How To Turn Dieting Into "Fun"

Post by **tex** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 6:26 pm

Hi all,

This is the project that I referred to in another thread, and as far as I can tell, it's the neatest thing since the invention of the wheel.

The last time I upgraded my phone, I bought a phone edition pocket pc, instead of a plain phone. I've owned a pocket pc, or PDA, for years, but rarely carried it, because it wasn't phone enabled, and I usually carry too much junk with me already, without adding another item. I've been searching for a full-fledged PDA, with a built in full service phone, for some time now, and in December, Cingular finally added one to their line, so I upgraded to it. It's called the 8525, and it's made by HTC, and is identical to the HTC TyTN model. This device may also be offered by some other carriers by now, as well, since it's the most awesome little pocket-size do-everything electronic device that I've ever seen.

The device is not what I'm referring to with my topic, though. What I'm all enthused about is the incredible little computer program that's available for it, and other pocket pcs, phone enabled or not. It works on devices that use Windows Mobile 2003, Win Mobile 5.0, and the Palm OS, if you happen to have one of those devices. Unfortunately, it is not available for computers running Win 98, XP, Vista, etc. I can see the reason for this though. If you don't have the device with you at all times, and your memory is no better than mine, you're probably going to forget some entries, and if you forget entries, your results will not be very beneficial.

This program allows you to enter your vital statistics, (height, weight, etc.), your activity level, (on a day by day basis, if you get more exercise on some days than others), and your goals, (for example, that you want to lose 20 pounds in 15 weeks, or whatever). If you have any diet preferences,(such as low carb, diabetic, low fat, foods you want to avoid, or whatever), you can select that, and then all you do is enter your meals, snacks, supplements, etc., and it automatically keeps track of all the nutrients, calories, and anything else you want to monitor, and tells you how you are doing. All your data is instantly available to you, anytime you want it, in numerical and graphic form.

As you enter your meals, (by simply selecting items from drop down menus, from the various food catagories, and by selecting serving sizes, if different from the default), it displays up to the minute information on the calories, and nutrients that you have accumulated for that meal, and for that day, and you can go back and edit information for any meal on any day, at any time you want.

You can make trial entries, if you want to see what would happen if you ate a piece of cake, or what would happen if you ate bacon, instead of sausage, for breakfast, or whatever. If you have selected certain restrictions, it will tell you if you are approaching those limits, or if you have exceeded certain preset levels of any nutrient, or any food category, (such as carbs, for example).

It's extremely intuitive, and easy to use, and almost like playing a game, which makes the process sort of fun. The information it shows you is highly detailed, but it's very simple and fast to use. The computer does all the work for you. I find myself actually looking forward to using it, and beating my goals, by fine tuning what I eat. And trust me, I'm not one who embraces dieting.

It seems more like a game, to me. And if you slip up one day, it doesn't chew your butt out. Instead, it just allows for it in your program, and you either make up for it in the future, or it takes a little longer to reach your goal. By picking a generous timeframe to meet my goals, it doesn't seem very tough to do what I need to do, and I always know exactly where I stand, without question.

The site that Beth suggested may possibly do the same thing, for all I know, (I didn't check it, since you have to join, to check it out), but I'm not much of a joiner, for things like that, and I kinda like to keep my diet stuff to myself, except for our internet family, of course.

The botom line is, this method works for me, and I actually enjoy doing it. That's worth a lot.

Love,
Tex

Beth · Post by **Beth** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 6:42 pm

Yep, Wayne. Sparkpeople does a very similar thing to what you're talking about. Sounds like a great idea to have a PDA with you to use either program. It is fun, isn't it? I always looked forward to entering my info and seeing how to best stretch my calories. Now every time I feel like my weight is shifting in a direction I don't want (namely up!), I log in and watch my calories for a few days. Of course, these days, after what I'm calling the very effective "colitis diet," I haven't been in quite so much need of it. ")

Post by **tex** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 11:30 pm

I never thought of it as a diet before, but in a way, you're right. LOL. The "colitis diet" always kept me slim and trim, too. I would pretty much stop eating, when it got really bad, and then try to eat everything in sight, as soon as things settled down, in an attempt to gain back the weight I had lost, so I could ride out the next episode. I'm glad that's all behind me now - at least, I hope it is.

It has a catchy sound to it, doesn't it. Colitis diet. Hahahahaha.

Wayne

grannyh · Post by **grannyh** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:43 am

I have battled my weight my entire life (even as a kid). The upside of the "Colitis Diet" was that I became a size 6/8! The downside was that I was trapped in my house a never more than a few feet from the "library" wearing diapers!

I have been on Entocort EC for two years now and I promptly gained 30 pounds.. twenty of which I didn't need! I have managed to lose 10 of those pounds the other 10 has been very stubborn..LOL

Although I keep our home network up and running I can't program a VCR, don't own a cell phone and doubt I could handle a PDA... The PDA diet does sound like fun though.. but a bit beyond my budget. If I ever win the lottery I might give it a try...
grannyh

artteacher · Post by **artteacher** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 9:32 am

Hey Beth,

I went to Sparkpeople and signed up: It is a very awesome site. I'm sharing it with a couple people I know who are having trouble with their weight. Thanks for mentioning it . .

Marsha

Post by **tex** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 11:48 am

Grannyh,

FWIW, a PDA is much less expensive than a full size computer, and no more difficult to operate. The operating system that most of them use, (Windows Mobile 5.0), is just a dumbed-down version of the operating systems that full size computers use, and if you know how to use a full size computer, you already know how to use a PDA.

Once you use one for a while, you can't live without it. It's better than having a personal secretary available 24x7. It's like an extension of your brain, and it carries all the vital information that you don't trust your brain to remember - right there in your pocket, (or purse).

Tex

grannyh · Post by **grannyh** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 3:47 pm

Don't PDAs run on batteries? Seems to me you could lose everything when you change the batteries or they run out??? Just wondering..
grannyh

Post by **tex** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 11:41 pm

Hi Grannyh,

Yes, they run on batteries, but they're lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. The previous generation of PDAs, (running on Win Mobile 2003), would indeed lose their data if the batteries happened to completely discharge. Also, this meant that they could never actually be turned off. When they were "turned off", they were actually just "sleeping". A user had to store current backups of their PDA on their desktop or laptop computer, using Microsoft's "ActiveSync" program, as a "just-in-case" precaution.

The newest generation of PDAs use Win Mobile 5.0, and programs and data are no longer stored in RAM. This means that they can be turned off without losing any data, (provided that the data is saved before the device is turned off). Some PDAs are still made with the Palm OS, but I'm not familiar with that OS.

Many of the newer devices are very efficient on the use of battery power, also. I have been using mine for three days now, since the last recharge, and it still shows 60% battery power. Normally, I only make about a half dozen to a dozen or so phone calls each day, but I use the computer fairly often, and occasionally for fairly long periods.

I only turn it off for about 6 or 7 hours each night, and I only have to recharge it twice a week, normally. If I use the device to surf the internet, though, or to read and write posts to this board, for example, it uses much more battery power, and I have to recharge it every day or two.

That may be because I subscribe to a broadband WAN, (Wide Area Network), wireless data service from Cingular. The connection speed, (data rate), is usually about 3 to 6 times as fast as my home dialup service, and when Cingular completes updating their towers in this area, so that they can handle UMTS/HSDPA, (3g), data service, the connection speed should be somewhere between 10 and 100 times as fast as my home dialup service. The service is already available in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, and I assume that it's probably available in the Houston area, also.

These devices have come a long way in the last few years.

Tex