I used to use a program for WW, but don't know of anything specfically for calories and exercise. I LOVED being able to track everything in the PDA, but it doesn't fit the program I am on now. I did a quick google search and found this Diet Software that sounds pretty interesting and you can use a PDA for data entry. Looks like you can find all sorts of stuff out there, just need to figure out what you want in terms of flexibility, data entry and type of PDA software. Let us know what you decide! Could be a great tool to use!
Can't offer any advice though, because I'm an unusual 28 year old who doesn't even have a cell phone (by choice ) I'm not exactly technologically advanced!
I used to track in a weekly calendar by hand. But I have switched to Fitday because I like the fact that I can save my choices and just choose them, and I like seeing what my ratios are at the end of the day. (protein/fat/carb) But I don't think fitday has palm software.
Having a palm would let me enter my stuff at the dinner table instead of having to go to my computer, plus when I'm out it would be nice to have some help on making choices (I could add a calorie database).
I also keep my calendar by hand. It's time to step up and get techy!!!
I've just registered today, but having been looking at all the forums for quite awhile; everyone is so supportive that I finally took the plunge and joined!
Sandy, I've been using my PDA to track all my diet and exercise for the last year or so -- have lost 50+ pounds , with about 20 to go, basically eating a healthy diet and lots of exercise. I love carrying around my PDA, so I can just put down everything about my diet ; for me, it's easier than the computer, since I'm not always at my desk and it also takes some time for the computer to boot up.
I used to use a Palm-based system and used the program BalanceLog (Healthetech), but found that the company has not updated the program for a long time. When my Palm "died" , I switched over to a Pocket PC and looked at different programs on web sites like Handango, which have both Palm and Pocket PC programs listed (and revieiws), which you can usually download and try for a limited period of time. Well, after trying lots of programs, I found two that best suited me : "MyPersonalDiet" (emphasis on diet, calorie and meal recording, weight, healthy parameters, etc.; for Pocket PC only, but suppose to be for Palm soon) and "MySportTraining" (more for sports, since you can fill in the weights that you use, for Palm and Pocket PC; only the Pocket PC version has the food plug-in though), both are by VidaOne software and you can download free trials. I like them because you can format your own diet plans (mine is 50% carbs, 25% protein, 25% fat, about 1400 cal/day + exercise 5-6 days per week for an hour, aerobics and weights) and because I'm in Japan, I can put in all those foods not normally found in the database. Because I'm an electronic gadget nut , I also use a Polar heart rate monitor (my gift to myself when I lost 25 pounds), from which I can download my workout data. I think it's best to try out the programs before you buy them and there's quite a few out there, so pick one that gives you the most options and easiest input.
Hope this helps and am looking forward to participating in this group.
Linda - no cell phone? How do you survive? I don't use mine, but feel lost without it.. what if you get lost in the mall and need to call the sig other to bring you money to pay for something? hehe..
Sandy - while not the same thing.. I have writen down what I've eaten on my hand so I don't forget, is that a palm?
The only time I ever felt the need for one was when I was more than nine months pregnant and Rudy was at work...then I wished he at least had a pager for when it was time.
Other than that...I love the simplicity...and besides...we're poor!
I would love to find some good Palm software. Let me know if you find some that you like.
BTW, Linda I only recently got a cell phone, and somehow it mulitplied I now have 3!!! One for me, and the other two are tracking devices! LOL... one for dh and one for the kids to share. You can live without cell phones. We are completely debt free, the only payment we have each month is our house payment. For years we had no extras to get out of debt, no cable, no cells, we cut all the frills. Now we can enjoy the extras, and still stay out of debt. Not easy to do on one income and six kids, but you just decide what your priorities are. My husband was in college in our early years, and we lived in a little 900 sq foot home. We now have a large home, and live quite comfortably. He is an electrical engineer and now supervises other engineers. You are young, it is best not to be in debt, so yes you can live without a cell phone.
