Four months in, I like the app and have suggestions
For example, there is no calorie tracker. You have to pay for a second app that they say integrates into this app. I chose not to buy another app.
Another needed improvement relates to the process of adding a new food to the database. Why do we have to say how many ounces per portion/slice/whatever?? It is required to proceed but I don't use it or like it and I just type in nonsense so thst I can proceed. I don't want to have to figure out the oz per serving. It's an obstacle more than anything.
Also, I would like to be able to edit previous days. Like if I ate something yesterday but forgot to log it, let me edit yesterday's log, please. This is needed for long-term logging. At the moment, I can look back at previous logs but cannot add to them.
I would also like to see improved consistency in the food listings. We have "yellow corn tortillas" but "bread, white." (Why not "corn tortillas, yellow"?) Another example is "skim milk" vs. "milk, whole." Search is slowed down by these inconsistencies.
My biggest issue is that when you are adding a food to your database, the app asks you to put in the amount of saturated per ounce. In the United States at least, food labels do not give you the info per ounce. Our food labels list that information per serving. This discrepancy is a real annoyance.
This is a good app and I use it every day, and I'm providing suggestions so that the developers can continue to improve it.
Response from developer
Many thanks for this review and glad the app is helpful. We do have an app that includes saturated fat and calories and also carb, protein and fiber called "Macro Counter and and Tracker". Meanwhile in response to your other issues, these should not be issues, and we can provide you with appropriate support for adding in a new food easily and also for editing previous days' intake. Please email us and we will send you appropriate screenshots to guide you — see "How to use the app" instruction 16, Contact us.
Four months in, I like the app and have suggestions
For example, there is no calorie tracker. You have to pay for a second app that they say integrates into this app. I chose not to buy another app.
Another needed improvement relates to the process of adding a new food to the database. Why do we have to say how many ounces per portion/slice/whatever?? It is required to proceed but I don't use it or like it and I just type in nonsense so thst I can proceed. I don't want to have to figure out the oz per serving. It's an obstacle more than anything.
Also, I would like to be able to edit previous days. Like if I ate something yesterday but forgot to log it, let me edit yesterday's log, please. This is needed for long-term logging. At the moment, I can look back at previous logs but cannot add to them.
I would also like to see improved consistency in the food listings. We have "yellow corn tortillas" but "bread, white." (Why not "corn tortillas, yellow"?) Another example is "skim milk" vs. "milk, whole." Search is slowed down by these inconsistencies.
My biggest issue is that when you are adding a food to your database, the app asks you to put in the amount of saturated per ounce. In the United States at least, food labels do not give you the info per ounce. Our food labels list that information per serving. This discrepancy is a real annoyance.
This is a good app and I use it every day, and I'm providing suggestions so that the developers can continue to improve it.
Response from developer
Many thanks for this review and glad the app is helpful. We do have an app that includes saturated fat and calories and also carb, protein and fiber called "Macro Counter and and Tracker". Meanwhile in response to your other issues, these should not be issues, and we can provide you with appropriate support for adding in a new food easily and also for editing previous days' intake. Please email us and we will send you appropriate screenshots to guide you — see "How to use the app" instruction 16, Contact us.
Wow!
-- There are suggestions, but I can set my own goal preferences and have a visual of my daily sat-fat intake!
-- I can look at my overall progress for the month with a very easy visual representation.
-- I can scan foods from the barcodes for super fast/easy tracking
-- I can search or save favorite food items from a large list of food options that don't have barcodes
-- I CAN LINK THIS TO MY HEALTH APP through Apple if I choose to in order to include the cholesterol/diet component in my overall picture of my health progress!
Response from developer
Thank you so much @kmillyjones for this wonderful review. So pleased to hear that you are able to appreciate all the functions we include with the app and that it is making a difference to your life.
Good Simple Tool
Response from developer
Many thanks for posting this review. Glad you find the app useful and it is helping you avoid excessive saturated fat intake. Hope you find the new features in the update 2.11.1 (will be available soon) helpful.
Just what I was looking
Response from developer
Thank you so much for this review — we are extremely pleased to know that the app is making your life easier and healthier. This sort of feedback is inspirational for us in our mission to develop apps to inform & support diets to protect from or manage disease.
Not what I was after
Response from developer
Thanks for your feedback. We will be publishing a polyunsaturated fat counter in the next couple of weeks. We previously published a fat counter that included saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat, but we discontinued it because users found it too complicated.
Not user friendly and very confusing
Response from developer
When you first use the app you are asked to decide upon your settings including "Select your preferred units for weight — g (metric) or oz (Imperial)" and "Select how you wish information to be displayed" Choose "Target", "Serving" or "Amount" for saturated fat content to be displayed as %Target/Serving, %Target/100g, %Target/1oz, g/100g, or g/oz. This is how you change from g/100g to the way you wish to use the app. And there is certainly no need to use a calculator when you customise your settings to your needs.
Waste of money
Response from developer
Many foods such as fruits and vegetables don't contain saturated fat, but they should still be listed in your daily intake — this is particularly important if you have bought the app as part of the "Anti-inflammation app bundle", the "Diet for a healthy weight app bundle" or the "DASH diet app bundle for heart health" when you will want to record your food and drink intake only once yet see your real-time and long-term progress for each app within the bundle, which is achieved by synchronizing the apps on the Settings screen. There is also a barcode scanner so you can scan your branded products. Record the foods you eat using the barcode scanner, speech recognition, by favoriting foods, or by using search function and use the serving sizes provided (mainly those suggested by USDA Food Data Central) or change to your serving size. Your progress towards your target daily intake will be visible immediately in real-time. You can also view your progress over time on the Month view dashboard, and export food diaries and saturated fat intake into a spreadsheet for your own information or to share with healthcare providers.
Worst App I’ve ever paid for
Response from developer
On the first screen, you are informed that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025 published by USDA and US DHHS recommend that saturated fat should provide no more than 10% of calories for everyone over 2 years of age. You are then asked to choose the percentage of your daily calories (your chosen calorie intake or the default calorie intake provided by the app based on your age and sex for a sedentary lifestyle) you want for your saturated fat intake, and you can choose Imperial (oz) or metric (g) measures. The serving sizes are mainly those suggested by USDA Food Data Central, but can be changed at any time. The foods and amounts you eat can be recorded easily and quickly using the barcode scanner, speech recognition (touch the microphone icon), or by favoriting foods and using the serving sizes provided. Your progress towards your target daily saturated fat intake will be visible immediately in real-time. You can also view your progress over time on the Month view dashboard, and export food diaries and saturated fat intake into a spreadsheet for your own information or to share with healthcare providers. Apple's HealthKit functionality is integrated in the app's user interface so you can share data with Apple's Health app. You can also synchronize the app with all your Apple devices and First Line Medical Communications Ltd apps. The serving sizes are mainly those suggested by USDA Food Data Central, but can be changed at any time via the "Add food" tab to your choice of measurement eg g, oz, cups, pieces. The app is preloaded with 325+ common (mainly healthy) foods and drinks and you can add your own branded and other foods and recipes at any time. This means the app does not require access to the Internet (except on first use of the barcode scanner for a food) or registration, does not collect your data or require additional payments, and there is no advertising.
