By Carey Rossi on January 31, 2012 in
Actually, there are hundreds of apps and websites to help you count calories: the ones you are burning and the ones you are consuming. If you're turning to technology to keep your balance in check, read these user reviews below. ConsumerSearch found six women who have enlisted their computers and mobile devices (and have been doing so for at least six months) to track their efforts. Here's what they're using and their results.
Maria Sanoguet, New York City
Uses: Dailyburn Tracker ("I actually have input every single thing I've eaten since April 2011 with the exception of the last week of December.")
Why? "I wanted to lose weight and I've actually lost 21 pounds."
Likes: "I like using this tool because it forces me to be accountable for every calorie I consume. I think my major problem before was I would eat healthy food but I would eat a lot of it. Using the tracker has made me aware of my calorie consumption and I try not to consume over the daily limit. I also like that it shows you a calendar so you can look at an entire month and see how many calories you've consumed and burned through exercise daily. "
Dislikes: "Their availability of a Blackberry app! (There isn't one.)"
Recommend? Yes.
Ali Luchetti, New York City
Uses: Dailyburn Tracker ("Though not as religiously as Maria"). "I like it a lot. It does have an app for the iPhone, iPad and Android, but I use the website."
Why? "I am using it so I can keep track of my daily calorie intake and be accountable for what I am eating."
Likes: "I love that you can look up the calorie count for basically any food on the market."
Dislikes: "I don't think it gives you an accurate gauge of what your daily calorie intake should be if you are trying to lose weight. For example, I entered my current height, weight and my goal weight and it said I need 2,300 calories a day, whereas my doctor said I need to stick to around 1,600-1,700 calories a day."
Recommend? Yes. "But if you are trying to lose weight, speak with your doctor or a nutritionist to find out how many calories you need per day in order to lose.
Laurie Sharlow, Los Angeles
Uses: MyFitnessPal
Why? "I found great weight loss success a few years ago using a website similar to the app, but I wanted something more flexible to track my food on the go. Today I use the app to check calories of different foods and to put together calorie counts for recipes. It has definitely helped me stay on track with my weight management goals which given the busy schedule I have is a great thing!"
Likes: "I really like being able to enter recipes and get the calories and nutritional facts by serving. I also LOVE the barcode scanner feature! Talk about ease in entering info!"
Dislikes: "I don't think there's enough info on exercise. I would like it to have a better way to calculate calories burned when the activity I'm doing isn't in their database."
Recommend? Yes.
Darlene Kalina Salvador, Los Angeles
Uses: Both MyFitnessPal and BodyBuggSP (24 Hour Fitness' calorie tracker). "I've used both apps for about a year, but I am more consistent with the BodyBugg because it has the armband that records my calories burned without me having to log in my activities, which is required by MyFitnessPal."
Why? "I starting using the apps to try and lose weight and keep track of my caloric intake and expenditure. It does help. I've learned to spread out my caloric intake throughout the day and to also get my butt moving when I have not burned enough calories."
Likes: "With MyFitnessPal, I love that you can scan a bar code for foods you have consumed to add to your log. This makes things easier. I also love that it has the nutritional factors listed. The BodyBugg does not have these features. MyFitnessPal also requires you to add your water consumption, which I believe is important to track. The BodyBugg details both target (goal) calories to burn along with calories to consume. Also, the BodyBugg goes a little bit more in depth with calculating your body's lean mass and measurements."
Dislikes: "If I could take the two apps and mesh them together along with the armband calorie tracker by BodyBugg this would be perfect. The BodyBugg has a bunch of "bugs" they are starting to fix. I've emailed them and told them that as a trainer I would not recommend this product because it is so frustrating to log things in."
Recommend? "Overall, I would recommend the BodyBugg once they workout the kinks. It's not the most attractive accessory for women, especially if you have to wear a sleeveless outfit."
Chantal Latulippe Francisco, Palm Springs, Calif.
Uses: SparkPeople
Why? "I used CalorieKing religiously a few years ago when I lost 60 pounds. I pre-logged everything I ate for a period of about a year. But I moved over to SparkPeople's app."
Likes: "Both the app and online versions are very versatile and adaptable. It has so many people using it that almost any and every food imaginable is already in its database (from food bought at Trader Joe's to coffee or food from Starbucks, etc)."
Dislikes: "I've run into some snags on the app entering portions, as it's not as easy to quickly tell if the menu item is entered in such a way as to be able to enter by grams, ounces, etc."
Recommend? Yes.
Carey Rossi, ConsumerSearch's Health, Family and Fitness Editor
Uses: CalorieCount
Why? (In the interest of full disclosure, CalorieCount is also owned by the About Group, which owns ConsumerSearch.) "I decided to test the app when it was announced it used voice recognition to input your exercise and meals. I was intrigued and had started a food log --using a notebook and pen -- anyway."
Likes: "Between keeping track of recently logged foods, indicating foods as favorites, and searching the food database through typing, talking or barcode scanning, recording my meals and snacks is easy. I also like that I can keep track of water consumption and my weight. I really like the analytics that the website provides but the app doesn't."
Dislikes: "Logging exercise is a pain because exercises are difficult to find or determine which matches your activity. I gave up on that aspect completely and now only log my food. Also, some of the nutrition facts for foods don't match the packages, which I found particularly frustrating after scanning an item's bar code."
Recommend? Yes.
Ultimately these tools are not going to be 100 percent accurate. The goal of these programs is to make you more aware of what and how much food you are eating. If anything, these women prove that taking the effort to track your food yields results... and isn't that the whole point?