Comparison of 5 Popular Calorie Counting Apps

Basics of proper nutrition

Proper nutrition (PN) is the main component of a healthy lifestyle, ensuring the normal development and strengthening of the body, and the prevention of diseases. Experts say that a balanced diet should become a habit. And an example of a healthy nutrition menu for the day is not a specific diet, but with a rational approach it improves your well-being, gives you vigor, and helps you get rid of excess weight.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with the main principles of the software:

1. Breakfast should be a must so that the body receives a sufficient amount of energy.
2. Vegetables and fruits contain a lot of vitamins, fiber and microelements. These products should form the basis of the diet. They have a beneficial effect on intestinal function and do not require large amounts of energy for digestion.
3. One meal should be a small portion. Each person should have a morning, lunch, evening meal, and two snacks. Try not to overeat, it has a detrimental effect on your health.
4. As for meat, give preference to chicken and veal. This product goes well with vegetables and is best consumed at lunchtime.
5. The menu includes hard cheeses, fermented baked milk, kefir and cottage cheese. Consume fermented milk products with a low fat content.
6. The most important fluid for the body is water. In the morning, drink 200 ml of pure still water 25 minutes before your morning meal. In general, it is recommended to drink at least eight glasses of water per day to normalize metabolism and cleanse the intestines.
7. Doctors advise reducing the consumption of granulated sugar and salt. The first one causes false hunger, and salt retains fluid in the body, forming edema.

NOTE: gradually accustom your body to a healthy diet.

What can be considered correct

• Food should satisfy hunger, causing satiety, not overeating.
• You need to make a meal plan so that you eat at a certain time. There should not be a long break between main meals; it is approximately three hours.
• Sweets have a positive effect on your mood. They can be eaten, but 1-2 times in 7 days.
• Food should replenish the supply of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins.
• If we talk about the cooking process, it is better to use stewing, boiling or baking.

Learning to analyze

So, the diary has been compiled, the products and workouts have been written out, all that remains is to do a little work on data analysis. By the way, it’s best to do this, especially if you weighed yourself before keeping the report.

Find food patterns. If the diary is filled out within a month, then certain trends are probably already noticeable. They can be obvious, for example, the same breakfasts, or different. During the analysis process, try to answer the main questions:

• Does food affect your mood?
• Are you getting full?

Designate snacks. Usually during lunches a person eats unhealthy high-calorie foods. Nuts, chips, cakes, hot dogs - these are not the foods that make you lose weight. A diary will help you understand how healthy you are eating during a hard day at work.

Define the dependency. Have you noticed that your mood depends on certain foods? More often, a person overeats when he is upset or sad. A food diary will help you better understand yourself and form the right habits.

It is important to understand your physiology and come to the conclusion which food brings pleasure and ease, and which, on the contrary, burdens the body.

https://youtu.be/80ZWBBejfMY

Products for proper nutrition

Now we will give an example of a list of products on a healthy diet. In fact, there are not many of them, but a wide variety of dishes can be prepared from these products. Not all ingredients need to be cooked; some are ideal for snacking.

• – Almonds, peanuts, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts.
• – Fresh and frozen berries.
• - Fruits.
• - Vegetables.
• – Porridges from various cereals.
• – Dried fruits: dried apricots, raisins, prunes, dates.
• - Chicken, turkey, rabbit.
• – A good drink to drink is green tea, which is a natural antioxidant.
• – Seafood: mussels, shrimp, squid.
• – Sea fish rich in Omega-3 fatty acids.

Read more information about products for proper nutrition and weight loss here

General information

Those who want to lose extra pounds usually try to learn about different methods that stimulate this process. People practice various diets, use weight loss products, perform “miraculous” exercises... But they often miss the opportunity to take advantage of very simple, but at the same time quite effective methods for losing weight. One such method is keeping a food diary or food diary. According to many nutritionists, it is precisely the clear recording of all the foods that a person eats throughout the day that helps to gradually understand what errors there are in the diet and how they can be corrected in order to make the diet healthy and achieve the desired forms. How exactly to keep a proper nutrition diary, what an example looks like, can be found in this article.