Ste - Welcome to 3FC!!! Congrats on the 50 lb loss!! That's awesome! Thanks so much for the PDA advice. I really wish Fitday had a PDA componenet. But since it doesn't I will have to look elsewhere. I have heard that the Pocket Pc's were not as stable as the Palm and that the Palm can go longer without being on the cradle. Since you've had both, what do you think? I have been kicking and screaming not to move to a palm, but it's time.
Linda - I think it's great that you don't have a phone. I have a freind who has no cell phone, no cable TV and no home internet (SAY IT ISN'T SO!!!!). Being very much in debt, I have thought many times of giving up these conviences, but then I can't even imagine it. I use all of these EVERY day at home.
OhMomx6 - Debt Free?? I bow down to you. That is something I only dream of!! Don't you alos have basic living expenses like telephone, water, Nipsco and Insurance??
Linda - I origionally got the cell when I was driving home, and my car broke down and had to go into a strangers house at 11pm at night to call Josh. Luckily I got it, because a year or so later my truck broke down in the middle of nowhere... it's always been a safety reason that I've had it. Not saying that I don't enjoy text msging my friends.. teehee. I guess technically I am poor considering I have a car loan and student loans.. those are investments! heh. BTW- got snow??
OhMomx6 - Debt Free?? I bow down to you. That is something I only dream of!! Don't you alos have basic living expenses like telephone, water, Nipsco and Insurance??
haha! Well yes , LOL, I don't think of those things as debt, I think of loans, mortgages, credit cards, car payments, etc, as debt. But when it comes to the others I think of them as living expenses, there really is no way of avoiding electric bills, except to go without!
We have not always been debt free. It is hard sometimes to say no, and to deny ourselves anything, especially when it comes to children. We have a loose budget, and we do our best to stick to it, and it helps that we are both not 'shoppers.' We have 2 accounts, one for living expenses, and bills. The other is for food. We budget out the food money and trasfer it to that account 2 times per month. Also, I do not carry a credit card what-so-ever. It helps keep me honest. I am out in the shopping arena more than dh and this way I only spend what I can afford. My dh makes a good living but it has not always been that way. I used to go to thrift stores for clothes for my children. I have even gone recently for winter coats, etc. Once you are debt free, you really like the way it feels, so you do all you can to avoid that situation. For us, it is a priority. I tell my kids, "I may not be able to give you cars, and you may have to help pay for your college tuition, but you will never have to worry about supporting your Dad and I." They have seen us go through problems with their grandparents and they know it is not easy to have to help parents with bills, especially when you have children, so they actually appreciate that we work hard to be debt free, and to have savings, and retirement funds. Was that like MORE than you wanted to know! hehe
If you really want to be debt free, just like losing weight break it up into chunks. Seek advice from reliable professionals and you will be able to do it. And most of all if you are married make sure your spouse is on the same page.
Linda - I origionally got the cell when I was driving home, and my car broke down and had to go into a strangers house at 11pm at night to call Josh. Luckily I got it, because a year or so later my truck broke down in the middle of nowhere... it's always been a safety reason that I've had it. Not saying that I don't enjoy text msging my friends.. teehee. I guess technically I am poor considering I have a car loan and student loans.. those are investments! heh. BTW- got snow??
-Aimee
I agree with you 100% those are not debts but definately investments!! And that phone is your personal 911, you keep that! That is one reason why we have the extra phones. I don't feel it is safe for teens today to be out in the evening without some way to phone home, or call for help. It is worth the peace of mind. My children do not abuse it either. We have never gone over the shared minutes... ever.
I just sold my palm to a friend who wants to do the same thing. I use excel to keep track of my food and like my Pocket PC with windows mobile because it has excel on it. I've tried a few of the programs that keep track and just find them to be too much of a hassle. I just like to enter my food and calories and have it keep track of how many calories I've had for the day. I have been doing it so long that I rarely need to look up the calories so I don't have a need for software that does that part of it.
