Working Out is Working Out

About a week ago I mentioned that I was feeling out of shape and out of sorts. I had tried the Self Magazine online reach your goal program. That was last Tuesday. By Wednesday I was feeling there really should be -- must be -- a better solution. Mike was interested in tracking his nutrition and activities, and the Self site didn't really have many pre-selectable foods. Also, I was not taking advantage of their exercise programs (I like what I do already).

I investigated two other solutions: Calorie King and MyNetDiary. Both have extensive food databases. We have used Calorie King's Calorie, Fat, & Carbohydrate Counter [book] for years. It has an extensive listing of foods and includes nutritional information from a bunch of chain restaurants. The book is my go-to solution when I cook; I use it to calculate nutritional info for recipes. CK also has nutrition and exercise software called Nutrition & Exercise Manager ($45). There is a version for Windows and another for Mac OS X. It supports up to 5 users and has a slimmed down version for the Palm OS ($30). The second solution I examined, MyNetDiary, is a web-based monthly subscription service ($7 - $9 per month, depending on number of months). It also has an extensive food database, it tracks exercise, and it has an iPhone app (free) that links up with the online account. Both options support custom food entry and analysis.

After lenghty deliberation, I decided on MyNetDiary. The compelling strength for me was two-fold: I like the web-based app that I can access from anywhere (work, home, travel) rather than being restricted to one computer, and we don't have Palm OS on any of our phones, so that solution wouldn't apply. Certainly the downside of choosing MyNetDiary is that the annual cost is higher than purchasing Nutrition and Exercise Manager ($84 for the former, vs $45 for the latter) and that cost is for one user vs five. Convenience of entering data won out for me, because I know me -- if too much time passes, I'll forget to enter.

I re-entered my nutrition and exercise data (originally input in Self) from Tuesday, and started using MyNetDiary last Wednesday. I really like it. I'll share some of the features, making screenshots with their Free Test Drive online.

1. Start by entering basic information about yourself (weight, height, gender, activity level):

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2. Next enter your goals (weight goal and date, exercise goals) and the program determines your DRI using the methods below

MyNetDiary uses the official formulas for Estimated Energy Requirements provided by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

Adult man: EER = 662 - 9.53 x age (y) + PA x (15.91 x wt [kg] + 539.6 x ht [m])

Adult woman: EER = 354 - 6.91 x age (y) + PA x (9.36 x wt [kg] + 726 x ht [m])

PA indicates activity level, and is equal to 1.0 for sedentary, 1.12 for low active, 1.27 for active, and 1.45 for very active.

The Institute of Medicine provides detailed tables and formulas for nutrients and energy. You can see the formulas on page 5, as well as the table that lists Estimated Energy Requirements calculated using this formula for 30-year olds. For example, for a 30 year old male, 1.80m tall, "low active", with BMI 24.99 (178 lbs) it lists 2,884 calories, and for "active" - 3,200. We recommend selecting activity level in MyNetDiary as "low active" and accurately accounting for any extra energy-burning activities and exercises that are outside of typical "low active" lifestyle. This will be much more accurate than the generic "active" activity level, which is of course a very rough guess.

Clicking Analyze! will tell you your BMI and analyze the food intake and exercise needed to acheive your weight goal:

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3. Next, start entering your daily food and exercise:

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As you continue entering information over time, you can review reports and charts of your progress.

The tool can be used to lose weight, or simply maintain your current weight. I am really using it to help me be more conscientious about what I eat and how much I exercise. My eating patterns haven't really changed, but the exercise section is a good motivator for me to work out!

Have a happy day!