Butch Femme Planet - View Single Post

Kelt · 10-06-2011, 09:35 AM

Good Morning Healthy Peeps,

Wow! What can I say, you are sure a terrific bunch. Thank you for all of the positive feedback both here and other places. Putting the pics up scared the bejeezus outta me, but you guys are aces.

Going forward, because I still have work to do, I wanted to drop in with a take on tracking tools.

Several of you have mentioned that you sometimes track or journal what you are doing. So do I, and it has evolved over time. I know a lot of you are on WW and I tried to look at what they have but would have to join to do so; so, I will just stick with what I have first hand knowledge of. There are dozens to chose from, I have tried three.

I started out with a Diet Minder paper journal and a copy of Food Values (the book) which I have used off and on for years. The key to that is “off and on” even though I believed that pencil to pad would provide a stronger learning experience I found it was wrong for me.

In January I switched to FitDay.com an online tracker/database that I used until about a month ago. I worked very well for what I wanted at the time. I did find after about a month that I ended up getting the paid subscription just to shut off the constant moving, blinking ads that made me feel like I was going to have a seizure or something. The database is pretty good but it ticked me off when I would put in something like “apple” and it would come up around seventh on the list well after things like apple pie or apple crisp. It just seemed both wrong and cruel somehow. That said the weight progress tracking, under stats is really very good and encouraging, with the ability to really drill into things like weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, etc, averages and changes. It is a very flexible way to pinpoint exact timing of changes for reviewing and learning. The daily food journal is one big list without the ability to break out meals, but during loss it is all about the big picture, so that was fine and easy to use for course correction during the day. One thing I thought was weird is that they offer stand alone software (I did not use) for PC’s and an app for iPhone. I think most folks fall into either PC/Android or iEverything camps, having it split like that didn’t make sense to me. I did not use a mobile app.

For the last month or so I have been using Perfect Diet Tracker and so far, I think this is where I will stay. It is an installed software that works with all types of OS and has multiple mobile apps. You can export to CVS and it syncs with Dropbox. I have not used the mobile yet as I have a dumb phone. So, the actual software is great for what I am doing now, approaching maintenance, going for optimal health, and wanting to break out more subtle factors. The foods database is extensive and searches the web for other users inputs as well, which means pretty much anything is in there. It is really easy to create your own custom recipes and exercise routines through “groups” and it tracks sugar grams, sodium, and amount of fats that are saturated. This works well as I now want to track more health oriented stats than just fat loss. It also breaks out individual meals/snacks for better balancing through the day. One minor thing that I really like is that I can control the font size of the food/exercise pane without having the whole page go all huge. A nit pick, but nice. It works well for advance planning e.g. if I have leftovers I just plug them into specific meals on upcoming days so I don’t forget them and know ahead of time what gaps to fill. The reports could use a little work but the graphing is great. Clearly, I could go on about this. At this stage it seems like the best one I have used. I will update when I have tried the mobile app, I see an iPhone in my future.

Costs;

Using the paper pre-printed journals was $10 every 90 days + the Values book.
Annual = $40

Fitday = Free if you can handle the visual noise, $50 annual without ads, $30 software.

Perfect Diet tracker = $30 or $25 through the Apple app store, one time expense, unlimited users and custom fields.

There are lots more to choose from, I would love to hear what others are using and how they stack up too. It could help out folks that are thinking of starting.

I’m sure some of you are wondering if I can keep it off. Well, my feet are pretty far into the fire now, lol. Besides, I know what it takes to get where I got, and what it takes to get back. I don’t wish to repeat either. Guess I’ll just have to keep posting in here.

Supposed to be stormy today; rain gear at the beach it is!

10-06-2011, 09:35 AM	#1910
Kelt Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Beach Butch Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: SoCal Posts: 2,751 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 19,765 Thanked 15,301 Times in 2,539 Posts Rep Power: 21474853	Good Morning Healthy Peeps, Wow! What can I say, you are sure a terrific bunch. Thank you for all of the positive feedback both here and other places. Putting the pics up scared the bejeezus outta me, but you guys are aces. Going forward, because I still have work to do, I wanted to drop in with a take on tracking tools. Several of you have mentioned that you sometimes track or journal what you are doing. So do I, and it has evolved over time. I know a lot of you are on WW and I tried to look at what they have but would have to join to do so; so, I will just stick with what I have first hand knowledge of. There are dozens to chose from, I have tried three. I started out with a Diet Minder paper journal and a copy of Food Values (the book) which I have used off and on for years. The key to that is “off and on” even though I believed that pencil to pad would provide a stronger learning experience I found it was wrong for me. In January I switched to FitDay.com an online tracker/database that I used until about a month ago. I worked very well for what I wanted at the time. I did find after about a month that I ended up getting the paid subscription just to shut off the constant moving, blinking ads that made me feel like I was going to have a seizure or something. The database is pretty good but it ticked me off when I would put in something like “apple” and it would come up around seventh on the list well after things like apple pie or apple crisp. It just seemed both wrong and cruel somehow. That said the weight progress tracking, under stats is really very good and encouraging, with the ability to really drill into things like weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, etc, averages and changes. It is a very flexible way to pinpoint exact timing of changes for reviewing and learning. The daily food journal is one big list without the ability to break out meals, but during loss it is all about the big picture, so that was fine and easy to use for course correction during the day. One thing I thought was weird is that they offer stand alone software (I did not use) for PC’s and an app for iPhone. I think most folks fall into either PC/Android or iEverything camps, having it split like that didn’t make sense to me. I did not use a mobile app. For the last month or so I have been using Perfect Diet Tracker and so far, I think this is where I will stay. It is an installed software that works with all types of OS and has multiple mobile apps. You can export to CVS and it syncs with Dropbox. I have not used the mobile yet as I have a dumb phone. So, the actual software is great for what I am doing now, approaching maintenance, going for optimal health, and wanting to break out more subtle factors. The foods database is extensive and searches the web for other users inputs as well, which means pretty much anything is in there. It is really easy to create your own custom recipes and exercise routines through “groups” and it tracks sugar grams, sodium, and amount of fats that are saturated. This works well as I now want to track more health oriented stats than just fat loss. It also breaks out individual meals/snacks for better balancing through the day. One minor thing that I really like is that I can control the font size of the food/exercise pane without having the whole page go all huge. A nit pick, but nice. It works well for advance planning e.g. if I have leftovers I just plug them into specific meals on upcoming days so I don’t forget them and know ahead of time what gaps to fill. The reports could use a little work but the graphing is great. Clearly, I could go on about this. At this stage it seems like the best one I have used. I will update when I have tried the mobile app, I see an iPhone in my future. Costs; Using the paper pre-printed journals was $10 every 90 days + the Values book. Annual = $40 Fitday = Free if you can handle the visual noise, $50 annual without ads, $30 software. Perfect Diet tracker = $30 or $25 through the Apple app store, one time expense, unlimited users and custom fields. There are lots more to choose from, I would love to hear what others are using and how they stack up too. It could help out folks that are thinking of starting. I’m sure some of you are wondering if I can keep it off. Well, my feet are pretty far into the fire now, lol. Besides, I know what it takes to get where I got, and what it takes to get back. I don’t wish to repeat either. Guess I’ll just have to keep posting in here. Supposed to be stormy today; rain gear at the beach it is!