Today, I learned about GoMeals, an iPhone application developed by Sanofi Aventis. From their site:
“GoMeals™ makes it easy to access nutritional information, find restaurants and keep track of your food intake. And if you have a health condition like diabetes, knowing information like calories, fats and carbs can be critical. GoMeals was developed to help you get the information you need to make better meal choices at home or on the go.”
Since I am not an iPhone user myself, I can only share what I read about iPhone apps. So far, I’ve read about them. So here’s what I have gathered so far:
On the flipside, I sent the details about the app to a friend who commented the following:
“Interesting. It looks lovely, and the concept is great - I note that the reviews are not good, though. An average rating of 2/5 with 8 reviews so far (which is a small sample size, in fairness). After trying to use it this morning for my breakfast, I can see why.
I tried to add my breakfast this morning to my “plate” - poached eggs on brown toast. If the brand names of the (Canadian) “products” I was eating were in the database it might have been easier. As they weren’t, it was quite difficult and time consuming to find and then add plain old “whole wheat bread” (“eggs” was easier), and I’m still not sure that the “product” I ended up choosing is actually right (is “wheat bread” the same as “whole wheat bread”?).”
Have any of you used GoMeals or any other healthy eating iPhone app?
FoodIQ ($1.99) uses the USDA Nutrition database, includes tracking for blood sugar, medication, exercise and weight and has an on-line interface for backing up and entering and retrieving data wherever you may be.
Restaurant Nutrition (Free) provides nutrition information for 58 chain restaurants, including fast food and sit down, and will direct you to the nearest location.
I just downloaded the GoMeals app yesterday. I haven’t really used it yet. I’ve only played with it a few times. I really LIKE what I see so far. I will let you know what I think about the app on Monday; I’m going to play around with it for a few days.
do you know if these apps can be used on any data/mobile phone?? i have unlimited data/internet currently and use a couple of other apps…if so, how do i find them??
Diabetes Pilot (www.diabetespilot.com) works on Windows and Palm devices. Check with your own carrier or phone manufacturer for apps that might work with your phone.
I use Glucose Buddy - Diabetes Helper (free) to track BG, meals and activity. (Also tracks medication, but because mine is always the same, I don’t use that feature). I like it, but the graphs and the data that is output (you can send your data to an email address as a CSV attachment) aren’t really what I want. There is an online part (also free), but surprising the graphs on that are just as limiting.
So I also use WaveSense Diabetes Manager (free), just for my BG numbers. I like the log it produces better. This data can also be send to an email.
Neither of these has a food database. I haven’t found one I like yet, so I might try GoMeals or Restaurant Nutrition. I don’t mind paying for apps, but I like to try the free first to make sure I really will use it.
The GoMeals developers licensed the Calorie Count Down food database. I am not sure if everything that your would find in Calorie Countdown is available. Like most diabetes related apps it fails in many way. Each apps seems to be solving a different problem. I love the WaveSense app for charting/tracking my BG but is has no food database and I must enter every reading manually. I love the GoMeals app for finding restaurants, mapping it, researching food choices etc but it has not diabetes monitoring. None of these apps sync back to my Mac where I can holistically get the big picture.
What I want is an app:
That can read data directly from my glucometer (or CGMS)
The apps would also have a food/restaurant database (or a separate app that can export data to the first one above) so that I could track my meals right next to my BG
A way to enter my insulin dosing when I enter the food
Ability to export to a desktop app or sync data to a web based app or desktop app
Run on a Mac.
I also want a glucomter that integrates directly with the iPhone/iPod Touch.
Is that asking too much? Maybe this is a opportunity for me to learn Objective C and write my own Mac and iPhone software. Diabetes Management - There is an app for that!
On my iPod Touch I have:
Glucose Buddy (FREE) which is an electronic log book for diabetes management. Track, BG, insulin and carbs. Data can be synced to an online account: http://beta.glucosebuddy.com/
Diabetes Log (FREE) is similar to Glucose Buddy but has no online component. Data can be exported to CSV and used in other apps.
