We all know that what you eat is just as important as exercising. As college students, it’s often simpler for us to pick an exercise routine than to change our diets. Do you really know what you’re putting into your body on a day to day basis, even week to week? If you don’t already have one, you should consider downloading a food tracker application for your phone. As collegiettes, we run a lot of aspects of our lives through our phones anyways. When using a food tracker app, it’s easier for you to track what you’re eating because you are always by your phone whether you’re dining in or out. I’ve researched a few food tracker apps that will help you realize how much food you are putting into your body.
1. CRON-O-MeterIf you’re looking for an easy to use app that does the job of simply tracking your diet, this app might be more tailored for you. It tracks your daily calories and exercise (if you want) and allows personal recipes and foods. This app doesn’t have the scanner, community support, syncing capabilities or progression graphs, which allows the app to be very basic and simplistic for those who don’t need all the extra bells and whistles. This app also takes up less memory on your phone. Sometimes, the simple things are what work best. This app costs $2.99.
2. MyPlate Calorie TrackerThis app is sponsored by LiveStrong.com and is very user friendly and easy to navigate. MyPlate Calorie Tractracks daily calories, exercise, water intake and the amount of grams you’re eating from types of foods. You can set calorie goals, and the app calculates the difference between how many calories you consumed and how many calories you burned. It has a large food database that displays the amount of calories for thousands of food items. Support goes a long way when it comes to trying something new, and this app has an in-app community that supports and motivates your progress; people post recipes, questions, advice and personal updates to encourage other app users. This app can be synced to your laptop and tablet, and best of all, it’s free!
3. FooducateThis app has all the features of the MyPlate Calorie Tracker plus much more. This app was part of iTunes’ “Best of the iPhone Health & Fitness” category, and it also received media praise from Dr. Oz and Oprah. Would Oprah ever steer you down the wrong path? Unlike many apps, Fooducate focuses on more than just caloric intake. This app looks at trans-fat, excessive sugar, MSG, additives and so much more. The real perk of Fooducate is that you can scan the barcode of food items to learn what’s really in your food. It’s fun to use the tracker because it gives the scanned food item a letter grade with a list of positives and negatives. I scanned snacks that I thought were healthy, but those snacks scored a ‘C.’ Definitely check this app out because it’s informational, helpful, fun and free.