An example of proper nutrition for the day

Breakfast

It is not at all necessary to use exhausting diets and workouts to lose weight. It is enough to normalize your menu, and the body itself will correct fat deposition, but this will take a lot of time. With a healthy diet, there is absolutely no feeling of hunger and there is no need to torment yourself with restrictions. Let's look at examples of healthy eating breakfasts.

• Porridge made from rice, millet, buckwheat, oatmeal. Dishes are prepared with low-fat milk or water. Serve with nuts or dried fruit.
• A glass of kefir or yogurt. Make sandwiches from whole grain bread. Place low-fat cheese, herbs, tomatoes, lightly salted salmon, and boiled chicken on a slice of bread.
• Fruit and berry salad.
• Omelettes cooked on the stove, in the oven or in the slow cooker.
• Cottage cheese mixed with sour cream or jam. This product can be served with strawberries, apple, pear or peach slices.
• Soup made from local fruits.

Dinner

Let's consider next an example of lunch with proper nutrition. Please note that the menu should consist of different dishes, so cook the same recipe no more than twice a week. For lunch you can eat:

• Lenten pizza.
• Baked cauliflower with egg in the oven.
• Buckwheat soup with chicken meatballs.
• Lenten borscht.
• Rassolnik with pearl barley.
• Salmon baked in low-fat cream.

Dinner

An example of dinner with proper nutrition is also important. This meal should not be too filling, so as not to complicate the functioning of the digestive system. The following dishes are useful for an evening meal:

• Tomato and onion salad dressed with sour cream.
• Cottage cheese pudding with cherries.
• Brown rice with shrimp.
• Egg white omelette with parsley.
• Cottage cheese casserole with dried apricots or apple.
• Cabbage salad with cucumbers.
• Chicken fillet baked with zucchini.
• Beef stew with sweet pepper.
• Squid with vegetables.
• Steamed pink salmon with potatoes.
• Fish soup with millet grains.

It's up to you to decide what is better to have dinner with proper nutrition. The above are a few examples; alternate dishes from lean meats, fish and quality vegetables.

Snacks

We bring to your attention examples of snacks on a healthy diet. During the day, you often want to eat in addition to your main meals. The following products are suitable for these purposes:

• Homemade oatmeal cookies.
• Dried fruits.
• Nuts.
• Buckwheat bread with curd spread.
• Apple.
• Orange.
• Banana.
• Dark chocolate (no more than 20 g).
• Kefir with honey or jam.

An example of proper nutrition for a week should not include confectionery, chocolate bars, rich pastries, white bread, or fast food. The advertisement claims that dry mixes are very useful for breakfast. This is not true, it is better to cook your own porridge from whole grains. Do not buy chips, crackers, packaged juices, alcoholic and carbonated drinks.

NOTE: Prepare sweet pastries at home, but do not eat them every day.

How to create a healthy nutrition menu

Proteins fats carbohydrates

When creating a balanced menu, you need to pay attention to the correct ratio of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. You can take the healthy eating pyramid as a basis.

1. Complex carbohydrates are the bottom of the pyramid.
2. Proteins – fish, eggs, milk, cottage cheese, meat.
3. Fiber – vegetables, herbs, fruits.
4. Simple carbohydrates.

Currently, the optimal daily caloric intake for girls is 1800 kcal, for men – 2100 kcal. In the diet, proteins, fats, carbohydrates are in the proportion of 30:20:50.

The body gets energy from carbohydrates. Due to prolonged digestion, complex carbohydrates are not deposited on the waist. Therefore, give preference to grain bread, cereals, cereals and durum wheat pasta. These products are best for breakfast or lunch.

Proteins are an irreplaceable source of amino acids. This component is found in eggs, milk and meat. The leaders in protein content are caviar, hard cheese, turkey and veal.

Fats are divided into 2 types: animal and vegetable origin. The first group includes seafood, milk, and meat. The second group includes coconut, palm, sesame, olive oil, as well as nuts and avocados.

