14 DAY TRIAL // The people at Random Ideas, who are responsible for a good number of iPhone and Mac OS X applications, have released Edibles, for iPhone and iPod touch users. The five-dollar app lets them track calories, carbs or any single user-defined value, which Edibles then automatically deducts from configurable daily, weekly, and exercise pools.
“Studies have shown that maintaining a diet journal while dieting can actually *double* your weight loss,” the team at Random Ideas says. Hopefully, this is not just a random statement too. “Edibles is the most reliable and versatile diet journal available for iPhone and iPod Touch. It comes with everything you need to achieve a healthy lifestyle,” the company adds.
That everything includes the aforementioned ability to track calories and carbs, and other user-defined values, but also to keep a user-defined database of your favorite foods so that you never have to enter the same food twice. Edibles also keeps daily entries as long as you choose to have them, and has a built-in programmable calculator, which can be configured to calculate nutritional information. With food categories allowing you to track specific food types you want to be sure you eat daily, Edibles does this automatically, without having to manually choose one from the list.
Other key features of the app, as listed by the makers, include:
- Automatically resets weekly allowances on a specific configured day. - Displays unused daily allowance as a badge on the application icon. - Keeps a chart of your weight and allows you to track your progress toward your goal. - Calculates and displays your BMI with other weight statistics such as current weight, average lost, total lost, etc. - Fully supports metric and European units. - Online backup of foods, journal entries, weights, and settings. - Share your journal, weights and foods with friends or a doctor through Edibles Online sharing.
Random Ideas also claims that its health&fitness app doesn’t come with a cluttered database full of foods that you never eat. Instead, you are responsible for creating your own database, in order to include only what you eat. Also, Edibles doesn’t require an Internet connection for day-to-day use. The only time an Internet connection is required is when you combine Edibles with the free Edibles Online service, so you can store your data safely, in case you mistakenly erase your device. Using this feature, you can also share your foods, diet plan and daily log entries with your nutritionist, or your friends.