Difference between revisions of "Diet tracking"

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{{Tool Infobox
+
{{Topic Infobox}}
|Category=Observe
+
'''Diet tracking tools''' help when engaging in the common practice of diet tracking, whether for weight-loss or in relation to health issues and chronic conditions that require particular diets. A variety of tools try to enable the tracking of food eaten, often attached to databases that enable additional data such as calories, macro/micronutrients and other things. Additionally, they can allow tracking micronutrients which are supplemented with [[Supplements]].  
|Related topics=Weight tracking
 
}}
 
Engaging in diet tracking is a common practice, for weight-loss but also related to health issues and chronic conditions that require particular diets. A variety of tools try to enable the tracking of food eaten, often attached to databases that enable additional data such as calories, macro/micronutrients and other things.  
 
  
== Types of data recorded by diet tracking tools ==
+
==Types of data recorded by diet tracking tools==
What exactly is recorded by the tools can depend on the exact tool used, but frequently recorded information includes:
+
What exactly is recorded by the tools can depend on the exact tool used, but recorded information includes:
  
* calorie intake  
+
*calorie intake
* macronutrients: carbs, proteins, fats  
+
* macronutrients: carbs, proteins, fats
* micronutrients: iron, calcium, vitamin D, etc.  
+
*micronutrients: iron, calcium, vitamin D, etc.
* brands and manufacturers  
+
*brands and manufacturers
* enjoyment, circumstances, environment surrounding eating  
+
*Degree of processing<ref>https://world.openfoodfacts.org/nova</ref>
 +
Potentially information that is not yet noticed in any app is price of food, what is available in fridge, enjoyment, circumstances, environment surrounding eating.
  
== Projects and results from these tools ==
+
==Projects and results from these tools==
  
* Greg Pomerantz [https://sethroberts.net/2012/11/07/journal-of-personal-science-how-much-salt-should-i-eat/ tracked the impact of sodium/salt in his diet on blood pressure and other metrics]
+
*Greg Pomerantz [https://sethroberts.net/2012/11/07/journal-of-personal-science-how-much-salt-should-i-eat/ tracked the impact of sodium/salt in his diet on blood pressure and other metrics]
* [[Quantified Diabetes]] did some rigorous tests on the impact of different diets on blood glucose
+
*[[Quantified Diabetes]] did some rigorous tests on the impact of different diets on blood glucose
* Winslow Strong used diet tracking in [[MyFitnessPal]] to [https://quantifiedself.com/show-and-tell/?project=155 observe how a low carbohydrate/paleo diet impacted his body]
+
*Winslow Strong used diet tracking in [[MyFitnessPal]] to [https://quantifiedself.com/show-and-tell/?project=155 observe how a low carbohydrate/paleo diet impacted his body]
  
== Patients and communities that need these tools ==
+
==Patients and communities that need these tools==
Weight loss<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/nutrition/</ref> is a very common goal. Communities about stomach and liver problems.
+
Weight loss<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/nutrition/</ref>is a very common goal. Additionally, there are communities affected by stomach and liver problems for which diet tracking is relevant<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/ScientificNutrition/wiki/index</ref><ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/FoodNerds/top/</ref>.
  
=== Research ===
+
==Diets==
Reddit<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/ScientificNutrition/wiki/index</ref>
+
There are many different diets for which tracking food intake will be relevant, e.g.
 +
*Keto<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/wiki/faq</ref><ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/ketoscience/wiki/index</ref>
 +
*Intermittent Fasting<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/fasting_in_a_nutshell/dangers_of_dry_fasting</ref>
 +
*Juicing<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/Juicing/top/</ref>
 +
* Plant Based<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/PlantBasedDiet/top/</ref>
  
=== Diets ===
+
==Tips and guides to using diet tracking tools==
Keto<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/wiki/faq</ref><ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/ketoscience/wiki/index</ref>
+
Typically most tools are somewhat self-explanatory after installation. Beyond this, there are some tips and advice on how to consistently track diet:
  
== Tips and guides to using diet tracking tools ==
+
* Buying a kitchen scale can be useful to accurately track the amounts eaten, in particular if you cook yourself or eat at restaurants that don't have standard food quantities. Fractions of a package too.
Typically most tools are somewhat self-explanatory after installation. Beyond this, there are some tips and advice on how to consistently track diet: 
+
*Frequently, people engaging in diet tracking find that the manual labor of recording their diets becomes too onerous and quit after a few months. [[User:DG|DG]] suggests regularly repeating meals as this a) speeds up the speed of logging data as it will be a 'recently used meal' (e.g. as available in the tool [[Bitesnap]]) and b) also can help find patterns in the data. Wildly inaccurate measurements are still better than nothing, especially for things like eliminating a food as a problem.
  
