I am new to this forum. For the first time I am counting calories in order to lose weight. In the past, I went from 180 to 154 by eating more vegetables, not eating restaurant food and increasing my exercise. However, it took me almost a year to lose that amount of weight. I am now trying to go from 154 to 135 by counting calories. So far, I have had much more steady weight loss by counting calories than I did before, and I find it easier to budget in special treats etc. In the three weeks I have been counting calories I have lost 2 pounds per week, which was my goal.

I am wondering if anyone in this forum is using software to log calories. For the past 3 weeks, I have been using a software called Diet Power and I like it very much, but I was wondering what other options there are out there.

Lastly, the software calculates the ratio of carbs/proteins/fat that I eat each day. Is there an optimum ratio that I should aim for? So far I have been doing around 60/20/20.

Thank you for your help,

Helen

I used DietPower and lost a LOT of weight with it. I love it! I'm using fitday.com at the moment, but may go back to DietPower.

Hi Helen,
I use fitday.com. I like the fact that I can track my food and exercise in one website and its free. I also use the nutrition report, to see if I'm getting all my vitamins and minerals. Good luck with your continued weight loss.

Bridgette.

I use myfooddiary.com. I really like the interface, plus it has one of the largest databases of food I have seen. It's $9 a month, but totally worth it for me.

I use dietpower also. I really like it. I have also used fitday, but I like dietpower better. The download version of fitday isn't bad, but I don't really care for the free online version. As far as ratios, I find that I do best at the following ranges: 25-30% protein, 25-30% fat, and 40-50% carbohydrates.

I use Fitday online because I can update and track anywhere rather than having a program loaded to just 1 computer. I checked out www.dailyplate.com and really liked how much more their database had, but I found it took longer for me to itemize everything because there's more mouseclicks than fitday.

First post! You may or may not be interested in a tool I have been using but it really helps me stay motivated and it so simple to use in conjunction with fitday.com. It is called a burn rate calculator. If you search Google for
"Enerfit Burn Rate Calculator" you will find it.

Good luck!

Ann

I use the free fitday one but am considering the download. How much better is it? I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it?

I purchased the Calorie King software. It has a huge database with options of entering your own food. I use it to track me and my husband. Fitday doesn't let you share food between accounts and that was a big one for me. I don't want to enter every food twice. I also use MasterCook 9 to calculate the food I make at home. Both are wonderful programs.

Is mastercook 9 a free one? I've never heard of it.

It's not free. I bought mine from Amazon.com for $19.00.

I use fitday because it is just interesting to keep track of things. I don't really count calories or anything but it is fun to see how close I am keeping to goals. You can enter anything you want and save it. Next day you eat the same thing, ex. cottage cheese, you just hit the button and there it is already saved on your custom foods. I do the same thing with some meals. Pot roast is on my list. I know that means meat, potatoes, carrots and gravy, one serving. Only had to figure it out one time. Now just have to pick the pot roast off my list. I don't use any of their set foods. Enter all my own information from the package.

I have the dl version of fitday and find it VASTLY preferable - more foods, its a lot easier to add custom foods, even custom meals you have a lot using ingredients - you can sort your food into meals, or times, you can log your mood when you eat, there's a lot more diagnostic tools, and the exercise section is vastly improved. For $20 (not per month, just $20), its WELL worth it for me. I also like that I can still log into my fitday online if I'm away from home and note what I've eaten, then update it in my downloaded version later.

Thanks for the info. Would be nicer if it were easier to add things.

I like the online version of fitday so I can add things both at work and at home (or at school if I had the time). Have a lot of custom foods over the years, but use a lot of their food selections as well, and since my eating isn't very exciting it's pretty easy to quickly add the same things that I usually eat again and again day after day. It also has some very simple reporting features that are neat too.