintaining goals.
MyFitnessPal is a leader in fitness and meal tracking apps in Canada. Over the past few years, it’s been an app I’ve had in my back pocket, so to speak to assist with meal tracking and calorie counting. However, for the past two weeks, I’ve been leaning into the app more, testing out the new meal planning tools under its Premium+ membership, which is available for $12.09/month in Canada.
MyFitnessPal’s meal planning tool is the latest perk of the subscription. Using AI and a database of ingredients, I was able to create a custom meal plan for the week and even order
To begin using MyFitnessPal’s meal planning tool, the app first asks what my current goals were. Considering that I wanted to lose a bit of weight and meal prep my meals each week, I selected these options. I was then asked to confirm my current weight goal, active levels, and my motivation to make changes. After confirming a handful of other inquiries, including the kind of diet plan I wanted.
Within the app, MyFitnessPal’s meal planning tool offers these diet plans:
MyFitnessPal then built me a plan that’d supposedly help me lose weight by October. In the plan, I was treated to recipes like Hummus Avocado Sandwiches for lunch, Greek yogurt and pretzels for a mid-afternoon snack. MyFitnessPal creates a week’s worth of dinner ideas, including white sausage pasta, a BLT sandwich, and a sweet and sour chicken dish.
The best part is that with each meal MyFitnessPal creates, the app will list all of the macros so you can log your meal easily and have all the important data tracked in your diary each day. This way, I was able to monitor my daily macros and caloric intake, ensuring that I was able to meet my daily goals and not accidentally exceed them.
On top of using AI to create a week’s worth of meals to create and get excited for, MyFitnessPal is also able to compile all of the groceries needed to create each meal. I was able to cross off items I already had on hand, such as oats for my suggested apple and cinnamon oatmeal. However, for everything I needed, MyFitnessPal compiled a list that I could then click the shop button and have the list taken over to Instacart.
All 33 items I needed were compiled on Instacart automatically, meaning I didn’t have to search for every grocery item one by one. Then I could pick the retailer to order my groceries from, including Walmart, Loblaws, Metro, No Frills, etc. I’ve long used Instacart for my Costco orders, so the routine of ordering through the service is familiar territory to me. If you haven’t used Instacart before, it’s typically pretty reliable, though you do run the risk of some items not being purchased properly (ie, the store is out of stock or the delivery person forgets).
Based on the first round of meal ideas crafted by MyFitnessPal’s AI, I think a lot of them are on the more basic side. I say that in both terms of complexity and the required cooking skills needed. With only two weeks of use under my belt, I hope that with more time, the AI can adapt to my personal tastes and start incorporating some more extravagant meals into the mix. I’m no stranger to working in the kitchen, so putting together a simple spaghetti bolognese or a BLT isn’t something I’d be paying a subscription for, personally.
MyFitnessPal’s meal planning tool is pretty robust, taking in personal goals, diet preferences, and creating a tailored plan based on your lifestyle. The AI’s ingenuity in providing the right amount of assistance is pretty nice. Plus, the ability to seamlessly take your grocery list from MyFitnessPal and begin ordering right away through Instacart is a nice perk as well.
This all comes as part of MyFitnessPal’s Premium Plus subscription. The $12.09 montly cost may be on the higher side when it comes to fitness apps, but you do get access to the meal planning tool, grocery list and shopping integrations, and the ability to share recipes with other users. Your mileage with the Premium Plus tier may vary based on your needs and goals. However, for someone like me, who’s looking to get the most from the app, I’ll continue to experiment with the meal planning tool over the course of my fitness journey.
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Not touching this app: they leaked all my info some years ago.