Calorie counting apps

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  • snorko

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    It's time to get super cereal about weight loss and I am looking for a good functional calorie counting app. I have no experience with these and want to know what everyone's experiences have been.

    I mainly just want to be able to enter foods and amounts and have it tabulate daily totals. I would prefer not to have to join or subscribe to anything, just want the tool.
     

    snorko

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    OK, downloaded and installed. Should be interesting to use. I sense behavioral modification coming on via technological intimidation.
     

    hoosierdoc

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    OK, downloaded and installed. Should be interesting to use. I sense behavioral modification coming on via technological intimidation.

    Hah, yep! Anything you track will improve.

    It's more than calories in versus out. I ate two meals out yesterday and gained two pounds despite 30 mins walking on treadmill. I think sodium plays a huge role in weight management day to day. I should pee it all out in a few days back on fresh cooked food.
     

    glank09

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    Water also plays a huge deal in healthiness/weight loss. In my many weight loss attempts I have definitely seen more weight loss when drinking more water. I usually try for a minimum of 1/2 oz of water per day per pound of body weight.
     

    snorko

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    I try only to weigh myself once a week. I try to pay more attention to how I feel in general, how clothes fit, etc. I already drink a lot of water. Typically 1-2 liters at work and about the same in the evening.
     

    Bfish

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    One thing I like about the app too is that a lot of times you can scan the barcode of the bread or eggs or oatmeal, or whatever you happen to be eating and input your serving sizes and you are good to go without lots of headache. It's also nice to that if you eat the same thing frequently it keeps it in a queue basically and you can select it quickly and it's pretty easy I think.
     

    OutdoorDad

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    iTrackBites is a good simulation of the weight watchers app/program if you’re looking for something a little different than just net calories.

    It supports the “points” or “points plus” system. As well as activity bonuses.
     

    Jordan_J

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    As mentioned, My Fitness Pal seems to have the best app with some great changes. I have been using it for a few years now but after having a kid a couple years ago I fell off the fitness bandwagon for a while until this past spring but I have been tracking calories since about a year ago and have been able to lose over 30 lbs with it's help. I don't know if you have an iPhone or Android (or some other kind) but if you link something like a FitBit or Apple's health app to it, it will track your walking and activity to give you an accurate amount of calories you could eat each day. The barcode scanner is nice when you're first setting up "meals" or to scan items you haven't used before, the food selection is amazing and there's even local food chains in the app. You can also set up "meals" or whatever it was called where after you add all of the items in that meal you just select that meal to add all the items for you which is nice.

    If you care to listen, I've got some tips I've picked up along the way. Like I mentioned above, I used to be into fitness and I would bulk and cut a few times during my lifting career. The cut always sucked and I hated it but I also ate really "clean" and healthy and would end up gaining weight back when I was done because I started eating junk again. What I learned was to just worry about your calories at first, over time, you can start making changes to help you out in the long run. I decided I wanted more flexibility with dinner so I eat a few things for breakfast that are basically the same but I enjoy like a bacon, egg, and cheese muffin or some eggs and oatmeal. Anymore I don't have to count calories as much since I know about what I am going to take in from breakfast and my few snacks I usually eat. I will occasionally spot check to make sure I'm not eating too much. After a while of eating few calories with a lot of junk you start to want more filling food and that's usually when I started to eat more vegetables with meals to help ensure I am getting filled and now my stomach/appetite has shrunk quite a bit so it doesn't bother me to not eat as much as when I first started. I'd say if you kept your calories at "maintenance" level you will probably lose a little weight if you're used to overeating daily. Anymore I just eat about 300 calories less than what I need a day and so I lose about 3-4 lbs a month. It's a slow progress but I'm not trying to burn myself out and overeat like I have done after finishing some more aggressive cuts in the past. Make sure you don't feel guilty about eating whatever pleasure foods you have just also watch the portions. You can find pictures of what portions sizes should be like such as a pack of playing cards is equivalent to a portion of french fries. That helps out if you don't want to weigh your food. I will measure food with a measuring cup but I don't have a scale anymore so I just visually estimate sizes anymore.
     

    snorko

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    Lots of good info JJ, thanks. Work has me putting in crazy hours which makes dinners especially difficult. I am shifting towards having a few basic meals available like healthy soups, cooked lean meats, etc so when I leave my office at 8:00 I don't have to hit fast food.