Hi Sandy, thanks for the encouraging words about my weight loss -- I think I was finally able to lose weight when I decided that I would not become stressed no matter how long it would take, gave myself no deadlines and I'm lucky to have a supportive (although all slim naturally -- "good" genes maybe from my husband?) family.
About the Pocket PC vs. Palm. My old Palm was very ancient (a Handspring), so I can't comment on the new operating systems from Palm. Yes, I heard that the Pocket PC was less stable than the Palm, but apparently the newer Pocket PC operating system is suppose to be more stable and you won't lose your data if you run out of battery (maybe Howie knows about this?). I picked my pocket PC (HP ipac 4700) mainly because of it's large screen, because I was used to Windows programs, and since it was the only one available in Japan for which I could get an English operating system; I didn't find that much difference between the two systems, since I mainly use my PDA for keeping track of my diet and not so much as a general personal organizer (since I'm "old-fashioned" and like the old paper diaries and like writing in them, like being able to see the whole month schedule at a time in a size that's easy to read, and my life doesn't really require tight schedule since I work at a university). I usually plug my PDA into my work computer via it's USB cable and charge that way, so I'm usually not out of battery, but I think mine can go for 3 days without charging (even though I always have the monitor on the bright setting), because I don't bring my charger on short trips. I heard that the model I own is suppose to have some synching issues, but I only had problems twice in the year that I owned it. The main benefit for me to use a PDA to track is that I can plan my meals as I eat them and know how many calories I have left instantly, even though I now remember a lot of nutrional info anyway; it's encouraging to see the weight graphs, which also remind me that day to day up and downs don't matter, since the trend is downward; and if the PDA rings to remind me to exercise, I'm a bit more likely not to ignore it . However, owning a PDA may not be a reasonable expense if you use it just for diet tracking, but for me it was because I basically don't belong to a gym, and this my replacement splurge.
Sorry for such a long post. Let us know if you decide to buy a PDA (or even test a friend's PDA first).
Palm for tracking
(by choice 
) I'm not exactly technologically advanced!
, with about 20 to go, basically eating a healthy diet and lots of exercise. I love carrying around my PDA, so I can just put down everything about my diet 
; for me, it's easier than the computer, since I'm not always at my desk and it also takes some time for the computer to boot up.
, I switched over to a Pocket PC and looked at different programs on web sites like Handango, which have both Palm and Pocket PC programs listed (and revieiws), which you can usually download and try for a limited period of time. Well, after trying lots of programs, I found two that best suited me : "MyPersonalDiet" (emphasis on diet, calorie and meal recording, weight, healthy parameters, etc.; for Pocket PC only, but suppose to be for Palm soon) and "MySportTraining" (more for sports, since you can fill in the weights that you use, for Palm and Pocket PC; only the Pocket PC version has the food plug-in though), both are by VidaOne software and you can download free trials. I like them because you can format your own diet plans (mine is 50% carbs, 25% protein, 25% fat, about 1400 cal/day + exercise 5-6 days per week for an hour, aerobics and weights) and because I'm in Japan, I can put in all those foods not normally found in the database. Because I'm an electronic gadget nut 
, I also use a Polar heart rate monitor (my gift to myself when I lost 25 pounds), from which I can download my workout data. I think it's best to try out the programs before you buy them and there's quite a few out there, so pick one that gives you the most options and easiest input. 
I'm a total geek
I now have 3!!! One for me, and the other two are tracking devices! LOL... one for dh and one for the kids to share. You can live without cell phones. We are completely debt free, the only payment we have each month is our house payment. For years we had no extras to get out of debt, no cable, no cells, we cut all the frills. Now we can enjoy the extras, and still stay out of debt. Not easy to do on one income and six kids, but you just decide what your priorities are. My husband was in college in our early years, and we lived in a little 900 sq foot home. We now have a large home, and live quite comfortably. He is an electrical engineer and now supervises other engineers. You are young, it is best not to be in debt, so yes you can live without a cell phone.
. However, owning a PDA may not be a reasonable expense if you use it just for diet tracking, but for me it was because I basically don't belong to a gym, and this my replacement splurge.