* Buying a kitchen scale can be useful to accurately track the amounts eaten, in particular if you cook yourself or eat at restaurants that don't have standard food quantities.
+
== Table of common diet tracking tools==
* Frequently, people engaging in diet tracking find that the manual labor of recording their diets becomes too onerous and quit after a few months. [[User:DG|DG]] suggests regularly repeating meals as this a) speeds up the speed of logging data as it will be a 'recently used meal' (e.g. as available in the tool [[Bitesnap]]) and b) also can help find patterns in the data. 
 
  
== Table of common diet tracking tools ==
+
This table is adapted from the [[Quantified Self]] forums<ref>https://forum.quantifiedself.com/t/recommended-food-tracking-apps/252/38</ref> and might in places be outdated. Empty cells are unknown information. Yellow check-marks indicate some basic functionality of this type. The different columns indicate:
  
Table taken from the QS forums<ref>https://forum.quantifiedself.com/t/recommended-food-tracking-apps/252/38</ref>.
+
* '''Quantity''': Allows changing food quantities
 +
* '''Timestamp''': Gives a detailed timestamp on when food was eaten
 +
* '''Export''': Allows exporting data in the form of a file
 +
* '''Notes''': Entries have a free-text field to give additional information (e.g. where it was eaten, whether tasty or not…)
 +
* '''Offline''': Does the app (mostly) work when not being online?
 +
* '''Price''': How much does the app or a subscription to it cost?
 +
* '''Search''': Can one search by food name?
 +
* '''Favorite/Recent''': In the menu to add food, is there the list of foods ordered by most likely?
 +
* '''Barcode''': Can food be searched by scanning the barcode on it?
 +
* '''Micronutrients''': Does the app include details on micronutrients?
 +
* '''User-added food''': Does the app include user contributions to expand their food database?
 +
* '''Custom food''': Can you add your own food that's missing from the database?
 +
* '''Water''': Does it allow tracking water intake
  
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: 0px;"
+
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
!name
+
|+
!<small>quantity timestamp  export</small>
+
A table of common diet-tracking tools.
!<small>notes</small>
+
!Tool
!<small>offline</small>
+
!Quantity
!<small>Price &</small>
+
!Timestamps
<small>paywall</small>
+
!Data export
!<small>search fave/recent barcode</small>
+
!Notes
!<small>detailnutrition serv.choiceselect customfood</small>
+
!Offline
!<small>water</small>
+
!Price
 +
!Search
 +
!Favorite/Recent
 +
!Barcode
 +
!Micronutrients
 +
! User-added food
 +
!Custom food
 +
!Water tracking
 
|-
 
|-
|bitesnap
+
|[[Bitesnap]]
| y y y
+
|{{Ya}}
|y
+
|{{Ya}}
|y
+
|{{Ya}}
|F
+
|{{Ya}}
| w y y
+
|{{Ya}}
| y y y
+
|free
| w
+
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 
|-
 
|-
|mynetdairy
+
|[[MyNetDiary]]
| y y p
+
|{{Ya}}
|y
+
|{{Ya}}
|y
+
|Paid
|50/y
+
|{{Ya}}
| y y y
+
|{{Ya}}
| y y y
+
|$50 / year
| w
+
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 
|-
 
|-
|Waistline
+
|[[Waistline]]
|y n y
+
|{{Ya}}
|y
+
|{{Na}}
|y
+
|{{Ya}}
|O
+
|{{Ya}}
|y ? n
+
|{{Ya}}
|w w y
+
|open source
|
+
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 
|-
 
|-
|cronometer
+
|[[Cronometer]]
| y p  p
+
|{{Ya}}
|p
+
|Paid
| n
+
|Paid
 +
|Paid
 +
|{{Na}}
 
|
 
|
| y y y
+
|{{Ya}}
| y y y
+
|{{Ya}}
| n
+
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 
|-
 
|-
|myfitnesspal
+
|[[MyFitnessPal]]
| y p w
+
|{{Ya}}
|w
+
|{{Ya}}
|w
+
|Paid
|40/y
+
|{{MaybeCheck}}
| y y y
+
|{{MaybeCheck}}
| y y y
+
|$40 / year
| y
+
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 
|-
 
