Choose the category and group in which you want your food item to be and name the food. From there, enter in the basic nutritional values for each of the listed categories, such as calories, fat, fiber, and protein. These can usually be found on the back label of any given package of food. Then tap the Add/Revise button.

Please note that if you edit a food, a duplicate entry is created, so you'll then have to go back and delete the original entry. I have found this a minor annoyance, as some of the Lean Cuisine values are not quite right, and I have to go through and edit them all. I assume it's because the recipe for the dinner has changed over the years. This problem is due to be addressed in a future release of DietLog.

View your progress
Once you've entered your food intake for the day, it's time to view your progress. Throughout the day, you can see one area at the bottom of the screen. In the previous log example, the small horizontal bar graph told me that after breakfast I had consumed 6% of the day's recommended value, or 110 of 1587 calories. You can change that graph to represent any of the main categories by tapping the down arrow and selecting another one, such as sugar or fat intake.

You can also get a full screen view of your entire intake by tapping on the Log icon at the bottom of the Daily Log screen. The view looks like a small bar graph. This screen will show you the nutritional values of everything you've eaten that day or just for a particular meal, as you can see in Figure J.

FIGURE J

The Log screen provides a nice summary of what you've eaten on a particular day.

You have the option of viewing the information by the actual amount logged, or as a percentage of your target. As you can see from my example, the serving of Sunny Delight I had for breakfast this morning was only 6% of my calories but 69% of my desired sugar intake for the day. This sort of visual reminder helps me to adjust my eating as I go through the day. In today's example, I know now that I need to concentrate on eating more protein and fiber for the rest of the day. I also don't have to worry all that much about calories or fat, though I still need to monitor myself carefully to make sure I don't get too far out of hand.

Two last icons
The last two icons on the daily log screen deserve a brief mention before I round up this review. The target icon takes you back to the Set Nutrient Targets screen. This is helpful if your diet has been modified since you originally created your profile. Tapping the Cal button on that same screen (as previously discussed) allows you to change your pace of weight loss or gain. You might have been a bit too optimistic when you at first said you wanted to lose a pound a week and have decided that maybe half a pound a week would be more realistic.

The last icon on the right hand side of the Daily Log screen will take you directly back to your user profile, where you're able to change your activity level and weight as necessary.

Summary judgement
I truly enjoy using this program for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the most important for me is the intake charting. I am a very visual person, and it wasn't until I started logging my food intake that I realized that, though I don't eat all that many calories, I do consume entirely too much sugar. The graphing also allows me to see what areas I have deficiencies in, such as protein and fiber intake. That makes it much easier for me to make changes in my diet. DietLog also makes dieting (or gaining weight, if that's your goal) much easier, because it takes the guesswork out of what your nutritional targets should be.