There's an App for That: Dieting in the New Year

I began working out with my daughter several weeks ago and at the end of each "event" in the gym, she pulled out her phone and began TEXTING! I mean, seriously...

Actually, she wasn't texting, she was logging in her information to an app on her phone that keeps up with her diet, her exercise, and her general progress with her program to get fit. 

She uses myfitnesspal to track her progress. Even when we work with a trainer, she puts that workout in...and when she stops at Taco Bell on the way home, she logs that in. Myfitnesspal is a free app that boasts: "We believe — and medical studies prove — that the best way to lose weight and keep it off forever is to simply keep track of the foods you eat. Gimmicky machines and fad diets don't work, so we designed a free website and mobile apps that make calorie counting and food tracking easy."

Another free app rated in the top 5 by Mashable.com is MyNetDiary. It claims a large food catalog with nutritional information for 480,000 foods. Users can track food portions using either grams, ounces, cups, etc. making data entry more accurate. Recommended daily intake is determined based on your age, height, weight, gender and activity level. 

And DietPoint sounded pretty interesting to me. With lots of pre-loaded diet plans, from Vegan to Paleo, you choose the one that interests you. Load in your initial data and goals, then it provides shopping lists, reminders, updates and everything except maybe that amazing "OMG! YOU LOOK GREAT" that it takes to maintain a diet after the first week.

The secret? Being honest about your food intake. These apps are only as good as the data you give them...sort of like Internet dating, but that's a story for another day.

~ Loganville Patch

Have you found any dieting apps helpful in assisting with tracking progress for diet and health purposes?