Lose it! App Review

I've been on another health kick lately. In order to help me, I looked for a great iTouch app to track my food intake and exercise. After a few that didn't cut it for me, I found Lose it! and I'm sold. This app is not only free (yay!), but it tracks the things I want, doesn't bother me with stuff I don't want, and it easy and simple to use. (Images are clickable to enlarge.)

It starts with a basic overview of my day thus farTo add what I'm eating, I tap the Add Food button, and I'm taken to this screenwhere I can add foods several different ways. The Search Foods option has always had the foods I've looked for, from the Jif peanut butter I had on my sandwich for lunch to the pancake syrup I had yesterday with breakfast. The Brand Name Foods search has as much info, giving two ways to search. If I go out to eat, I can look up food based on where we go, such as Applebees or Ruby Tuesday. My Foods allows me to view foods I've had before. Create New Food is a simple way to add a custom food, like the homemade cinnamon rolls I like to make.

To add exercise, I tap the Add Exercise button and I'm taken to this screenwhich given many many options of exercise. It even has Housework as an option.

After entering food and exercise, I'm taken to the Log, which is a breakdown of what I've entered for that dayEntries can be edited here, if a change is needed. Simply tap that entry, and the details can be viewed, edited, or deleted completely.

Calorie information can also be viewed in a weekly format
Goals can be set, and calorie intake is based on the goal I set.The goal is based on my current weight, my desired weight, and the length of time I want to reach that weight. I can change or set a new goal at anytime. The only downside I have found is that this app doesn't allow me to adjust my calorie info to reflect that I am a nursing mother. But, that's just me, and the majority of people won't have that complication.

There are more options available, too.I can opt to track more nutrient information, such as fat, carbs, protein, and fiber. I can set a passcode, in case this is a shared device but I don't want anyone else to see my profile info. I can set up Motivators, to have notifications sent when I forget to enter information or send daily/ weekly progress reports to an email address. I have mine set up to share updates about my exercise and weight to my Twitter account. I'm all about sharing the progress! For some of these options, a membership to Loseit.com is needed, but since membership to their website is also free there's no reason not to sign up. Plus, if I sign up, I can get "friends" on the site, and create a network of supportive buddies to keep me going and to encourage on their path to health.

Overall, I think this is a great app. The price couldn't be better, and the app covers everything I want.

Thanks to Bobbie at onescrappymom.com for the inspiration for this review.