Anyone else use this app on their phones?

I've been tracking my diet recently, and have lowered my caloric intake to sub 1500 per day. You enter your meal or recipe, and it will calculate the portion size and calories of the portion, and you add it to a diary. Once entered, it subtracts from your caloric goal for the day.

For example...Yesterday I made a fruit smoothie for breakfast, which clocked in at 345 calories. For lunch, I had a huge, and I mean huge salad which clocked in at 154 calories. Most of those calories came from the salad dressing. For a snack, I had a half a cucumber and a handful of olives, which came in to just under 60 calories. That meant I still had around 940 calories left for dinner. For dinner, I had a 6" roast beef sub from Subway, which came in at 320 calories. For desert, I had a sugar free popcicle at 20 calories. I ended my day with less than 1000 calories taken in.

The database used in this application is vast, and has information on nearly any food you can think of. If you can't find it, you can scan the product's bar code and it will pull the data from that. It's really simple to use.

Being a diabetic, and now on insulin, losing weight is even more difficult for me. My glucose numbers are finally under control (another medication prescribed really screwed those numbers up for me), but I gained 8 pounds inside of 2 weeks after starting. In a week of using the app, I've lost 4 of those pounds easily.

I've found it amazing at the amount and selection of foods that I can eat that won't contribute to weight gain. Heck...a bag of spring mix salad, which makes one hell of a big salad, is only 20 calories. 2 tablespoons of dressing, which is one serving, is nearly 100 calories. I have learned that I can add a table spoon of red wine vinegar and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar to it, and really bring some great flavor to an otherwise boring salad, without adding calories and very little sugar.

Since exercise is nearly impossible for me, and the fact that the doctor has told me to not even try out of safety, calorie counting is the only way for me to do this.

If anyone else is using the app, what are your experiences with it? Has it helped you like it seems to be helping me?

__________________
1987 560SL
85,000 miles

I tried it when I first started dieting, and was just too much of a PITA for me to log things.

I'm now just preparing my meals, and have a rough estimate of what I need to consume in order to maintain my weight, given my exercise routine. It's easier than logging everything, and has been working for me for a few months now.

__________________
-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

I may wind up feeling the same way eventually, but for now, it's working for me. Between this app, and another that tracks my glucose readings, I think I'm finally on the right road.

That damned insulin causes weight gain, which isn't good for a diabetic. It's one of those damned if you do, damned if you don't situations. It makes it harder and you become more creative to lose the pounds.

__________________
1987 560SL
85,000 miles

I use the two apps attached to my legs and walk enough not to turn into a fattie. Sometimes, I even run or cycle...

Hey jp, congrats on being proactive and taking charge of your situation. I lost almost 60 lbs two years ago by simply eating healthy and it was easier than I thought. If you can teach yourself to eat strictly for health and not pleasure you'll be home-free. I think that's the biggest hurdle for most dieters. I have no experience with the app, but if it works for you then stick with it.

Best of luck and keep us posted of you progress

the app sounds good. I also lost (ok, it was only 20 lbs) by eating better and exercising more.
For a while, I just kept a text list of what I ate (incl. cal. count if it was easy to find), and then if I wanted to know how many cals I went back and did addition or guessed.
Just the act of writing down what you eat is an eye opener for most people. it also lets you observe nutrition, variety, time of day and other non-numeric things.

As a guy in my .mil unit once said, "you can't outrun a bad diet"

-John

__________________
2009 Kia Sedona
2009 Honda Odyssey EX-L
12006 Jetta Pumpe Duse
(insert Mercedes here)

Husband, Father, sometimes friend =)

I'm sure I've discussed my health issues here over the years multiple times. Without boring you with details, I'm still unable to exercise much, but have found ways to make it work for me...floor cycle, bands, etc.

