Platform for Food Diary, With Photos, iPhone edition

December 29, 2014 2:55 PM

I'm doing a miserable job of logging what I eat, so I am trying to think of how to set the bar as low as possible and make it super easy to have a record of what I've eaten. The easiest thing I've thought of so far is just taking photos of what I eat with my smartphone (iPhone). Should I use a particular platform that integrates well with iOS8?

I was thinking something along the lines of setting up account (tumblr? evernote?) with a platform that supports sharing from the iOS8 photos app. (i'm new to iOS8, and the aforementioned services, so I have no idea).

The key here is easy. I guess if this would take up a lot of space on my phone then perhaps a system that allows me to dump photos off the phone and stick them elsewhere is good to have. If the answer is, "Just take photos and leave them on your phone, then hand the phone to your nutritionist at your next appointment." please let me know that too! I'm just wondering if there's something that is similarly easy but just takes a wee bit more setup from the beginning. Thanks.

posted by NikitaNikita to Technology (7 answers total)

It seems like there might be many many platforms to do this, but I think a super easy one would be to make a private Instagram and just take the photos in the instagram app (they will also save to your camera roll). Then you can even write below the photo in more detail. Under the settings just make sure your profile is private and no one can see your stuff or follow you unless you allow them. It can be under a junk username too.

You can log into instagram on the web platform to look at your profile if you wanted to do it on a desktop at your nutritionists office.
posted by Crystalinne at 4:32 PM on December 29, 2014

Best answer: The Day One app should also work for this.
posted by merejane at 4:55 PM on December 29, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I've been using the TwoGrand app for this very thing. Super easy. You can follow other people to get inspiration from what they're eating, etc. I really like it!
posted by hapax_legomenon at 5:14 PM on December 29, 2014 [1 favorite]

There is a cool, free online system called Fitday.com which worked well for me. You can add in your frequently eaten meals so that you are not constantly adding in the same info. A lot of the calculations are done for you. You can print reports about food intake, activity level, etc., and take it to your nutritionist.

I used this awhile ago -- only the free, basic version -- I suspect there is a more advanced version or app available by now. Good luck meeting your goals!
posted by alwayson_slightlyoff at 6:21 PM on December 29, 2014

I use an ios app called MyFitnessPal - it does the same thing as FitDay, and makes food logging pretty easy.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:33 PM on December 29, 2014

I used to do this with Evernote Food
posted by ohmy at 7:02 PM on December 29, 2014

Response by poster: I've been trying twogrand and enjoying it a lot so far! Day One seems like the best bet if I decide to switch it up and make it more diary-like. Thanks all!
posted by NikitaNikita at 3:13 PM on January 10, 2015