The 49th Installment
"Diet Apps"

by Yosuke Tsuchiya,
Assistant Professor in the Master Program for Information Systems Architecture

Diet Apps

I lost about 20 kg in six months. That is approximately a loss of 17% of my total based on my original weight. Many people are interested in controlling their weight, and there are many apps that support weight loss. In this article, I would like to introduce some iPhone apps I used while I was on a diet and include my weight loss methods.

First of all, the reason I decided to lose weight was to reduce the strain on my lumbar spine to recover from chronic lower-back pain. Apart from anything else, weight control requires proper exercise and diet. It really depends on decreasing the number of calories consumed and increasing the number of calories burned through activity. Sadly, it is difficult to maintain high motivation because you will likely get discouraged if you do not lose weight despite hard efforts. So, I decided to use iPhone apps to lose weight in a more enjoyable way.

The first app I used was Calorie Note (http://icalorienote.com/). The app supports a diet by helping users record the calorie intake from each meal along with the number of calories consumed from exercising so that they can manage to limit the total daily calorie consumption within the suggested range of calories. Users can look up what they eat to record calorie intake, and they can see the results graphically showing that weight is gradually decreasing, whichhelps them to maintain motivation.

However, it did not help me for a long time because it was troublesome to enter the food into the app because I got tired of doing it. In addition, I felt additional stress from the feeling of regret after recording what I ate. It was not very effective for a self-indulgent person like me because this type of app is supposed to encourage self-improvement by keeping a calorie log.

Thus, I stopped keeping logs and tried to manage calorie intake before meals by reference to a suggested daily calorie intake from the above app. More specifically, I tried to change my regular eating habits and started using an app called Cook Pad (http://cookpad.com/), a recipe sharing website. It does not appear to relate to any diet apps, although you will find a number of easy-to-follow recipes by searching "diet." I tried to cook low calorie meals that satisfied my appetite by narrowing down recipes using chicken breast tenders for example. This app worked perfectly and helped me continue my efforts at losing weight in a more enjoyable way after discovering that I could follow recipes to cook something even though I did not cook much before. What I learned from this was that it is about what you eat, not about what you have eaten.

Next, I started walking because I heard that cardio exercise is effective in trying to lose weight. To support this, I used the iPhone app, Google Maps, to search for a walking route by setting a point of departure and arrival, as well as the total travel distance and estimated time. The map shows a current location via GPS and allows users to walk unfamiliar routes without getting lost. In this way, I started walking a 5 to 8 km course every weekend. If you use an iPhone, you can listen to music with the iPod app to make the routine of walking fun. In addition, I added resistance training to improve my lower back pain. I used the i-fukkin (sit-ups) (http://www.i-fukkin.com/) as a supporting tool during sit-ups although I found it easier to count without the app if you do 20 sit-ups daily.

From my experience, the useful apps are the ones that closely reflect daily life, not weight-loss support apps. The important point might be to change the regular lifestyle habits instead of doing something special to lose weight.

I have finally achieved my initial goal of reaching double figures, and the pain in the lower back disappeared. I will work to maintain the weight in the years ahead. Obesity may lead to all kinds of diseases. If you feel that you are getting bigger these days, let's change your lifestyle habits and get back a healthy body with me!