When studying examples of dishes for proper nutrition, you need to pay attention to the right combination of products. The digestibility of the components depends on this important nuance. Adhere to the following principles:

1. Eat fruits separately from main dishes; you can eat them an hour before meals.
2. Do not mix fish and milk.
3. Proteins don't go well with carbohydrates.
4. Do not combine proteins with fats in one dish, for example, eggs with sour cream.
5. Do not eat bread with potatoes or porridge.
6. Acid or oil slows down protein absorption.
7. Potatoes, bread and beans do not harmonize with sour foods.
8. Cabbage goes well with fats.

Sample menu for the day

We provide the opportunity to estimate the amount of food in an example of proper nutrition for every day. Before going to the store, you need to make a list. As a rule, pasta and cereals are purchased less frequently, but milk and fermented milk products are purchased more often.

• In the morning - omelet with cheese and green onions, tea.
• For lunch - soup with meatballs, Chinese cabbage salad.
• For an afternoon snack - a handful of dried fruits.
• For dinner - stewed fish with potatoes, salad with fresh vegetables.
• At night - kefir.

The male body is directly affected by resistance to stress, physical activity, mental state and satisfaction with personal life. Particular attention must be paid to the diet; it should be based on the following features:

1. An excess of simple carbohydrates causes the growth of adipose tissue, which leads to obesity. Therefore, the menu for men should include complex carbohydrates.
2. Choose foods that contain unsaturated fatty acids.
3. Proteins significantly increase the performance of men; this product leads to muscle growth.
4. The diet must be filled with foods containing fiber and vitamins.

Citrus fruits, apples, plums, and bananas are useful for the stronger sex. Since in everyday life men are susceptible to the influence of nervous tension, they are recommended to eat onions, fresh herbs, beets, carrots, figs, dried apricots, strawberries, and cherries. An example of proper nutrition for every day for men looks something like this, you can make your own additions:

• Breakfast – 3 scrambled eggs with dill, unsweetened tea.
• Snack – 250 ml of fermented baked milk.
• Lunch – borscht with beans, turkey cutlet, a cup of tea with whole grain cookies.
• Afternoon snack – cottage cheese with prune cubes.
• Dinner – shrimp with bulgur.

A - made healthy nutrition menu for a week allows you to easily create an excellent diet.
Based on the above example, you can make a balanced menu for 7 or 14 days. Do not use semi-finished products, prepare healthy meals yourself.

What is a food diary and how does it help you lose weight?

Anyone who is trying to lose excess weight knows for sure: to achieve the desired result, you need physical activity and proper nutrition. By the way, you need to pay maximum attention to food. Working out until you sweat will be in vain if you don’t stop overeating.

A food diary can help here, popular fitness blogger, resident of the international company Enhel Group, founder of the innovative clinic Enhel Wellness Spa Dome Julia Enhel shares her experience. A diary, like a training plan, will stimulate you to achieve accomplishments, allow you to adjust your eating habits and help you not give up halfway.

FOOD DIARY: WHAT DO YOU EAT IT WITH?

According to Julia Angel, a person of the 21st century eats a lot and often. And sometimes - when he is not hungry at all. How can you refuse if you are in a company of friends, or on vacation - studying the gastronomic traditions of a foreign country. Few people can resist the temptation to eat “out of grief” or when “it’s time for dinner.” Which of us at such moments pays attention to the composition of products? Units! This is exactly where you need a food diary, which will allow you to analyze your bad habits and take measures to correct them.

- Only a trained person can catch the moment when he is full. It takes even more willpower to stop and finish your meal. Constant self-control will definitely help you. Another way to easily lose weight: water! One and a half to two liters a day - so that the brain does not confuse thirst and hunger. Personally, I drink the one enriched with hydrogen,” explained Julia Angel.

Another tip from the expert is to pay attention to what we eat. The more often we read labels, the more difficult it will become to eat unhealthy and dangerous foods.

