Food and Nutrition Apps for Smart Phones and Tablets

Food and Nutrition Apps for Smart Phones and Tablets

Now that 'smart phones' are becoming more and more popular, many people are taking to looking up diet, exercise and nutrition information on their phones (or Ipads and the like).  Here is a list of apps you can download to help keep you accountable over the holidays.  These phone apps are a great way to log your food vs a handwritten journal. My favorite is Lose It! The new edition also lets you scan the barcode so the nutrition information automatically loads into your daily log of food. How convenient! Another great category of apps are recipe finders. These help you find quick easy and healthy recipes right from your phone. Other categories to search: running/walking mileage apps, pedometers, water intake app, and coupons. More blogs posts to come on recommended apps for  these other health categories.

Journals:

            Calorie King

                        - Search foods for their food label info

                        - Great for people who log their calories, carbohydrates or fat intakes

            Lose It!

                        - Food and exercise log

                        - A personal favorite!

          Myfitnesspal

                        -Very similar to Lose It

            Fitday

                        -Food Journal

            Sparkpeople

                        -Food Journal

            Fooducate

                        - Aids you in grocery store

                        - Scan items to compare products and see reviews

                        -Each food product gets a rating to see how healthy it is

            Daily Burn

                        - Training plans and exercise

My Net Diary

                                -Calorie Counter

IPEE

-tracks hydration

Munch 5-A-Day

-tracks fruits and vegetable intake throughout the day   

The Eatery

-          Snaps photos of your food to help you food journal

Kelly Devine Rickert, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN

Registered Dietitian

Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics

WellGroup Health Partners

Franciscan St. James Health

708-679-2717 (For appointments)

 

Food Journaling for Effective Weight Loss

Effective Weight Loss – Keep A Food Journal, Don’t Skip Meals, Don’t Eat Out

An article from Medical News Today highlights a study conducted by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center focused on the impact of self-monitoring, diet-related behaviors, and eating patterns and their effects on body weight in obese and overweight postmenopausal females.

Some of the findings from the study include:

-          Importance of keeping a food journal

o   The study found that those who kept a food journal lost approximately 6 pounds more than women who did not.

o   Research team leader Anne McTiernan, M.D., Ph.D. said:   “It is difficult to make changes to your diet when you are not paying close attention to what you are eating.”

-          Eating at regular intervals and not skipping meals

o   Females who “skipped meals” lost much less weight than those who never missed meals (about 8 pounds less).

o   McTiernan explained:  “The mechanism is not completely clear, but we think that skipping meals or fasting might cause you to respond more favorably to high-calorie foods and therefore take in more calories overall.”

-          Eating out can be a barrier for making healthy food choices

o   Women who went out for lunch at least once a week lost about 5 fewer pounds compared to those who lunched out less often.

o   When we are at a restaurant we have less control in what ingredients are used in preparing our meals, and which cooking methods are used.  Even portion sizes are no longer under control.

To read more about the study, check out the article from Medical News Today at the link below:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/247839.php