This probably sounds sad but the effort and potential anxiety required in trying to pick the right foods and what I might want to eat often means I just get lazy and eat out instead. A case where having an astounding number of options often leaves one wanting to pick none of the above.
This is a great idea.
Edit: Mobile website please!
You have one user already.
I love that you have presets for Atkins/Keto, and that you allow me to remove certain types of items like beef and pork. That has been sorely missing from others I've seen like this.
If you integrate this with Instacart, I would love you forever.
Disclaimer - my friend works there.
First pass impression: Good balance between meal-generation and customization. For me, I would lock in breakfast and one lunch, likely varying a late lunch and/or dinner. Your comment below about locking in a couple beers (say every Thurs or Fri happy hour) is a great example of how to utilize this in a modern lifestyle.
Keep up the good work.
Edit: Also awesome job :) I will be checking this out!
2) People have been working to improve that stuff since forever, and are continuing to work on improving it. Especially now that Big Data is The Thing and a lot of groups are looking into making government data accessible.
Definitely going to work on a mobile version of the site soon!
But indeed, for the site to plan a person’s total caloric intake, it really should include popular liquids (it does plan shakes and smoothies).
Coffee and tea contain very little calories, but once you add milk and sugar (including syrups), it really adds up fast. Sodas and energy drinks are packed with calories.
If you like to drink, alcoholic beverages really should be accounted for. One gram of pure alcohol contains 7 kcalories. A 12 oz beer contains about 150 kcalories.[1]
That's an exaggeration. Here are a few mainstream beers I looked up on that site-
Sam Adams Boston Lager: 175, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale: 175, PBR: 144, Guinness Draught: 128
It does mean that if you drink 5 pints during a night on the town, you ingest 1100 kcalories. For me, that would mean half of my recommended daily caloric intake.
I use the site myself, and the way I handle drinks is with the "locking" feature (via the lock icon next to a food or meal). If I know I'm going to be drinking a lot one night, I'll lock in a few beers from the "Add a dish" menu and regenerate the plan - the algorithm will fill in the rest of the plan to match the nutrition constraints, making it kindof like an autocomplete for your diet.
But what happens if I end up drinking or eating more than was planned? Can I go back and edit the menu the day after? Also, does the site track calorie intake and progress over time?
I’ve used Livestrong’s MyPlate calorie tracker for quite some time, in which I would record my caloric intake every day. Of course, that’s after the fact, so it’s a different approach to minding calories than what your site does.
I'm looking forward to trying this site and seeing if it works for me. Thanks!
Always have a jar of peanut butter handy, and boiled eggs on hand, too. This way, you'll never have an excuse not to eat.
Next step: not sure how the health metrics would change, but you can have "order from <restaurant>" or "buy from <grocery store>" button, so lazy people like me know where to get the food from.
Next next step: directions for recipe? Most of the dishes looks awesome, but (maybe because I was not raised in US) I don't know how to prepare/cook them.