So, I’ve been asked before, how it is I know exactly how much of what I eat. In posting the nutritional snapshot, I was precise in what I had at the end of the day. When people at work challenge me on what is going into my body over the course of the day, I quickly pull out my Blackberry and open SparkPeople on my phone– They’re immediately shocked by my reciting how many calories I’m eating, in addition to my macronutritional (macro) breakdown.
So, why is SparkPeople so great? Well, let’s start off with a very simple fact: If you’re planning on counting your calories, you need some place to write them down and track them. In the early days of my counting, it was on an index card that I kept in my pocket; It eventually evolved into a very basic app that only counted calories, but eventually, I needed a method for keeping track of my macro breakdown. After browsing around on the Blackberry App World, I stumbled across SparkPeople, and there’s no way I could live without it now.
There are a lot of extra services that they offer, but the one that I utilize most (which we’re going to focus on here) is the food tracker. Let me start by sharing that is available across most smart phone platforms, and if you don’t use it yet. . . You should. In addition to being a smart phone app, it also has the added advantage of a web interface– This is perfect for me, as the amount of food I add while bulking takes far too long from my phone. With the ability to add almost all of my food in the morning in just minutes, I can better prepare my food for the entire day, leaving the app as a quick reference and a way to track changes to my diet if things change throughout the day.
After downloading the app and registering, you’re faced with a simple question. How much do you weigh? After this, you’re faced with another question. . . How much do you want to weigh? After processing this information, SparkPeople will automatically setup your macro and caloric goals to optimally reach your goal.
. . . But you’re not stuck with those options. I adjust my goals weekly, and use a different macro breakdown than their default, so I can change that and the app adjusts everything accordingly. +10 points, for sure.
In addition to the default items tracked (Protein, Carbs, Fat, and Calories), you have the option to track additional nutritional items. Need to watch your Sodium? Not sure if you’re getting enough Fiber? These are all things that SparkPeople can help you track.
As far as the functionality of the food tracker. . . There are two ways to go about it. The first, is to use their meal plans. Based on your goals, SparkPeople can actually give you very nutritious meal plans to help you on your way to those goals.
On the flip side, SparkPeople offers a massive database of food to begin with on your tracking– Not everything is there, but most things are. If you’re ultra anal, like me, you have the option to manually enter everything, as well! The first thing that happens when I try a new food? I enter it into SparkPeople; In just a matter of seconds on the phone app, you can have it entered into your personal database, and you can have it in today’s meal planner / tracker.
If you’re like me, and you don’t adhere to the “terrible-for-your-body-3-meals-a-day” school of thought, you have the option to add different meals to your tracker, such as “Post Workout,” “Pre Workout,” and “Bedtime.” You can do whatever you’d like, really– An added bonus to the different “meals” in it is the calculation of what was in the meal.
I love breakfast.
This is just a basic overview of the app and it’s core functions. The first place to start, regardless of your goals, is counting your calories. . . And what better way to do it than with a powerful tool that will not only track everything for you, but can help you plan it all?
I emphasize the “planning” aspect, because this is what I knew I would consume by 8 AM. A post on the importance of planning your day will come.
In Part 2 of this review, we’ll go into the other services that SparkPeople offers, but for now, register with them, like them on Facebook, and get started on planning and tracking toward your goals!