    One cool thing I discovered recently was the Chinese takeaway near my house has a healthy menu section. They basically steam/blanch the chicken, 0shrimp or tofu and veggies and serve the sauce on the side. And the sauce has no added sugar, salt, msg or corn starch.
     

    hoosierdoc

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    If you can bring a prepared meal to work that helps a lot. Especially if you eat it right before coming home. I bought protein drinks at Costco and would drink on my way home so I don't binge at 3am
     

    dprimm

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    I tried a couple of apps a few years ago. Sounds like the same problem exist that made my using the app nearly impossible. We rarely eat out and cook from scratch most of the time. So recipes would have to be entered for every meal. What a pain!

    If you do pre-made foods the apps are great.
     

    Jordan_J

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    Lots of good info JJ, thanks. Work has me putting in crazy hours which makes dinners especially difficult. I am shifting towards having a few basic meals available like healthy soups, cooked lean meats, etc so when I leave my office at 8:00 I don't have to hit fast food.

    One cool thing I discovered recently was the Chinese takeaway near my house has a healthy menu section. They basically steam/blanch the chicken, 0shrimp or tofu and veggies and serve the sauce on the side. And the sauce has no added sugar, salt, msg or corn starch.

    The other guys have some good advice too. I have protein powder to help me after my workouts but I have taken them when I know I won't be eating for a while so I don't overeat. Like if I have a late breakfast and don't really have lunch I may drink a shake and a simple snack so that when dinner comes around I don't have a ton of crap. I prepare my lunch and eat it at my desk at work but I also take a snack to have before I workout. We have a fitness room at work so I eat my snack late morning and workout at lunch and eat at my desk later in the afternoon. Most people eat at their desk and a lot of people workout on lunch so it isn't frowned upon here. Easy meals are sometimes the best to help you out if you're busy. I don't have time to workout after work and I don't want to wake up at 4 am to do it before work so I am lucky enough to cram it in at lunch but sometimes I do cardio at night but it keeps me up later than I want to be usually. If I ever switch jobs again I will determine what's best there but for now the lunch workout helps.

    I usually keep some granola bars and trail mix in my desk at work and will bring other stuff like Greek yogurt, light string cheese, fruit, cottage cheese, or whatever else needs chilled in my lunch bag with my lunch. It helps to look for "light/low-fat" options and like you said about the Chinese place, there's usually a "light/low calorie" menu at a lot of places which helps. I think someone else mentioned it that it's basically calories in vs calories out and that's true. I didn't do cardio at all at first. If you need 2400 calories to maintain and you eat 2100 you'll lose weight. But if you do some cardio too and burn 300 calories that essentially puts you at 1800 so you could eat a little more if you wanted. It's up to you on how you do it and whether or not you want to do cardio at all or if you want to just lose weight based solely on cutting back on food. People have said in the past that you have to eat 6 small meals a day or whatever but all that does is help you not eat at much at any "feeding". You could eat one meal a day if you wanted as long as it stayed under your maintenance level. A friend of mine does "intermittent fasting" where he skips breakfast and all food until after noon so that he can eat more for lunch and dinner. He manages to run a lot while "fasting" and will occasionally lift weights but I personally can't do it on an empty stomach so I stick to the light meals. He says you get used to it but I don't know if I care to try it.


    I tried a couple of apps a few years ago. Sounds like the same problem exist that made my using the app nearly impossible. We rarely eat out and cook from scratch most of the time. So recipes would have to be entered for every meal. What a pain!

    If you do pre-made foods the apps are great.

    You can go through My Fitness Pal and create your own meals using your own ingredients. It's a PITA the first time but after that your custom meals are always in there. I hardly ever eat out too so it really helped me with my meals. The nice thing is you can scan the barcodes for the items you use in your meal to add them quickly and then just select that meal.
     

    ryanbr

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    Oct 12, 2008
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    Ive lost 60 lbs since end of Ju;y. Use my fitness pal app and going to gym. Been slacking on the gym lately do to extra work. I work a 12 hour swingshift where we work 3 12's days off 3 then 3 12's nights. always OT on 3 days off. The shift has taken its toll thats for sure. 60lbs down tho I feel like a new person and its a great feeling when someone doesnt recognize you becuase you lost weight!
     
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