Lose it for iPhone

By admin on February 17, 2009 at 6:21 pm

Lose it” for iPhone

We have a new weapon in the war against the bulge. Lose it, an application made for all you iPhone and iPod Touch users out there is a wonderful tool that can be used to develop a calorie budget, keep track of what you have eaten and track calories burnt in exercise. Reviewed by over 2600 users, it gets about 4 stars for functionality and best of all it is free. Yes free.

Why is it important to track calories? Well good question young grasshopper. Calories represent the energy trapped in the foods we eat. Calories come from carbohydrates, fat and protein which our bodies convert these nutrients into heat. Each and everyone of us needs a certain amount of calories each day to run our metabolism to repair tissue, make DNA, keep our cells healthy and happy. Theoretically, we could eat donuts all day and lose weight eventually. Yes, Yes, I know that donuts aren’t healthy, but what if you needed 2,300 calories each day to walk, talk, type, drive, breath, think; I think you get the point. If you ate 1,200 calories worth of donuts you would lose weight. However, you would also turn into a jelly donut, because you would be starving your body’s cells of vital vitamins, nutrients, essential proteins, fats and healthy carbohydrates. So here’s the point. If you can control the amount of calories you eat and eat the right amounts of fats, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins, you would effectively lose weight and keep your cells healthy and happy.

“Lose it” an iPhone application helps you do that and quick. You can track what you have eaten on the fly in your phone and get instant feedback on how well you are doing. It is a great tool. The other thing is that it doesn’t matter what diet you like to eat. You can eat fast foods and healthier foods or follow a specific diet like “South Beach”. It is really up to you what you eat. Remember healthy and happy cells means reducing your risk for cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart attacks or other blood vessel diseases. Combine a healthy well-balanced diet with power foods, daily fitness and a calorie tracker and aim for an initial 5 to 10% weight reduction. Good luck and live fresh.

David Kellenberger, MPAS, RD, PA-C

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