Diet software

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chakolate
  • Start date Start date
C

Chakolate

Hi, all,

I've been trying to find a good diet program that will let me use the USDA
SR 16 database and keep track of my intake and nutrition.

I downloaded (and paid for!) Paraben's Diet Tracker, but it came with SR 15
as part of the program, and I don't want to have to buy an updated version
now that SR 16 is available. Also, the program is pretty good, but not
great.

I looked at the archives for a.c.f but the links in old messages are mostly
kaput, and the ones that did work didn't really fill the bill.

Any suggestions? The ideal program would be simple enough that I could
almost write it myself (almost!).

TIA,

Chakolate

--

On sadness:
The cure for this ill is not to sit still,
Or to frowst with a book by the fire,
But to take a large hoe and a shovel also,
And to dig till you gently perspire.
--Rudyard Kipling
 
I use http://www.fitday.com/

Free and easy.
Click to expand...

Yes, I've used fitday, but I have dialup and am not always online.

Chakolate

--

On sadness:
The cure for this ill is not to sit still,
Or to frowst with a book by the fire,
But to take a large hoe and a shovel also,
And to dig till you gently perspire.
--Rudyard Kipling
 
Chakolate said:
Hi, all,

I've been trying to find a good diet program that will let me use the USDA
SR 16 database and keep track of my intake and nutrition.

I downloaded (and paid for!) Paraben's Diet Tracker, but it came with SR 15
as part of the program, and I don't want to have to buy an updated version
now that SR 16 is available. Also, the program is pretty good, but not
great.

I looked at the archives for a.c.f but the links in old messages are mostly
kaput, and the ones that did work didn't really fill the bill.

Any suggestions? The ideal program would be simple enough that I could
almost write it myself (almost!).

TIA,

Chakolate

--

On sadness:
The cure for this ill is not to sit still,
Or to frowst with a book by the fire,
But to take a large hoe and a shovel also,
And to dig till you gently perspire.
--Rudyard Kipling
Click to expand...

Hi, Chakolate:

I'm not making this up- I really am a "second cousin twice removed" of
Rudyard Kipling.

That said, and more to your point, I'm a former fitness instructor. In my
experience weight loss programs, like any other fitness-related endeavour,
are only really successful when they are approached as a lifestyle change.
Constantly calculating calories and reps and times on the Stairmaster, etc.,
are a fine temporary gauge of progress, but you can't keep that sort of
tracking up forever- it quickly grows tedious. We used to recommend that
people just follow the Canada Food Guide:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpfb-dgpsa/onpp-bppn/using_food_guide_e.html#four
while exercising, to maintain muscle mass. Weight loss, or more
specifically, fat loss, is almost certainly the result.

It's a good guide to a balanced diet which can be adjusted for different
caloric intakes. Something you can live with- a lifestyle change approach
to eating which is, in the long run, much simpler than caloric calculation
software.

Just my two cents,
Ian.
 
Hi, Chakolate:

I'm not making this up- I really am a "second cousin twice removed" of
Rudyard Kipling.

That said, and more to your point, I'm a former fitness instructor.
In my experience weight loss programs, like any other fitness-related
endeavour, are only really successful when they are approached as a
lifestyle change. Constantly calculating calories and reps and times
on the Stairmaster, etc., are a fine temporary gauge of progress, but
you can't keep that sort of tracking up forever- it quickly grows
tedious. We used to recommend that people just follow the Canada Food
Guide:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpfb-dgpsa/onpp-bppn/using_food_guide_e.html#fou
r while exercising, to maintain muscle mass. Weight loss, or more
specifically, fat loss, is almost certainly the result.

It's a good guide to a balanced diet which can be adjusted for
different caloric intakes. Something you can live with- a lifestyle
change approach to eating which is, in the long run, much simpler than
caloric calculation software.

Just my two cents,
Ian.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Ian, for your response.

Unfortunately for me, or maybe fortunately, I *must* have a lifestyle
change, as I have been diagnosed as diabetic.

Since I decided to take the diabetes seriously (after a long period of
total denial) I've been low-carbing, which is completely contrary to the
USA food pyramid and, apparently, to the Canada Food Guide. Both of these
recommend far too much carbohydrate for diabetics. Diabetics who try to
follow them constantly, painfully struggle to keep their blood glucose in
control.

I know that soon I'll stop recording every morsel, and I'll stop recording
every stroke of exercise. But first I need to get a real feeling for
what's right for me, and for what certain changes do to my glucose.

I've seen first-hand that not exercising for a week (once with a bad head
cold, once when the pool was closed for repair) raises my glucose by about
10 points. I've seen that going over 100 carbs a day can send me 20 points
higher. I've seen that increasing exercise can counter higher carb loads.

As I test my sugar once or twice a day, I can see how different foods
affect me. But since my memory is so bad, if I don't record everything,
I'll forget what I had that spiked my sugar.

I am losing some weight low carbing, but the main thing that keeps me
sticking to it is those morning finger sticks.

So I want to find a program that's comfortable to use, so I'll use it as
long as possible.

Sorry to go on for so long; and thanks for the suggestion. Oh, and how
wonderful to be related to Kipling. Do you have any good stories?


Chakolate

--

On sadness:
The cure for this ill is not to sit still,
Or to frowst with a book by the fire,
But to take a large hoe and a shovel also,
And to dig till you gently perspire.
--Rudyard Kipling
 
Chakolate said:
Thanks, Ian, for your response.

Unfortunately for me, or maybe fortunately, I *must* have a lifestyle
change, as I have been diagnosed as diabetic.

Since I decided to take the diabetes seriously (after a long period of
total denial) I've been low-carbing, which is completely contrary to the
USA food pyramid and, apparently, to the Canada Food Guide. Both of these
recommend far too much carbohydrate for diabetics. Diabetics who try to
follow them constantly, painfully struggle to keep their blood glucose in
control.

I know that soon I'll stop recording every morsel, and I'll stop recording
every stroke of exercise. But first I need to get a real feeling for
what's right for me, and for what certain changes do to my glucose.

I've seen first-hand that not exercising for a week (once with a bad head
cold, once when the pool was closed for repair) raises my glucose by about
10 points. I've seen that going over 100 carbs a day can send me 20 points
higher. I've seen that increasing exercise can counter higher carb loads.

As I test my sugar once or twice a day, I can see how different foods
affect me. But since my memory is so bad, if I don't record everything,
I'll forget what I had that spiked my sugar.

I am losing some weight low carbing, but the main thing that keeps me
sticking to it is those morning finger sticks.

So I want to find a program that's comfortable to use, so I'll use it as
long as possible.

Sorry to go on for so long; and thanks for the suggestion. Oh, and how
wonderful to be related to Kipling. Do you have any good stories?
Click to expand...

I'm glad to hear that you're taking that condition seriously- you obviously
need to scrutinize food and exercise much more closely than my Canada Food
Guide recommendation entails. Perhaps your doctor could answer your
original question for you- they tend to be more knowledgeable than us
"former expert" newsgroup types. ;) Good luck in your search.

Regarding Rudyard: My grandfather was his second cousin and apparently
didn't really even like being related to him because of his politics,
according to my parents. So unfortunately, no good stories there. I can't
even get a copy of "The Jungle Book" unless I pay for it. Sheesh.

Wishing you the best,
Ian.
 
A great book on the subject written 14 years before the Atkins craze is
"Calories Don't Count", look it up in the library...for my 2 cents, i'd disagree
with Ian on looking out for calories...just take in the correct calories (BTW,
Atkins was/is right).

john
 
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