In March of last year, I weighed my all time highest at 314. I finally decided that I had had enough of that crap, and placed myself on a 1300 calorie a day diet, watching and counting every calorie I took in. I drove my wife nuts by measuring everything that went on my plate, and studying recipes. However, after 6 month of strict diet and very moderate exercise I can do while sitting, I have lost 54 pounds.

I have been fighting the stall that I'm in right now...I haven't been able to break through the 260 barrier yet...I keep bouncing off of it by 2-3 pounds, and after a month of trying, still can't break it. I'm not giving up, but it's a hell of a battle to break this stall.

I set a goal of 100 pounds within 12 months, but may not make that if I don't break through this wall soon.

I've decided that next week, my calories will be cut for a time, until I can break the 260 mark...and 900 calories a day, with diet filled with huge salads and morning smoothies is the way. I did this with the wall that I hit at 290, and after a week, broke it and quickly shed the weight to my current stall.

My doc has finally decided that insulin coupled with oral medication would work better to bring my A1C down, and it's working. Coupled with my new eating habits and diet compromised of primarily rabbit food, my morning glucose hasn't been over 110 in a few months...where my normal numbers used to be in the 350 and higher range.

Yes, I'm bragging...54 pounds is a hell of an accomplishment in 6 months. Another 50ish pounds is my goal, and I will make it there.

To give an idea of my diet now...Breakfast is either a fruit smoothie or a 1/2 cup of granola with 1/2 cup of skim milk and a handful of craisins. Calorie intake at breakfast is generally 350-400 calories. Lunch is always 3 or more cups of spring mix salad, with a homemade vinaigrette dressing which clocks in at around 150 calories, making the salad fall in under or around 200 calories. Afternoon snack is either all I can eat celery sticks or bell peppers...neither has much of an impact on calories for the day, and are hardly ever counted because of that. Dinner is whatever the wife makes for everyone else...just a much smaller amount...tonight was a 4oz piece of pork loin, 2 cups of normandy mixed vegetables. Desert is always a sugar free popcicle. Today's intake was a grand total of 1123 calories, and I was stuffed.

Since the salad mix is 20 calories for 3 cups, and vinegar is a freebie, I add vinegar to the dressing the wife made to stretch it out enough so I have some on all the leaves...making the salad easier to go down, so to speak.

I've learned that frozen berries are about 40-50 calories per cup, and sometimes have 2 cups with a spoon of stevia sprinkled on top as a snack. The berries also kick start the metabolism, which is what I've eaten a lot of to shed the weight.

As I said, I'm bragging...because it's working. My overall goal is to lose a total of 100 pounds, but will likely wind up losing more before I'm done. I have a doctor's appointment next week for a check up. I weighed 280 at my last appointment, 3 months ago. I can't wait to see his reaction when I step on the scale and my labs come back!

__________________
1987 560SL
85,000 miles

You are doing an impressive job. This point in the dieting cycle is rough, as you get tired of rabbit food and have more cheating incidents.

Im starting a new diet as well, started an extra job a few months ago that has a lot of driving, and my lunch choices have been invariably bad. That combined with inactivity while driving will help me reach some serious obesity if i dont watch it

I will check out this app, sounds pretty useful

__________________
This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

It's extremely useful. It causes me to think and re-think my dining choices. It also allows me the ability to set my calorie intake, and adjust as needed. I can also add in my exercise, and it automatically adjusts for approximate calories burned. Also, since your on the road at eat things you shouldn't, you can scan the barcode of the food and it comes up to be entered into your day. Simple to use...

__________________
1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Just be careful from a perspective of nutrition. 900 calories a day means that you have to be very deliberate in food choices to be sure that you're not setting yourself up for a nutritional deficiency.

A temporary, short term cut in intake won't harm me much...fasting has been going on forever. My small cut will only last a few days.

__________________
1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Drink a gallon of water and eat half pound of bad meat. Use plenty of replacement water as necessary for the next 48 hours. Guaranteed to drop at least 5, maybe 10# and clean you out from top to bottom as well as your septic system