— Choose environmentally friendly products! My food system is the Japanese “rainbow”. It contains the philosophy and wisdom of the ancient people: no restrictions. You can eat everything that nature has created. The main thing is to do it in moderation. The Japanese golden rule is to serve only natural, seasonal products. It’s not for nothing that the Japanese diet, rich in vegetables, nuts, and, of course, fish and seafood, is so popular all over the world. Each product has its own composition of microelements, and so that the body is satisfied and does not experience a deficiency of vitamins, we take in a little of everything,” says the president of the international company Enhel Group.

yulia.enhel

An ideal body without much effort, sports for pleasure... For many this seems impossible, but for me it is reality!

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Merely recording your meals does not guarantee weight loss. A set of procedures is needed: a healthy diet and regular exercise. Only this combination will allow you to noticeably adjust your figure and move the scales down.

— Move as much as possible, don’t be lazy, don’t come up with a reason to skip training. Enjoy every second you live,” advises Yulia. “I assure you: very soon your body will say, “Thank you.” As a small reward, allow yourself some candy, or sorbet, or a glass of wine. The main thing, in my opinion, is to allow yourself to do this rarely and enjoy it. therefore, even during rest, I do not forget about sports, after which the conditional “candy” will not harm my figure.

Those who start living according to a food diary are very surprised by what they eat. Previously, they did not notice the hidden calories in their diet. And the diary helped us concentrate on what we were eating. With it, it has become easier to refuse to eat unnecessary foods, regulate the correct diet, and identify allergenic foods.

A DIARY HELPS YOU STAY FROM YOUR DIET

Before you push yourself into strict limits and control the quality, quantity, and frequency of food, you need to figure out why you need a food diary in the first place. Conquer excess weight, accept the principle of eating intuitively and consciously, listen to the sensations of food?

— As a rule, people do not achieve the desired result. They relax after just a couple of kilograms lost. And then they gain weight again - sometimes even more than what they had before the start of the health marathon,” says Yulia. “Therefore, before taking decisive action, you need to analyze your actions, find mistakes and correct them.

At first, a food diary can replace a nutritionist. It is he who will allow you to look at nutrition from the outside, analyze and find errors. In any case, this correct habit will open your eyes to the source of those extra pounds. Teaches discipline and self-analysis.

HOW TO KEEP A FOOD DIARY?

A food diary is like a personal organizer. Advanced users and experts recommend not experimenting with paper classics and immediately introducing the electronic version. You just need to choose a phone application or an online service. In the end, you can just use Excel.

Make sure you keep detailed records of more than just the date and time of your meals. As well as the menu and meal weight. For example, May 25, 2019 18.00 - fried eggs from two eggs, 150 grams of boiled beef, one cucumber, a cup of black tea, one teaspoon of honey.

Next to each entry, you must leave a comment about the reason for eating. Based on this data, after some time you will be able to find and analyze snacks without sufficient reason for this. For example, May 25, 2020 18.00 - fried eggs from two eggs, 150 grams of boiled beef, one cucumber, a cup of black tea, one teaspoon of honey. Dinner.

— Be honest with your diary and with yourself. Don't hide any snacks, lunches or coffee breaks. Understand that you are doing this for yourself. Write down information regularly - your memory can fail. Therefore, it is better to record each meal immediately after eating. The most important thing is to work with a diary. If you don’t regularly review and analyze data, maintaining a document simply loses its meaning, says Yulia Angel.

yulia.enhel

Won't you eat the candy? — I’ll answer this very tricky ;)) question with a post: of course I’ll eat. Life in complete restrictions is not my choice! Sometimes you can allow yourself candy, sorbet, and a glass of wine - the main thing, in my opinion, is to allow yourself this rarely and enjoy it

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GOOD RESULT

A food diary is needed to accurately show the gastronomic picture of the day: what foods you ate and at what time. Once you've recorded everything, it's as easy as pie to convert everything into calories. This will keep your weight under control and maintain your diet. After all, it is quite difficult to understand with the naked eye whether you are eating right or not. It seems to you that you eat nothing or eat little during the day, and you gain excess weight.

One of the main tasks of a food diary is to harmonize proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The optimal balance of these substances leads to excellent health and smooth functioning of the body.

