devora
"A great app to keep your health in check"
Fitness, Nutrition and Overall Personal Wellness
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A great app to keep your health in check
-
Jun 22, 2011
- by devora
- posted in iApps
Rating:
One of my new years resolutions this year was to be healthier, which includes eating better. For the most part, I've been pretty health conscious for most of my life, but had just fallen off the wagon a bit and gained a little pudge after I introduced seafood, and then subsequently, other meats back into my diet after a 10+ year hiatus and went through my "OMG, I can eat like, ANYTHING now" phase.
+4
Since diet accounts a lot for your overall fitness, even moreso than physical activity, I felt like a food diary of sorts would be helpful for that. Knowing me, I'd never realistically keep up with keeping an old school paper journal, so I hit up my trusty app store and downloaded the highest rated free food diary app there was -- MyNetDiary -- and it did not disappoint! I've been updating it with my diet and exercise daily/religiously since. Note: this is a review for the free version of the app. There's also a pro version with even more features.
You start off entering your basic info, like age, height, weight, weight goals, when you want reach your goal weight by, etc. My personal goal isn't to necessarily to shift my weight in any drastic direction, but to get fit and toned by making sure I'm putting the right foods and nutrients, and the right amount of it, into my body (I am, afterall, training for Tough Mudder!). I'm looking to shed some fat, gain some muscle, and become overall stronger and healthier. MyNetDiary is marketed as a calorie-counting weight-loss app and doesn't exactly have an option for my goal, but I still find their daily analysis of my diet and exercise really helpful and insightful.
Based on the data that you enter, it gives you tips on how to achieve your goals. For instance, if you're trying to lose 10 pounds by the end of summer, it will calculate how many calories you should consume a day versus the daily recommended average of 2000 calories. Also, after you've entered in at least 400 calories into your food diary in a day, it will give you a more in depth analysis on how much weight you'll lose or gain in a week and a month based on what you've consumed and the calories you've done. It also points out pros and cons of your diet, like too much fat, or too little calcium, and gives tips on how to improve your diet, like eat more fiber in the morning.
Entering in your grub. Below are the ingredients for a salad
Exercise entries
An overview of the day's caloric intake
An analysis of the day's diet and exercise
Highlights of your day's diet and exercise
Nutrients consumed
FYI, there are a few more features of this app that didn't particularly pique my interest, but might be of interest to others -- you can take before and after photos, take measurements, and there's actually a community behind this app so you can share tips and feedback with other people who may be on the same heath track as yourself. There's also a website that syncs up to this app. I visited it once recently and it wasn't impressive. It was actually kind of messy compared to the app, so I'll just stick to the app.Exercise entries
An overview of the day's caloric intake
An analysis of the day's diet and exercise
Highlights of your day's diet and exercise
Nutrients consumed
There's one other pitfall to the app -- the amount of calories burned and the nutritional value of the food that you consume are only loosely approximate. For counting calories burned, I suggest a calorie counting device of sorts, that takes your weight, age, gender, body fat percentage, heart rate, etc, all into account, because the app can't do that. In terms of food, it's already hard enough to measure as it is, but then there's also contributed content, which are food data contributed by members and aren't always accurate. I myself have mistakenly entered in wrong serving sizes for contributed content and had not know how to fix it. So don't use this app as the rule; just use it to eyeball and gauge your exercise and diet.
Despite the few flubs, I still think that this is a great app for anyone who wants to gain or lose weight, or simply just gain insight into their diet. If you have a smartphone, you're likely addicted to it and are on it pretty often, so you have no excuse not to update it. I have to add though, that for optimal fitness results, an app alone is not enough. I suggest reading about exercises and diets that will work in your favor, and even consulting a personal trainer and nutritionist if you can. Having all the knowledge, support and resources behind you will work better for you than blindly going about.
Now I'm on my way to getting getting toned and mud-swimmin' fit ;)
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JSMaresca
February 19, 2012
This is a wonderful tool. The pictures are fantastic. The rules of the road haven't changed a bit. Essentially, cut out junk food, alcohol, sugar, high cholesterol foods, drink more water and exercise. The veggie diet is also a considerable premium. Another good diet is the Paleolithic Diet (Cavepeople) of raw meat, nuts, seeds, veggies, fruits and water. Water is a great substitute for coffee, alcohol and soda.
