Until a year ago, New Albany resident Paula Economus-Stout had never needed to pay much attention to her weight. But when she realized she’d put on about 10 pounds, she decided to do something about it.
“I’ve always been lucky that I never had to worry about my weight until recently,” says Economus-Stout, who has always exercised three to four times a week.
As a case administrator in the clerk’s office at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, she wanted a simple, easy way to lose weight, and she found it in the mobile application Calorie Counter. Economus-Stout was diligent about using the app to track her daily food intake and found that she lost weight slowly and consistently over the course of four or five months.
“I think it helped me realize how many calories were in the foods I was eating,” she says. “I would think, ‘Do I really need this extra glass of wine?’ or whatever because that’s so many extra calories toward my daily intake.”
Economus-Stout’s experience is not uncommon, says Lynn Danuono, area manager for Weight Watchers of Columbus.
“People who track are much more successful at weight loss,” Danuono says.
The Weight Watchers program has long been based on the tenets of accountability via group meetings and food tracking. The current PointsPlus program uses the amount of carbohydrates, fat, fiber and protein to determine the PointsPlus value of each food. Members are allotted a certain number of PointsPlus per day, with an additional weekly allowance to “spend” at will.
“You write down what you eat and subtract it (from your allowance), kind of like keeping track of your balance in a checkbook,” Danuono says.
ETools, an add-on to the traditional meetings, includes access to the Weight Watchers Online website and the ability to track PointsPlus via the Weight Watchers Mobile app, so members can track what they eat via their phones instead of on paper.
A study published in the January 2013 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine found that adults attending biweekly
weight-loss meetings who also tracked their diet and exercise via a personal digital assistant (along with biweekly coaching calls for six months) lost an average of almost 8.6 pounds more every three months than those who attended meetings alone.
Other studies have shown that the more consistent people are in tracking their food intake via a diary – mobile or otherwise – the more weight they lose and the better they keep it off over time. Drinks, too, can add more calories to your daily diet than you might expect.
“We say, ‘If we bite it, we should write it,’” Danuono says. “Every bite, lick and taste counts.”
Spurred by an upcoming vacation, Economus-Stout recently decided she would start tracking again. She’s happy with her current weight, but wants to maintain it. She tried switching to another app, My Fitness Pal, which boasts a nutrition information database of more than 2.6 million food and restaurant items, but liked the Calorie Counter interface better.
“It’s a nice reminder of what I need to do daily,” she says. “You can (also track) your exercise as calories burned, which is pretty cool, so maybe I can have this ice cream because I worked out.”
Lisa Aurand is editor of Healthy New Albany Magazine. Feedback welcome at laurand@cityscenemediagroup.com.
Food Diary Apps
Calorie Counter
Android, Blackberry, iOS
A curated food database and the option to log by voice make this tracker unique. Limited offline use is available as well.
Cost: Free
Weight Watchers Mobile
www.weightwatchers.com
Android, iOS
The mobile app allows you to save your favorite meals and typical exercises, allowing quick tracking. A separate barcode scanner app instantly gives you the PointsPlus values of prepackaged foods.
Cost: Included with Weight Watchers Online subscription ($48.90 for the first month and
$18.95 each additional month), $15/month with eTools add-on to Weight Watchers
My Fitness Pal
www.myfitnesspal.com
Android, Blackberry, iOS, Windows
A user-generated database of nutrition information provides an extensive, if not always 100 percent accurate, range of foods. Optional Facebook integration allows your friends to cheer you on toward your goals. MFP integrates with devices such as the BodyMedia FIT armband.
Cost: Free
MyPlate Calorie Tracker
Android, Blackberry, iOS, Windows
Livestrong.com claims the largest online food database. Calorie burn via exercise is customized based on your measurements.
Cost: $2.99
Lose It!
Android, iOS, Nook, Kindle
Lose It! offers tracking of sleep, exercise, measurements and macronutrients. An integrated barcode scanner makes inputting nutrition information simple. Premium users can create personal goals in additional areas, such as steps and blood pressure, and have access to integration with a variety of devices and other apps, such as FitBit.
Cost: Free (Premium is $39.99/year)
The Eatery
http://eatery.massivehealth.com
iPhone
This app doesn’t track calories or nutrients; instead, snap a photo of whatever you’re eating and get feedback on its “Fit or Fat” rating from friends, then view how you’re doing over time to identify your strengths and weaknesses.
Cost: Free