— It is very important that proteins, fats, and carbohydrates are present in our diet, regardless of the task at hand. It is important not only to count the calories received and spent, but also to monitor the ratio between BZHU. Scientists have established the following BJU ratio for the healthy functioning of the body: we should get 20–40% of calories from proteins, 25%–35% from fats, and 30–50% from carbohydrates. To safely lose weight precisely due to fat, the BJU formula should be as follows: 40-50% - proteins, 25-35% - fats, 15-25% - carbohydrates, advises Julia Angel.

These are only average indicators, everything is individual and requires consultation with a doctor.

Menu for the week

An example of a weekly menu of proper nutrition allows the housewife not to worry about what to feed her family. You can create a balanced diet in advance, focusing on the tastes of your household.

Monday

• Breakfast – oatmeal with milk and bee honey.
• Lunch – rabbit soup with noodles.
• Afternoon snack – cabbage casserole.
• Dinner – chicken in foil with onions.

Tuesday

• Breakfast – oatmeal with prunes.
• Lunch – pink salmon soup, salad.
• Afternoon snack – rice pudding with pear.
• Dinner – beef with potatoes.

Wednesday

• Breakfast – barley porridge with candied fruits.
• Lunch – soup with sorrel, steamed cutlet.
• Afternoon snack – casserole with cottage cheese and poppy seeds.
• Dinner – pollock with pearl barley and pumpkin.

Thursday

• Breakfast – buckwheat porridge with dried cherries.
• Lunch – borscht with veal.
• Afternoon snack – a spoonful of berry jam and cottage cheese.
• Dinner – cabbage rolls cooked in a double boiler.

Friday

• Breakfast – scrambled eggs with tomatoes and low-fat cheese.
• Lunch – millet soup with turkey.
• Afternoon snack – salad of peaches, raspberries and green apple.
• Dinner – sole cutlets, cabbage salad.

Saturday

• Breakfast – millet with apple.
• Lunch – vermicelli soup with chicken.
• Afternoon snack – yogurt.
• Dinner – carrot salad, chicken thighs with garlic.

Sunday

• Breakfast: Orsini eggs.
• Lunch – a portion of cabbage soup with whole grain bread.
• Afternoon snack – milk pudding.
• Dinner – stewed vegetables with rabbit.

This is what an example of proper nutrition for a week looks like. It is advisable to use homemade meat for cooking; it does not contain hormones or other chemicals. Steam dietary meat and fish of different varieties; a multicooker does this perfectly.

Benefits of proper nutrition

For good health

We looked at examples of proper nutrition for men and women. In general, they are not too different, the difference is in the required daily caloric intake. And judging by the list of dishes, such food cannot be called boring and monotonous.

The benefits of a healthy diet include the following:

1. You can get rid of extra pounds without harm to your health.
2. The body receives all the necessary nutrients from healthy food, so you will not be bothered by drowsiness and fatigue.
3. Human immunity depends on the proper functioning of the intestines. If this organ actively copes with the elimination of harmful substances, then the protective functions will be normal.
4. Healthy food improves your mood and creates spiritual harmony.
5. A proper diet is the key to longevity.
6. A healthy lifestyle and good food motivates a person, building willpower.
7. Low salt, cholesterol and fat content in food prevents the development of heart and vascular diseases.
8. The occurrence of osteoporosis is minimized, since calcium is present in the products.
9. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains keep blood sugar at normal levels.
10. Improves brain activity. It is especially useful to eat prunes, raspberries, cherries, almonds, spinach, and walnuts.

NOTE: Chinese cabbage, broccoli, milk, cheese, yogurt, cereals and juices contain sufficient amounts of calcium.

Examples of proper nutrition menus for every day will help you create an optimal diet. You can keep a special diary in which specific dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner will be written down. For convenience, you can make a column nearby in which the necessary ingredients will be entered.

For appearance

Beauty and attractiveness are important moments for the fair sex. And only a properly structured diet is the key to a healthy appearance. A person’s well-being can be judged by the color of the skin, the condition of the hair and nails.