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golferinfr
June 25, 2011
excellent review...., but I'll stay with my red meat diet with a nice big bake potato, sour cream, chives, bacon bits, and chedder cheese spinkles... =) bobby@myvirtualreviews.com
devora
July 05, 2011
Thanks, Bobby! And that sounds delicious.... :P
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djevoke
June 24, 2011
Oh no!!! It's @jrjohnson's and my fault for getting you back to eating red meat ;p I need an app that is built on fitness and nutrition and not weight loss as well. I actually need one that will help me gain muscle, nutrition and weight the healthy way. So, I might not jump on this bandwagon but, I'm glad it's helping you get mud-swimmin' fit!
devora
June 24, 2011
Yeah, you and @jrjohnson are the defendants in the case to get my figure back ;P What you're looking for in an app is actually what I'm using it for. I did my own research on how to gain muscle, drop fat, eat healthier, etc, and I just use this app as a guide. Good luck with that!
djevoke
June 24, 2011
LOL...I know. Damn that delicious Boulevard! I guess I'm just too time starved to do my own research, I want my apps to do all the work.
golferinfr
June 25, 2011
Nice review Debbie.. =) I'm on the cow diet. Love my red meat with a big bake potato sour cream, bacon bits, chives and toss on some chedder cheese sprinkles ...yum yum golferinfr@myvirtualreviews.com
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woopak_the_thrill
June 24, 2011
Nice! I am pretty much omnivore....but this is a good tool! Gotta have a balance diet!
devora
June 24, 2011
This is great for people of all diets! ;)
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JSMaresca
June 24, 2011
This sounds good. The Paleolithic and Mediterranean Diets accomplish a similar objective. Also, eating after 8PM is not good. Eating just after intense exercise is good because the body metabolism is at a peak and ready to burn calories. Utilize herbs on all food. Good herbal choices are ginger, cinnamon, sage, peppermint and celery apeo. Mustard seeds and sesame seeds are good food additives for salads and soups. Of course, juicing is best for a diet. I utilize the Vitamix 5000 which churns whole fruits and vegetables with absolutely no waste. The high fiber content expels all waste and toxins from the body making you weigh less with fewer bad bacteria in the system. For pizza lovers, buy or make Focaccia pizza. This is pizza without cheese. A good preparation will utilize substitutes for the cheese like seeds and a sprinkling of Romano or Parmisian instead of mounds of cheese in a regular slice of pizza. Home made pizza is even better because the regular dough can be substituted with Pita bread which is much thinner with far fewer calories. Soda is another high content calorie area. A single can of soda can have between 27 and 40 calories when 25 sugar calories is the maximum limit for an entire day. Good substitutes for soda are plain water, seltzer, white wine or diet soda in smaller quantities. I find that nuts, breadsticks and seeds are good snack substitutes. Peppermint Plus is a good tonic for the gastrointestinal tract. This preparation soothes the intestine and throws off a slight smell of peppermint body-wide. Peppermint Plus is an enzyme therapy which is manufactured by Enzymatic Therapy of Green Bay , Wisconsin.
devora
June 24, 2011
Whoa, thanks for all the great tips, J! I like adding raw organic hemp seeds and raw organic nuts to my salads. I keep starchy/carb-y and trans/saturated fatty foods at bay on most days. I'll look up the health benefits of those herbs that you mentioned. And I haven't tried Peppermint Plus, but I love peppermint in general, and I especially love peppermint tea! It's great for digestion :)
JSMaresca
June 25, 2011
The peppermint is great for the gastrointestinal tract. Nuts and seeds are good snack substitutes.
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drifter51
June 22, 2011
What a terrific idea. Sounds like a great way to maintain your focus and keep your eye on the prize. When it comes to looking out for our health most of us can use all the help we can get. Great review!
devora
June 23, 2011
It is! Thanks for reading, Paul :)
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About the reviewer
devora (devora)
Ranked #2
Ranked #2
When I'm not Lunching, I'm a jeweler, and an all around, self-proclaimed web geek. My passions include social media, the interweb, technology, writing, yoga, fitness, photography, jewelry, fashion, … more
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MyNetDiary is the fastest, easiest, and smartest iPhone calorie counter. The list of features is large - over 30 screens, including FREE barcode scanner. Most importantly - MyNetDiary is very easy to use.
* Offline mode with streamlined food database - perfect for iPod Touch.
* Improved barcode scanner for iPhone4 and iPhone 3GS with iOS4.
* Support for multitasking and Retina display.
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* Offline mode with streamlined food database - perfect for iPod Touch.
* Improved barcode scanner for iPhone4 and iPhone 3GS with iOS4.
* Support for multitasking and Retina display.
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