Your Guide To A Strong Start With 8fit
Welcome to 8fit! Whether you're new to the app or not, this guide will help you understand how 8fit works and why we ask the questions we do. Read on to learn how to:
Set up your profile
Create a wellness goal
Set your fitness level
Create a customized meal plan
View your shopping list
Let’s get started!
Download the 8fit app
When you download the 8fit app, we start by asking questions to get to know you. This helps us to understand your starting point (where you are now) and goals (where you’d like to go).
After you select a goal — to lose weight, get fit or gain muscle mass — we ask you about your current biometric data, workout frequency and dietary preferences. With this information, we are able to create customized workout and nutrition plans that will help you reach your goal in a healthy, efficient way.
Set your goal
Here at 8fit, our goal is to help you succeed in reaching your goal. Most 8fitters’ goals fall under one of the three categories: lose weight, get fitter or gain muscle mass.
Lose fat
If your main goal is to slim down or “lose weight”, then “lose fat” is the perfect goal for you. This will ensure that you have enough nutrition to support your workouts and that you will lose fat in a safe, sustainable way. One important note: we encourage you not to focus on the number on the scale – that’s just your relationship to gravity and says very little about your overall health (we’ll touch on that more later!).
Get fitter
Select “get fitter” if you’re mostly happy with your shape and size, but you’d like to become more toned. Your weight will remain more-or-less the same, but you’ll transform fat into muscle mass for a more toned physique.
Gain muscle mass
If you choose the “gain muscle mass” goal, we’ll give you a caloric surplus in your meal plan to enable this muscle gain.
You can update your goal at any time. In the “Profile” tab, select “Modify your fitness plan” and update your goal and biometric data there.
Why we ask about body fat percentage
The number on the scale is really just a number – it says nothing about your health or strength, body composition, or ability, and even less about your self-worth. In fact, muscle mass weighs more than fat, so the scale can even be misleading when we’re trying to determine how healthy we are. That’s why we center our goal-making process around body fat percentage instead of weight – it’s is a great way to establish where you are now and where you would like to go. To estimate body fat percentage, we ask you to select images that represent both your starting point and your end goal.
Why we need to know your activity level
Everyone’s starting point is different. During your profile set up, we ask about your current activity level, i.e. how active you are, which impacts the total number of calories in your meal plan. For example, if you want to lose weight and workout 1-3 times per week, select “Light: 1-3 times per week.” 8fit will automatically adjust your meal plan to accommodate your activity level and goal, so you’re not getting too few or too many calories – both of which can hamper your success.
Why weight is an important number
The last important element of your profile is your weight. Though we encourage you to focus your goals on metrics outside that number on the scale, like activity level, this number helps 8fit accurately calculate the total calories in your meal plan.
These four key pieces of information – your goal, body fat percentage, activity level and weight – are used to calculate your target weight, which we then use to create your customized workout and meal plans. With 8fit, you’ll reach your goal in a healthy, sustainable way and we’ll guide you through every step of the process.
Speaking of steps… now’s a great time to get moving with 8fit workouts!
8fit workouts
Based on your current fitness level and goal, we help you select a suitable workout level at which to begin. Every workout should be challenging, but doable and enjoyable. So, if you’re sweating and out of breath, that’s OK. But, if you can’t complete the number of reps or duration of exercise suggested, the workout level is too difficult. On the flip side, if you are breezing through workouts without trouble, the level is too easy.
To ensure you start at the right level, our 8fit coaches developed a 10-minute, no-equipment fitness test. If you missed the fitness test when you first logged in, or simply want to retake it, navigate to the “Workouts” section and select “Change level.” This is also where you can view your current program and self-select your next workout in the program.
Cooking with 8fit
Of course, fitness is only part of your wellness journey. Following your customized 8fit meal plan will accelerate your success. To customize your meal plan preferences, click the “Settings” icon (⚙) at the top of the “Meals” section of the app. Here, you can make updates to the number of meals and snacks you consume per day (we recommend 3 meals and 1 snack) and make other meal plan customizations, like:
Diet preferences: Are you vegan? We have recipes for you. Set your diet preferences (i.e. vegan, vegetarian, standard, paleo, or custom), then exclude any ingredient allergies or ingredients you don’t like on the next screen by crossing out those ingredients. So if you’re lactose intolerant and don’t like broccoli, we’ll exclude dairy and broccoli from your meal plan, just like that.
Recipe difficulty: In this step, you can choose what kind of recipes you want, to build a meal plan that works for you and your lifestyle. Your meal plan can prioritize recipes with five ingredients or less, those that can be prepared in under 10 minutes, are affordable, family-friendly, or even gourmet.
Meal variety: The last step in setting up your meal plan is choosing how much variety you want. If you’re new to cooking or if you enjoy Sunday meal prep you can choose to have the same meals repeat all week long by choosing the option “low variety.” If you have time and love cooking, or know that variety will help you to be successful in sticking with the plan, choose “always different.”
So you know: each 8fit recipe has recommended ingredient alternatives. So, if you don’t like broccoli, you can swap it for another vegetable directly in the recipe.
Also, your meal plan isn’t set in stone. If this week’s lunch doesn’t look appealing, simply click “Change” (🔁) to swap it for another. And, don’t worry, calorie and nutrition information is automatically updated as you make changes to your meal plan. The options and customization possibilities are endless.
Your shopping list
Once your meal plan is created, your shopping list is automatically populated with the food quantities you need for this week’s meals. Amazing, right? Click on the shopping cart (🛒) at the top of your “Meals” section to access your list and then choose the date range you would like to shop for.
Updating your profile
For much of your profile, you can “set it and forget it”, like your profile photo, email preferences and more, but as your progress in your 8fit journey, some elements of your profile might need fine-tuning, like your dietary preferences and goals. You can update your preferences anytime in your 8fit profile tab – access yours by selecting the “Profile” icon in the bottom right-hand corner.
Be patient
It takes time for your body to adjust to changes, so be patient with yourself on this journey. Remember that as you start to exercise, you might feel tired or sore, and as you adjust to healthy eating, you might notice changes in your digestion. These feelings are normal and temporary. We’re willing to bet that after two weeks of sticking with your 8fit plan, you’ll feel absolutely amazing.
It’s time to start
Now that your workout level is set and your meal plan is fully customized, it’s time to being your wellness journey. By making these first steps, you’re already on your way to being a fitter, healthier you.
Change starts now.
