Comparing FREE food diary and calorie counters

[faithmd 14]

So I started trying thedailyplate today and it's nice, but isn't there a list you can choose from for food like on fitday, or do you just type in what you ate and wade through the results?

[HeatherA 1]

Well, I'm not sure what you mean by a list... but you search their database and the more specific you are with what you're searching for the shorter the list for the foods you will find. Once you add it to your plate then it stays on a list, on your profile, for you to access quickly. You can also search that list that contains just food you've eaten if it gets too large.

I hope I'm making sense... if not... ask more questions and I'll try to answer them a little better :-)

[MacMadame 81]

There are a couple of ways to get your food into The Daily Plate.

You can type in the search box and get a list of foods that match your keywords. If I get too many results the first time, I look at what is coming back to figure out a way to express what I ate more precisely to get less results.

Also, it remembers everything you've typed in though so you can bring up a list and just check off what stuff you've ate today without having to search again for them.

There is also a list on your page of foods you eat a lot so you don't even have to bring up the full list if what you want to input is right there in the sidebar.

ETA Looks like HeatherA and I were typing at the same time!

[HeatherA 1]

You can also add to the food list by typing in detailed information on foods you don't find in the database... and if it's a generic food/calorie that you want to add to your daily log you can just add it and call it whatever you want via your main plate page.

[faithmd 14]

Thanks for the tips, what I mean is that on fitday foods are grouped by category. For instance if I ate some cheese I'd either enter the cheeses I ate into the search like on dailyplate, or (most often) I click on the Dairy and eggs category, then click on cheeses then the type of cheese.

I don't seem to find any group lists on thedailyplate, I really like that. I ate an orange and a Tomato today and got TONS of different oranges and tomatoes on thedailyplate. On Fitday I'd click on a pulldown list for fruits or vegetables and then select exactly what and what size of each that I ate.

[amc581 0]

So I wasn't even aware that these websites exsisted and I joined fitday today and it's awesome! I'm so excited I called my friend and told her about it, it's so helpful because i never know how many calories most of the stuff i eat is. Thanks everyone!

[tinaf 0]

I use Calorie Count Plus - Free, Intelligent, Online Dieting

I love the recipe analyzer.-- Just put in your ingredients and it gives you the results with the option to add a portion to your day.

I've just started using it - but so far so good!

[HeatherA 1]

No, I don't think it has a list like that... but I'm not sure because I've not really needed that type of list.

[AlysonRR 0]

I had fitday with downloaded program at one time. What would be truly awesome was if there was a program that would sync to one's blackberry or handheld so you always had it with you.

The paid Gold membership version of The Daily Plate has mobile access.

What I find easiest about TDP is the "my foods" look-up, where I can search all the foods I've previously entered or just click on the foods from a "my foods" list. Also, the Week View let's me drag and drop food items from one day to another.

But mostly what I like is that I haven't had to enter more than two or three items - even the most esoteric item seems to have been entered by someone. That wasn't the case at SparkPeople - I had to enter at least two or three items a day there. I must eat weird stuff, lol.

What I don't like about TDP is that since the data are entered by users, occasionally someone will change the data on an item and affect my calculations. And their recipe calculations never turn out correct for me.

[HeatherA 1]

Alyson, how do you get to the week view you mention? I don't think I've seen that.

Thanks!

[Kristin1031 0]

I started at Fitday.com and then moved to SparkPeople I love the site. I love the motivation that I get from being on a Team of LapBanders that are striving for the the same goals and are motivated.

I alos love being able to log all of my fitness and food and keep that on track. I like the rewards the site affords with its SparkPoints as well and I also track my Water and fruit and vegtables here as well.

It lets you set other goals as well not just weight.

Love it, love it!!

[AlysonRR 0]

Alyson, how do you get to the week view you mention? I don't think I've seen that.

Thanks!

It's on the My Plate page. It's a Gold Membership only option. The link is titled "Week-at-a-Glance View". HTH!

[HeatherA 1]

Ahhhh, that explains it. I've not yet signed up for the Gold option.