|-
|looseit
+
|[[LooseIt]]
| y n y
+
|{{Ya}}
|n
+
|{{Na}}
|y
+
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 
|
 
|
| y y y
+
|{{Ya}}
| w n ?
+
|{{Ya}}
| p
+
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 
|-
 
|-
|SparklePeople
+
|[[SparklePeople]]
| y n p
+
|{{Ya}}
|n
+
|{{Na}}
|  
+
|Paid
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|
 
|
 
|
| y y y
+
|{{Ya}}
| y n y
+
|{{Ya}}
| y
+
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 
|-
 
|-
|fooducate
+
|Fooducate
| y n p
+
|{{Ya}}
|n
+
|{{Na}}
|  
+
|Paid
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|
 
|
 
|
| y y y
+
|{{Ya}}
| y n y
+
|{{Ya}}
| n
+
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 
|-
 
|-
|fatsecret
+
|FatSecret
| y n ?
+
|{{Ya}}
|n
+
|{{Na}}
|  
+
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|
 
|
 
|
| y y w
+
|{{Ya}}
| y y n
+
|{{Ya}}
| w
+
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 
|-
 
|-
|eathismuch
+
|EatThisMuch
| y n ?
+
|{{Ya}}
|?
+
|{{Na}}
|  
+
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|
 
|
 
|
| w y w
+
|{{MaybeCheck}}
| w y y
+
|{{Ya}}
| n
+
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 
|-
 
|-
|glucosebuddy
+
|Glucose Buddy
| ? y n
+
|{{MaybeCheck}}
|n
+
|{{Ya}}
|  
+
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 
|
 
|
| w y y
+
|
| y y n
+
|{{MaybeCheck}}
| n
+
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 
|-
 
|-
|my diet diary
+
|My Diet Diary
| y n ?
+
|{{Ya}}
|n
+
|{{Na}}
|w
+
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 
|
 
|
| w y n
+
|{{MaybeCheck}}
| y y y
+
|{{Ya}}
| y
+
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|MyPlate
 
|MyPlate
| y n ?
+
|{{Ya}}
|n
+
|{{Na}}
|w
+
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 
|
 
|
| y y y
+
|{{Ya}}
| w n y
+
|{{Ya}}
| ?
+
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 
|-
 
|-
|smartplate
+
|Smart Plate
| n n ?
+
|{{Na}}
|n
+
|{{Na}}
|  
+
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 
|
 
|
| y y y
+
|
| n n ?
+
|{{Ya}}
| ?
+
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|{{MaybeCheck}}
 +
|-
 +
|OpenFoodFacts
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|
 +
|open source
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 
|-
 
|-
| openfoodfacts
+
|YAZIO
| n n y
+
|{{Ya}}
|n
+
|{{Na}}
|  
+
|{{Na}}
|O
+
|{{Na}}
| y y y
+
|{{Na}}
| y y y most detailed Database
+
|free
| n
+
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|-
 +
|hranoprovod-cli
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|open source
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{Na}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 +
|{{Ya}}
 
|}
 
|}
  
==== What the columns mean. ====
+
=== Databases ===
* '''quantity''' = allows changing quantity
+
https://www.foodrepo.org/ Community-driven for barcoded food products.
* '''timestamp''' = includes detailed to the minute timestamps
+
 
* '''export''' = allows exporting to file like CSV. Likely missed transfer through 3rd party aggregation.
+
https://world.openfoodfacts.org/ Open source collaborative originally from France. Derived scores for amount of processing and nutritional quality.
* Ordered by these three features because they are critical to QS.
+
 
*'''notes''' = manually entered text field that allows writing down custom information and features. For example how tasty the food was, or where it was bought, or what brand of generic food was purchased.
+
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/ US government.
* '''offline''' = does not require connection to internet for some or almost all of their features to work.
+
 
* '''Price''' = Apps can require continuous payment (such as MFP requiring 40$ per year), one time upfront cost,  free and one is even open source. The amount of features walled off from non paying users also varies.
+
===References===
** '''O''' = Open Source
+
<references />
** '''F''' = Free
 
** '''/y''' = per year.
 
* '''search''' = search by name
 
* '''fave/recent''' = can repeat or rank in search based on popular/recent
 
* '''barcode''' = can find food by scanning barcode (requires online connectivity)
 
* '''detailnutrition''' = Detail of nutrition tracked varies between apps as some track just macronutrients while others go into greater detail.
 
