CoachBioArt

It’s so simple and yet so hard to do right… I have been trying to keep track of what I eat for a long time. The problem is that many times you don’t really have access to the nutritional info or don’t have time to write things down. There are many tools out there that try to do this, but most of them are really not that useful…. why? limited built-in libraries. Most of them use the FDA food list. This list only contains about 7500 items and some of those are a little esoteric (Beluga whale anyone?)

The best one out there in my opinion is the Calorie King website (calorieking.com). They publish a book with over 50K foods and it contains info on most restaurants/etc. The best part about it is that you can use go on the website on your computer or you can use the fairly light-weight mobile site. They have a Mac/Windows app, but it does not sync the way I want it to. It can sync from the Win/Mac/PalmOS app to the website, but not backwards, so the website is the only one that is maintained current. I don’t use the apps anymore because of this, but by being able to update my food intake while at the restaurant, it’s harder to forget what I eat. The website is only about 10 dollars a month, but it is really useful. Adding custom foods and exercises is pretty easy and given their database size, it’s a rare occurrence.

I wish there was a native app for Windows Mobile that did this, but I can live with the website. I’ve looked at some of the Ipod/Iphone apps, but haven’t really used them as much. I believe there is one that has a large library, but since I don’t have an Iphone, I don’t want to rely on carrying the Ipod with me at all times.

I have learned that it is really important to keep track of everything.  I set my goals to have about 2000 calories a day, <65g of fat, <200g carbs and <200g of protein (trying to maximize protein).  The days I don’t keep track are the days I miss those targets… seeing it throughout the day helps me decide what I should I and should not eat for dinner (if I strayed during the day .  Before keeping track of my intake, I know there were days I would have >3500 calories… food is tasty and I like to eat!  Now I know better and make decisions based on my goals and not my cravings.  Sure, it’s nice to splurge every now and then and have some extra cheese, but it isn’t worth it on a regular basis.  The results I’ve gotten so far are much more rewarding!