FitClick DIET: Talk-to-Track
If you’re like most people trying to lose weight, you’ve been tracking calories because research has shown that keeping a food diary is an effective weight-loss strategy. And you’ve also learned what a hassle tracking calories can be.
First you have to know how much you’ve eaten: Was that 3 teaspoons or a half-cup or 2 ounces? Then you have to know or find out how many calories are in what you’ve eaten.
Fitness apps will look up food for you, but it takes time to type in each morsel consumed.
If you wait until the end of the day to input your consumption, though, it’s likely you’ll have forgotten that cupcake to celebrate your co-worker’s birthday.
FitClick, a “social fitness community” founded in 2009, thinks it can solve this problem with a new app called Talk-to-Track. A user speaks into the microphone on a smartphone.
For example, let’s say you record “one Kirkland grapefruit cup,” “one-half cup hummus,” “20 almonds” (you have to say the word “comma” between foods).
Next, you check that the entry was transcribed correctly before uploading it to that day’s food diary. The result is the nutritional information and a running record of the calories you’ve consumed, as well as the amount of fat, fiber, carbs and protein.
Sugar would be a nice addition.
It sounds simple, but users run into some of the same issues as with other calorie trackers. (Exactly how much did I eat?) On top of that, there are the occasional talk-to-text difficulties. (One biscotti became “one miss conti,” although you can always resort to typing.)
This app is fun and fast, and it could be an easier gateway into food tracking. But as with many such apps, users need to understand portions and be familiar with the calories in the foods they consume.
FitClick Talk-to-Track Diet, made by Genesant Technologies, is free for iOS and Android.
