With Halloween right around the corner (and the urge to consume massive amounts of candy), sticking to eating right can be quite the challenge. Of course Thanksgiving and holiday parties aren't going to make it any easier in the diet department...
So, if weight loss or weight maintenance is the goal, it's best to find a solution that works now before being surrounded by candy and other delicious things. To help you prepare for the deluge of yum, here are some apps to help you keep track of what you're eating.
iPad
SparkPeople Diet & Fitness Tracker: It's easy to see why this app, suggested by reader SRtroy, is a favourite, as it leverages the well regarded SparkPeople resources wisely and helps you keep track of meals and fitness. Free
CalorieKing Calorie Counter: What makes this app special is it not only has the calorie information for meals you can make at home, it also includes calorie info from some fast food chains (not that weight conscious folks should really be eating there). Free
Livestrong Calorie Tracker: With stats boasting that over 4 million people have lost weight through using this calorie tracker, it's worth checking out. The look of this app makes it stand out compared to many others and makes tracking calories almost a pleasure. Also available on Android. Free, $2.99
Android
Noom Weight Loss Coach: By far our clear favourite when it comes to this category of apps for Android — we wish this app was available for iOS! Going beyond simply listing what you've eaten or what exercises you've done, this smart looking app has a nice well-rounded approach that is more akin to a coach, hence its name. With this app there is still the food awareness, fitness, and motivation pieces, but there is also an overall weight loss plan that is customized for you that all of these pieces tie into. Although the app is free, for the full coach experience one must pay $10 a month. Free
Lose It!: Built in barcode scanner makes counting packaged foods a snap, although if you are serious about weight loss it does make sense to avoid these types of foods. Of course you can also track your exercise in addition to your meals and share this information with your friends. Free
MyFitnessPal Calorie Counter: We covered this app when we did our get in shape for spring roundup, and we would be remiss to leave it out. With a large community to draw from, the emphasis with this app is on connecting with friends in order to stay motivated, which is so helpful when trying to keep those calories down. Free
What are your favourite food tracking apps?
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I've used a few of these apps before, but I'm excited to see some ones I haven't heard of on this list to try out. I know myfitnesspal is really popular and a well-designed app, but when I compared it to other tracking apps it was actually UNDER counting my calories on average- not a good thing! I've also used the caloriecount from about.com app with good success, which isn't on this list.
I use myfitnesspal (available on windows phone, yay!) and it's great. The first thing I do in the morning is weigh myself and enter the number, so it's been great for helping me freak out less about weight fluctuations; I can look at it and know that I suddenly weigh two pounds more than yesterday so it must just be water retention since I can't have actually gained that much.
I try to be honest with how many calories I'm consuming but I see how you could under count them - if you search for something like "ham and cheese sandwich" or "pasta with chicken" you will probably get tons of results that are hundreds of calories apart - choosing the lower one is tempting and so much less of a pain than entering all your ingredients separately.
All calories are not equal, and if you think I am wrong, you are probably struggling with your weight. Sorry to be so blunt, but the health and nutrition advice we have been given since the early 80s (in particular, as a jumping off point of misinformation) about all calories being equal no matter the source, etc. is just plain wrong. If you find what I am saying infuriating, you are having the correct response. We've been lied to about the most important aspects of our lives - our health.
To clarify, when I say under counted I mean that for the precise item I ate (I don't select the general item or the option with the least calories, I'll either enter a specific recipe or find the exact item in the database...) myfitnesspal on average listed the specific item as less calories than caloriecount.about.com or thedailyplate on livestrong. (Livestrong and caloriecount were generally the same.) I've lost over 50 lbs with exercise and (nutritionally-conscious) calorie counting and have maintained a healthy weight for several years. When I was using myfitnesspal, the general under counting definitely affected my weight. I guess my point is try using 2-3 different sites to make sure that what you're counting is as accurate as it can be.
@ home body: Agreed. I don't feel so bad by eating 200 calories in nuts, as I do if it's just from sugar.
Still try to stay within my calories, which is amazingly easy once a lot of vegetables have been added.
I need an app that counts calories and gives suggestions for adding even more. I'm severely underweight and trying to gain, but no one has anything specifically for people like me.
Home body, I both agree and disagree with your comment. Some calories are from better quality foods and thus do more for your health (200 calories of nuts is better than 200 calories of sugar). And, the nuts will fill you up more, so you will be less likely to overeat. But, if you are trying to lose weight, you have to cut calories, and from that perspective alone, I don't think it matters if you cut the 200 calories of nuts or the 200 calories of sugar. I also think when you use these kinds of apps, you start to eat healthier because you quickly figure out that you can eat 2 cups of broccoli or a tiny piece of cheese, and you might just choose the broccoli because you are hungry! Therefore, I really recommend these apps to anyone trying to lose weight. I used My Fitness Pal (not the social connection part), but I'm sure you would get good results using any of them. I lost 30 pounds and have maintained my weight for about a year.
I stumbled across an app that included an individual's energy level and mood, but can't find it again. I think this information would help keep me mindful of, not only calories, the foods that make me sleepy or unmotivated.
Does anyone know the name of this app?
Highlander - I believe you want FitDay.com
@ek76 let me first preface this comment by saying I am not trying to argue - I promise! But I drastically changed my diet (I'm eating paleo) and lost weight with no other changes. If anything, I have actually increased my caloric intake. That's the mind bending thing (at least to me) because I was already eating very healthily, at least by modern American standards. I originally started this diet to tackle a health issue, so when the weight that I had long ago made peace with started melting off, I was both thankful and felt like I had been duped - for decades! Sugars and carbs affect our bodies in ways far more nefarious than just excess calories. They cause hormonal imbalances, systemic inflammation, improper nutrient absorption, and the list goes on. And if we eat this way long enough, even the healthy among us begin to get sick and/or fat - I feel like I am a canary in the goldmine example.
I just started using My Fitness Pal on my iPhone about a week ago. I really like it. I also use Map My Run, to track my distance and speed for walks. But when I go to input the calorie information from my exercise, the MFP total is always fairly different from the MMR total. Weird...