So I’ve been looking at online diet sites lately. Not because I need to loose weight (at 6′0″ and 130lbs, I could, as my sister puts it, eat a donut…) but because I bet that many of the diets that help people loose weight, would help me gain weight. Besides, if I start eating better and working out (ok, walking…) I might actually sleep better and feel better and become a nicer person right? Well, virtually all of the sites around charge you (any where from 19.99 a month to 30.00 a month plus startup costs). If you’re on a good diet thats working for you already, these sites probably won’t offer you anything you can really use. Thats where MY Fitness Pal comes in to play.

A free calorie counter, My Fitness Pal charges nothing, and claim that they’ll continue to provide a free service. At the moment, that seems to be quite true and it will be interesting to see if it continues to stay that way as the site gains in use. There are no ads, and you can even opt out of the weekly(?) email when you register.

Once in the site, there are no menus or suggested diet’s or exercise routines. Simply a way to track the calories you’re intaking and the exercise you’re doing to help counter that. They provide graphs and reports so you can chart your gain/loss over time which is nice and the site, while a little bare isn’t really bad to look at or navigate. The calorie counter is fast and easy to use and will teach you the nutritional contents of what you are eating, and consequently, how you can make better food choices.

There is a forum that is surprisingly spry and in use (something rare in a lot of cases), where you can talk with others using the free site and gain insight in to dieting and exercise. I would caution though that there does not seem to be an abundance of licensed help, so take what you get with a grain of salt (don’t listen to anyone telling you to go on a water only diet for three weeks… sure it will work, but you might look a little like Nicole Richie after a while…)

All in all, if you’re looking for a place to keep track of your calories, or to find out just how much you’re eating in a day, check out My Fitness Pal.

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