Nutrition Health Center

Which Food Diary Template is Best?

By Terry Dunkle*

By “food diary template” we mean a website or a software program that lets you keep a diary on your computer and make a printout if you wish. The simplest templates merely tally the calories in your meals. Others do a lot more. Here are five features to examine when shopping for a template:

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Food Database

A good food diary template will offer at least 20,000 foods in its database. Watch out for templates that pad their numbers by counting duplicates under different names -- "pancakes” and “flapjacks,” for example. Avoid online templates that let users contribute foods, as this practice produces a lot of errors and duplication. Make sure the database contains not only calorie data, but values for at least a dozen other nutrients.

Exercise Database

Similarly, your template should let you log your exercise in order to earn extra calories. It should cover at least 500 kinds of physical activity, including not only sports, but also exercise equipment, occupational activities, and leisure pursuits. Besides logging the activity’s identity, it should let you record its intensity or speed. In addition, it should take your current body weight into account when calculating the number of calories you expend.

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

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ft. in.

lbs.

lbs. ?

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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™.

Printouts

Your food diary template should offer many different options in printouts. If you are seeing a dietitian, ask him or her precisely what printouts are needed, and make sure the template provides them.

Intelligence

Besides recording your foods and keeping track of your calories and nutrients, an exceptional template can “learn” your needs and preferences. DietPower, for example, automatically tweaks your calorie budget each day to match your metabolism and guarantee reaching your goal on a schedule. In addition, it can recommend foods you like that are best for your nutrient balance. Other programs may perform similarly “intelligent” services.

Guarantees

Don’t buy a food diary template that doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee or a free trial. In addition, make sure it offers free phone and email support after the sale.

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