* '''serv.choiceselect''' = Some apps use user contributions to populate their database of foods while others use formal databases like USDA.
 
* '''customfood''' = Some apps do not allow entering custom foods!
 
  
==== What the letters mean. ====
 
*'''y''' = Yes, has feature.
 
*'''n''' = does not. ’ ’ is same as '''n'''
 
*'''p''' = feature requires membership
 
*'''w''' = the feature exists but is not as good as a '''y'''
 
*'''?''' = I do not know.
 
  
=== References ===
 
<references/>
 
  
{{Tool Queries}}
+
[[Category:Topics]]
[[Category:Tools]]
 

Latest revision as of 08:43, 20 September 2023

Topic Infobox Question-icon.png
Linked pages on this wiki Tools (2),

Projects (98),

People (0)

Diet tracking tools help when engaging in the common practice of diet tracking, whether for weight-loss or in relation to health issues and chronic conditions that require particular diets. A variety of tools try to enable the tracking of food eaten, often attached to databases that enable additional data such as calories, macro/micronutrients and other things. Additionally, they can allow tracking micronutrients which are supplemented with Supplements.

Types of data recorded by diet tracking tools[edit | edit source]

What exactly is recorded by the tools can depend on the exact tool used, but recorded information includes:

  • calorie intake
  • macronutrients: carbs, proteins, fats
  • micronutrients: iron, calcium, vitamin D, etc.
  • brands and manufacturers
  • Degree of processing[1]

Potentially information that is not yet noticed in any app is price of food, what is available in fridge, enjoyment, circumstances, environment surrounding eating.

Projects and results from these tools[edit | edit source]

Patients and communities that need these tools[edit | edit source]

Weight loss[2]is a very common goal. Additionally, there are communities affected by stomach and liver problems for which diet tracking is relevant[3][4].

Diets[edit | edit source]

There are many different diets for which tracking food intake will be relevant, e.g.

Tips and guides to using diet tracking tools[edit | edit source]

Typically most tools are somewhat self-explanatory after installation. Beyond this, there are some tips and advice on how to consistently track diet:

  • Buying a kitchen scale can be useful to accurately track the amounts eaten, in particular if you cook yourself or eat at restaurants that don't have standard food quantities. Fractions of a package too.
  • Frequently, people engaging in diet tracking find that the manual labor of recording their diets becomes too onerous and quit after a few months. DG suggests regularly repeating meals as this a) speeds up the speed of logging data as it will be a 'recently used meal' (e.g. as available in the tool Bitesnap) and b) also can help find patterns in the data. Wildly inaccurate measurements are still better than nothing, especially for things like eliminating a food as a problem.

Table of common diet tracking tools[edit | edit source]

This table is adapted from the Quantified Self forums[10] and might in places be outdated. Empty cells are unknown information. Yellow check-marks indicate some basic functionality of this type. The different columns indicate:

  • Quantity: Allows changing food quantities
  • Timestamp: Gives a detailed timestamp on when food was eaten
  • Export: Allows exporting data in the form of a file
  • Notes: Entries have a free-text field to give additional information (e.g. where it was eaten, whether tasty or not…)
  • Offline: Does the app (mostly) work when not being online?
  • Price: How much does the app or a subscription to it cost?
  • Search: Can one search by food name?
  • Favorite/Recent: In the menu to add food, is there the list of foods ordered by most likely?
  • Barcode: Can food be searched by scanning the barcode on it?
  • Micronutrients: Does the app include details on micronutrients?
  • User-added food: Does the app include user contributions to expand their food database?
  • Custom food: Can you add your own food that's missing from the database?
  • Water: Does it allow tracking water intake
A table of common diet-tracking tools.
Tool Quantity Timestamps Data export Notes Offline Price Search Favorite/Recent Barcode Micronutrients User-added food Custom food Water tracking
Bitesnap free
MyNetDiary Paid $50 / year
Waistline open source
Cronometer Paid Paid Paid
MyFitnessPal Paid $40 / year
LooseIt
SparklePeople Paid
Fooducate Paid
FatSecret
EatThisMuch
Glucose Buddy
My Diet Diary
MyPlate
Smart Plate
OpenFoodFacts open source
YAZIO free
hranoprovod-cli open source

Databases[edit | edit source]

https://www.foodrepo.org/ Community-driven for barcoded food products.

https://world.openfoodfacts.org/ Open source collaborative originally from France. Derived scores for amount of processing and nutritional quality.

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/ US government.

References[edit | edit source]