Long time user of the MyPlate app that one day just disappeared:( so with that, I went in search of another calorie tracking app and finally settled with this one. At first, I did not think this app would work for me, for many of the foods I eat were not found in their database, so I confused this as not helpful for me and decided to find something else. Months later, unsuccessful in finding an app I liked, I came back and decided to give it another try. Even though many of the foods I eat are still not in their database, I discovered I can easily add them myself and get this app to work perfectly for me. You can add in your own recipes and track those, & add in your exercise routine as well. Glad I came back a tried this app again. I’m sure with time and the amount of foods I’ve added to their database as well as others adding theirs, this app will continue to improve.

I am still using this app, despite that it is maddening when it comes to recipes. When I’ve entered a recipe and, a few days later, want to tweak one or two ingredients, I can’t see the ingredients or make changes. So I have to start from scratch and enter all the ingredients again. When I’ve been creating a recipe and want to enter an ingredient that isn’t in your database, I try to create that ingredient, but then I lose the recipe and all I’ve entered into it. And on that subject, your database of ingredients is woeful. Some common things, for instance from Trader Joe’s, are not in the database. So I am constantly creating new foods. I am spending way too much time doing this – so frustrating that it makes me want to overeat. That’s exactly the opposite of why I am on this app.The other problem is in the exercise section. I do a long stretch routine daily, but there is no option on the app for stretches. Or maybe there is, but there seems to be no list where I can choose stretching. And if I add stretch, stretching or anything similar, nothing comes up. That is a motivation killer.I was a Weight Watchers member for years and used their app, which does not have these problems. Of course, you pay for it. But I think this app can do better and still be free.

I’ve been using this app for about two weeks. I wasn’t particularly worried about losing weight when I started; I just wanted to get a better understanding of what I was putting into my mouth. If you are looking for a general overview to gauge your overall eating habits, then this app is fine for that. Where it falls short is that it’s not really conducive to home cooking. There seems to be an encyclopedia of information related to popular take out chains and favorite supermarket brands, but very little information for fresh, home prepared produce. Examples include steamed broccoli (only an Applebee’s side dish matched this entry) or baked Korean batata (a type of sweet potato). This app also doesn’t cater to more exotic cuisines, such as Ukrainian borscht or Pad King (a Thai ginger dish). You can destruct your home cooked dishes by listing comparable ingredients individually, but that just creates a lot of unnecessary time and effort. At some point a person is bound to get frustrated and bored by this cumbersome method of food tracking. Considering that this app is free and you are not looking for rigorous calorie counting, just rough estimates to reshape/understand your eating habits, then it serves its purpose.

When I was first diagnosed with diabetes my diabetes coach showed me this app for tracking purposes. It allows a lot of flexibility in what you want to accomplish for weight loss. It helps you to really realize what you are consuming on a daily basis and also keeps you on track with drinking plenty of water which is a key to weight loss. You can track carbs as well as calories and fat so that you can make better decisions for meal planning. It allows you to put in a recipe of your own and add a food that is specific to what you are normally eating. I have already lost 20 pounds over the last month and it is refreshing to see that I am finally on the right path and not following some fad diet with little direction. Basically the key is to consume less calories than you burn a day and you will lose weight! Good luck everyone!