In a recent article titled "How I Lost 25 Pounds in 15 Minutes" I suggested that leaving your laptop PC at home when you travel was a quick way to lose weight. But we're an overweight nation and shedding pounds is a serious matter. I thought it would be helpful to devote a column to weight-loss programs available for Windows Mobile devices. A quick search found scores of programs, and reviewing them all would take months. Instead, I selected a few that seemed to be the most functional and usable.
Programs supporting popular diets
Most of us have heard of Weight Watchers, Atkins, and the South Beach Diet. Because these popular systems have been around a while, I looked for applications written for Pocket PCs and Smartphones that implemented the ideas of these well-known programs.
Weight Watchers offers Weight Watchers On-the-Go for Palm OS devices, but does not support Windows Mobile. Fortunately, there are a number of third-party applications available for Pocket PCs that can be utilized for the Weight Watchers system, such as Pocket Points and wwPoints (http://www.handango.com). Diet Partner (http://www.graphxsoftware.com) is a highly configurable program that can be tweaked to accommodate the Weight Watcher core and flex plans. HealthFitCounter (http://www.healthfitcounter.com/pocket-pc.htm) may also be used with Weight Watchers.
The Atkins low-carb diet is so popular that food packages in the supermarket boast of low-carb content. (I wonder what has happened to the pasta business.) I've even seen ice cream labels claiming to have low-carbohydrate content! Atkins Carb Counter for the Pocket PC (http://www.atkinscarbcounter.com) will help adherents of this diet monitor their intake. PocketDiet, HealthFitCounter, and CarboCounter (Go to: http://www.mobilefan.net and click on "Download Pocket PC Medical Software Free") also support the Atkins Diet.
The Jenny Craig diet, followed by more women than men, prefers that you buy their prepackaged food so that portion sizes aren't left to chance. However, they also offer menus and recipes on their site. Should the urge strike you,PocketDiet software will do the job for you.
More recently, the South Beach Diet craze has swept the country. The solitary software that supports this program is South Beach Diet OnHand (http://www.skyscape.com). This program is really more like an eBook that explains and guides you through a three phase program with suggested menus. Of all the programs I have looked at, South Beach Diet OnHand seems the easiest to follow. In addition, every time you sync your Pocket PC, the program searches for new content to install on your device. This new content includes recipes, meal plans, and more. It's nice to receive updated content, but annoying to have it happen every time you sync. Fortunately, this feature can be turned on or off.
Stand-alone diet software
A plethora of diet programs are available for the Pocket PC. Some of these programs are available for free, such as Healthy Living in the 21st Century 2006 (http://www.pocketgear.com) and Skyscape Food Guide (http://www.skyscape.com). Many other programs are reasonably priced in the $5-$10 range, including Food & Nutrition Guide, 2005 Dietary Guidelines, and PointCalc (http://www.pocketgear.com). Finally, a number of feature-rich programs are available in the $20-$40 range. Programs like HealthFitCounter and emFitness include food databases and complex calculation features that track and graph body mass, weight-loss, and exercise programs.
Three top picks
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