An example of a healthy nutrition menu for a week should be composed of foods that saturate the body with energy and give a feeling of lightness in the stomach. Drink clean still water, it is good for the skin.

NOTE: It is not recommended to drink water before bed, as swelling may occur.

Hair and nails require proteins involved in the formation of keratin and collagen. Eat poultry and fish prepared by stewing or boiling. In addition, eat legumes, eggs, nuts and cheese. Corn and sunflower oil are the main sources of fatty acids. Hormonal balance, skin elasticity and hair thickness depend on this element.

Women's health requires zinc, which prevents hair and nails from becoming brittle and preserves youth. Eat pumpkin seeds, oysters, grains. The lack of this element is reflected in the dullness and unattractiveness of the hair. Tyrosine, which prevents gray hair, is present in bananas, milk, almonds, and avocados.

The video contains a detailed menu plan for the day:

https://youtu.be/GU5g6ThaDNw

About the Exercise Diary

It’s curious, but literally 15 years ago, women kept a food diary in a regular notebook, designed it beautifully and manually calculated calories. Modern technologies have made this process easier; gadgets and special applications have appeared in our lives. If you decide to become a fan of a healthy lifestyle, you can’t do without a calorie diary.

Paper version

According to statistics, 50% of those losing weight prefer a paper document. This is convenient for several reasons:

• quick and clear filling;
• you can make edits;
• records are not erased.

Despite the advantages, the paper form of the diary also has disadvantages:

• you always need to carry it with you, and this is inconvenient if you are the owner of a small reticule;
• limit in the number of pages;
• It may be difficult to count calories, since you will have to do it yourself.

If you still decide to go with this option, purchase a general notebook with 96 sheets or a special notebook for training.

MS Excel

Are you a fan of technical comfort? Then a food diary in the standard MS Office package is what you need. An Excel spreadsheet is convenient because:

• You can enter a formula for calculating calories and dietary fat in the cell;
• information copied to external media, such as a flash drive, will always be at hand.

Such a diary also has its disadvantages:

• MS Excel is a complex program, so a beginner in computer science will have to learn how to manipulate formulas and create graphs;
• you need to enter the data manually and regularly check the correctness of the formulas.

If you have not encountered MS Excel before, do not be discouraged, you can find detailed training methods on the Internet.

Have you ever thought about how much time you spend in the gym and what effect it has on weight loss? To monitor weight loss, nutritionists advise starting to keep an exercise diary.

It's no secret that a training diary is an incentive to new heights and achievements. For example, you want to get a flat stomach and a thin waist that you dreamed of. With the help of a journal, you can track your activity not only for the day, but also for a longer period.

It is very important to understand what should be written in such a diary. Professionals advise entering the following parameters into it:

• training time;
• number of approaches;
• intensity.

Three criteria will be enough to track your craving for sports and understand how you should train.

A food diary for weight loss is a convenient and necessary thing. Use it if you want to work on yourself: improve your body, maintain health for a long time and simply become better.

conclusions

Food is a vital necessity for every person. Health depends on the quality and usefulness of food. You don't have to cook with expensive ingredients. It is recommended to use locally produced products, it is both inexpensive and tasty.

It is worth paying special attention to a healthy diet when losing weight. If you eat foods rich in starch, they must be combined with green vegetables. It is not recommended to use sweet dishes for snacks; for this it is better to take seasonal fruits. And, of course, when losing weight, do not forget about the drinking regime.

An example of proper nutrition for a week allows you to saturate your body with useful substances. Good food renews cells and tissues and serves as a source of energy. Often, switching to a healthy diet leads to recovery of the body.

What apps should you pay attention to?

Diet and food diary for a year. The diet is based on observations of the reaction of the human body, depending on the cycles of the moon. The moon really influences all life on Earth, so the developers decided that this factor should be taken into account and selected a special diet, which you can learn more about in this application.

Yazio calorie counter. With this food diary you can successfully track your calorie intake, physical activity and weight loss. More than 6 million people have already achieved certain results using this application.

Food Diary. A classic food diary that takes into account all the above benefits of a food diary.