Nutrition Health Center

An Expert’s Guide to Fitness Nutrition Software

By Terry Dunkle*

My company’s fitness nutrition software first appeared on the web in 1997. Dozens of competitors have sprung up in the many years since. I’m not here to argue that ours is best, but I do know which criteria are most important to consider when you’re choosing one of these tools:

Calorie counter try free or buy Download and run DietPower's free trial Purchase DietPower risk-free

Database Size

A large food and exercise database is one of the most important features of topnotch fitness nutrition software, because otherwise you’ll have to spend countless hours adding your own foods and activities by keying in data from labels or reference books. Choose one that covers at least 20,000 foods and 500 kinds of exercise. Make sure it doesn’t inflate its figures by listing items under duplicate names (“jogging” and “running,” “frankfurters and hot dogs”). Besides calories, the food database should cover at least the 13 nutrients required on food labels. The best software includes 20 nutrients or more.

Overall Approach

The best fitness nutrition software uses a diary approach: you log all your foods and exercise each day, record your weight every day or every week, and the program automatically tracks your calorie and nutrient intake and compares these with your calorie budget and Recommended Dietary Allowances. Uneaten calories are deposited in a “bank” from which you can draw on days when you want to splurge. You might also be able to log other facts, such as your general mood, allergy symptoms, and so on.

Based on 20 years of research by DietPower, Inc., this calculator is accurate to 5 percent for most users. (It's not for people who are pregnant or have metabolic disorders. Always see a doctor before starting a diet.)

Birth Date

Sex

Tobacco user?

Height

Weight

Goal Weight

Target Date

Email Address

- -

?

ft. in.

lbs.

lbs. ?

- - ?

?

Close Goal Weight
Your Goal Weight is the weight you want to achieve. (If it's a lot different from your current weight, you might want to set a goal that represents only the first step. Even a 10-percent weight loss will significantly improve your health.)
Close Target Date
Plan on losing no more than a pound or two per week.  Otherwise, you may eat too little for good nutrition and your weight loss may be temporary.
Close Lactating?
If you are breastfeeding, check this box and the calculator will add calories for producing milk.
Close Tobacco User?
Nicotine speeds your metabolism, making you burn calories faster. (That's why people who quit smoking gain weight.) Check this box if you average more than one cigarette, one-half pipeful, one-quarter of a cigar, or one dip of snuff or chewing tobacco per day.
Close Email Address
Once a month, DietPower will send you the most important nutrition news of the past 30 days, selected by national award-winning editors covering hundreds of medical journals. You can cancel this free, no-obligation service anytime with a single click. We produce it only to promote our weight-loss software. It won't put you on other mailing lists—We're Not That Kind of Company™.

“Smart” Functions

A few programs also provide ultra-personalized services such as matching your calorie budget to your metabolic rate or recommending foods you like that are best for your nutrition. (My company’s software does both of these.) Pay close attention to each program’s features and functions list; you may find something special that is just what you’re looking for.

Price

Quality fitness nutrition software costs from $30 to $50. You can also find good online programs that are either free or charge $3 to $15 a month. Some of these may perform more sluggishly than software that you install on your own computer, however. Many -- especially those that are free -- also bombard you with ads.

Warranties

Your software should offer a free trial of at least seven days -- of the complete program, not a dumbed-down version. It should also provide a money-back guarantee after the sale. In addition, you should get free email and phone support indefinitely.

Founder, CEO, and Editor-in-Chief of DietPower, Inc.