WaveSense Diabetes Manager (FREE) does the same job as the other two above but has excellent graphing and charting.
GoMeals (FREE) is a combination restaurant finder, nutrition database and meal planner. It does not track BG or produce any graphs. Data is not exportable.
Combine all four of these apps, add a desktop component for syncing data, and I think we would have one compelling application.
I think FoodIQ is well along to what you’re looking for with it’s food database, glucose tracking and web based synching. But it doesn’t chart blood glucose, only nutrients and weight, and its on-line component is merely for backup and data entry. Maybe writing to them would push them in the right direction.
For me, the touchstone of a ‘killer app’ for the iPhone and diabetes management is your No. 1 - can read data directly from my meter or CGMS. The data has been collected in real time and is available for use, except that I have to use the manufacturer’s proprietary software to get to it. I admit it. I’m lazy. I don’t want to have to enter information manually when I already have it digitally. It’s like retyping a letter rather than re-printing it or taking it over to the copy machine.
Why do you use Diabetes Log. What does it give you that Glucose Buddy or WaveSense doesn’t? I’m just curious because I use GB and WS also, but I haven’t used Diabetes Log.
I’m not currently using Diabetes Log. I installed and used all of those apps at one point or the other. I’m still waiting for the “One App to Rule Them All”. I want an app that includes an extensive food database (including restaurant menus), geolocation for finding restaurants, and a way to log and chart the meal I just ate along with BG reading and medication, and then sync/export all that information to a web site or desktop app.
I would gladly pay up to for an app like I described above. There are a few dozen apps in the app stored that come up for the keyword diabetes. Most of them are NOT free (and some are not directly diabetes related.
I agree with you except one other request… I’d really like it to be Blackberry friendly. There are other phones other than the iPhone out there. I really love my berry !
I bought an iPhone three weeks ago primarily for the diabetes apps. I have found almost all of them so cumbersome that I cannot stand to use them. It takes me longer to log a meal than it does to figure out what to eat, prepare the meal (or go out) and to eat it. This is not sustainable! Prior to all of this, I created my own app for my Mac and also created a version to use while I’m out camping without any technical support. In other words, it works with pencils and paper as well. I used it for six months to track my progress from 230 lbs to 189 and an A1c from 6.3 to 5.1. It blew the docs away in terms of comprehensive data and ease of use. I will share my method with you: it’s a PAGES document that I’ve switched to a Survey Monkey document and am in the process of putting into Excel. Works in MS Word as well. Eventually I would like to create an App for it as well. It takes me only ten minutes a day to do. I’ve attached a pdf of the page for you to see. You can easily create your own template and use a three-ring binder to put your daily sheets in. Take it to your doctor and see the expression on his/her face. Priceless! Part of the reason, I’m also still working with it is to refine it so that it can compile weekly and monthly surveys. My endocrinologist wants to see all my breakfast readings, lunch readings, and so forth as horizontal slices of data. I’m actually hoping to use the printout of my meter readings to do that very thing so that the process is more automated. If you want to follow up with me and my group on this and the whole issue of apps, contact me through apartnershipofdiabetics.org. BTW: I now use the iPhone camera to photograph my meal so I can remember what I ate when I log it at the end of the day. It’s a great prompt for my forgetful mind! The beauty of my system is that having learned volumetrics through the Pritikin Longevity Center, I no longer count carbs or calories. By learning what my body does with the food and nutrients, I am able to dial in my carbs by food choices and maintain without minute tracking. Maybe this cannot work for you, so I’m not trying to push something onto somebody else when it doesn’t pertain to their own personal experience and methods of self-management. 6881-BLANKDATAJOURNALENTRYSHEET.pdf (75.7 KB) 6882-BlankPencilPaperEntrySheet.pdf (58.8 KB)
