If slimming down is one of your New Year’s resolutions for 2011, here’s a strategy that could make it easier to shed surplus pounds: track what you eat. In a study by Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research, people who kept a daily food diary had double the weight loss of those who didn’t keep any records. The simple act of tracking food intake helps curb the urge to overindulge, the researchers theorized, since people tend to consume fewer calories when they record what they eat—and reflect on their dietary patterns.
The new My Diet Diary-Calorie Counter iPhone app, released by GE and MedHelp, the world’s largest health social network, lets users closely monitor their calorie balance by tracking food, exercise and more to help them achieve their weight loss goals. The app is available as a free download on Android as well as iTunes for the iPhone and iPod touch, and includes four easy-to-use trackers:
*A food tracker to log what you eat. It automatically calculates the total number of calories consumed, providing helpful feedback. Monitoring how many calories you’re taking in is the first step to lowering the total. My Diet Diary also calculates personalized nutritional requirements (calories, vitamins, minerals) based on your age, gender, current and goal weights, and goal date.
*An exercise tracker that records workouts to compute the number of calories burned. The CDC advises adults to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (such as brisk walking) a week or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise (such as jogging or running) and to do muscle-strengthening exercises, such as lifting weights, working out with resistance bands, or yoga, two or more days a week.
*A weight tracker that shows how your actual weight is trending against your goal weight. The app allows you to check if you’re on track to lose pounds, gain them or stay the same, allowing you to modifying your eating and exercise habits accordingly.
*A water tracker to keep tabs on total water consumption, an essential component of weight loss. A 2010 clinical trial reported that middle-aged and older dieters who drank two 8-ounce glasses of water before breakfast, lunch and dinner lost five more pounds than those who didn’t increase their water intake during the 12-week study. That’s because the calorie-free quaff appears to make people feel fuller, so they eat less.
The app also features a social networking component, allowing users to share their progress with friends on Facebook and MedHelp for encouragement and support. “Two-thirds of Americans need to lose weight, yet most fail at that goal — and it’s not for lack of willpower or trying,” said John de Souza, CEO of MedHelp. “We believe that they don’t have the proper tools and information to help them succeed. My Diet Diary gives the control back to users by allowing them to see how they are tracking at any moment against their weight goals. It empowers them to make choices in that moment to succeed.”
A calendar view quickly shows if you have met your calorie target each day, and charts detail hourly, daily, weekly and monthly calorie requirements and weight changes. The app also calculates the user’s basal metabolism rate, to show how many calories are burned at rest and through daily activities to provide insight into calorie expenditure.
“This app supports the healthymagination theme of better health for more people by giving users the tools they need to reach their diet and exercise goals,” said Linda Boff, global director of marketing communications at GE. “My Diet Diary is all about personalization – from weight loss or gain targets to nutritional requirements to messages of support from friends.”
CONNECT THE DOTS
My Diet Diary is the fourth of a series of free mobile apps that GE and MedHelp have created to help consumers lead healthier lives. The first was the popular iPhone pregnancy app, I’m Expecting, followed by Sleep On It, a sleep tracker and alarm app, and Moody Me, a mood tracker app, which was released earlier this month. For more dieting and exercise information, visit Weight-control Information Network and the Centers for Disease Control. Also check out our blog post, “4 Healthy Ways to Lose Weight—And Keep It Off.”
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