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Calorie counting, food management App.

K

katie ta achoo

Blogger emeritus
Original poster
May 2, 2005
9,166
5
I've decided it's diet time. I feel fat and lethargic.
I know involving my Mac will help me keep up with it.. if I have an application looking me in the face, I can't really ignore it and sink back into my old ways.

SO, I've been downloading a few tracking apps from the OS X downloads page and from VersionTracker.

I liked Calorie King and how easy it was to use, but alas she was a 7 day trial, and costs $45.
I do not have $45. I get minimum wage and only have about 13 hours of work MAX.
While I am willing to spend SOME money for an app, I do not have $50 :eek: (also, they don't take paypal.)

Do any of y'all know of any apps like this for less money? I've also looked at Shop'n'Cook Pro, but it does not frost my cookies. (well.. it does not apply calorie-free frosting to my fat-free vegan fiber oat cake cookies.:D)

Or, if It would still be low cost/free, I am willing to look up nutritional info for all Xnumber of foods and ingredients I would be partaking in. I just want something to keep track and add it all up for me. I like being able to drag and drop. If I gain knowledge while losing weight, that'd be an OK trade-off. *shrug*

Premature thank you!
 
Since no one has answered, and this is in the realm of what I do for a living, let me suggest that sitting in front of your Mac is not the best way to lose weight. Neither is counting calories. Buy a $2 pocket sized notebook and write down everything you eat and where and why you are eating it. Also keep track of how much activity you are getting. Review you notes daily and it is often obvious how you could improve. There is a great deal more, but this will get you started. And if you make minimum wage at MacDonalds, bring your own lunch. Best wishes.
 
i read and used The Hacker's Diet which has a pretty extensive Excel spreadsheet to track calories and weight trends - and its totally free.

but

what i found out is that calorie counting is only half the battle - i dropped to about 1600 calories per day (down from at least 3000+ per day) and i dropped about 25 pounds almost immediately... but then i plateau and did not loose more, so i stopped and promptly put it all back on. the reason being is that i did not exercise. thats the key to really loosing serious weight.

Nutritiondata.com is pretty good to get all the calorie info you need, but i use a different one that for the life of me i cannot remember the URL to - ill edit the post later tonight when i get home and let you know.

the other thing you MUST MUST MUST OWN is a digital food scale. this is critically important. plus they only cost $10 or so.
 
If you can, Calorie King really is worth the money. It is very easy to use and has pretty much ever type of food imaginable. It also can track your physical activities and tell how many calories you have burned. I have it and once you get into a routine of using it, it just becomes another thing to do for a meal. I spend enough time at my computer that the I can spend an extra couple of minutes to input everything. It is also nice to see your progress over time.
 
shecky said:
i read and used The Hacker's Diet which has a pretty extensive Excel spreadsheet to track calories and weight trends - and its totally free.
...
the other thing you MUST MUST MUST OWN is a digital food scale. this is critically important. plus they only cost $10 or so.
Click to expand...

I think the Excel spreadsheets are what I'm looking for. I kind of go about it 'backwards' in that I'll plan a day of eating, then print it, then follow it. If I have a guide for what I'm doing, a checklist of foods that I can follow, then I'll be bale to do it better-- it's how I function. Plus I can make new "days" at uni, I have a lot of down time between classes, and it's too rainy and miserable to go and walk about, otherwise I would. *waits for February*

And I'll pop over to Target tonight and pick up a scale. I've been meaning to pick up one for a while.. we only have a really old, spring-based scale that I'm sure has lost its tension by now. Darn you, spring constant! :)

Thanks for reminding me about the Hacker's Diet! I totally had forgotten about it! :)
 
katie ta achoo said:
And I'll pop over to Target tonight and pick up a scale. I've been meaning to pick up one for a while.. we only have a really old, spring-based scale that I'm sure has lost its tension by now. Darn you, spring constant! :)
Click to expand...

yep... i found that understanding what the portion sizes of food really are is incredibly helpful - until you get a really good feel for what 8oz. of chicken looks like the scale is indispensable, along with measuring cups and a set of measuring spoons for oil, sugar, etc..
 
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