Using Splash Shopper to lose weight

[From Gregg (Washington DC)] Instead of carrying around a notebook to record the foods I eat, I use Splash Shopper. http://www.splashdata.com/splashshopper/ I'm a member of Weight Watchers, but this will work with any diet. In the Weight Watchers program, you have a certain amount of "points" per day. You could just as well track calories or carbs with this method, so when I mention “points” just swap out whatever unit you track for your diet.

Here's how to do it:

First, make a huge list of all of the foods you normally eat in Excel. The easiest way to do this is to copy the data from a webpage and paste it into Excel.

Since I eat out frequently, I use Splash Shopper’s "Store" category for restaurants (i.e. Applebee’s, Boston Market, Subway, etc.) and the Category column for the type of food (Entrees, Sides, Desserts, etc.) This makes finding foods easier later.

Next, convert the Excel file into a CSV file, and imported the file into Splash Shopper. This can be tricky at first; consult the help files to reference the correct field order. Make sure the points values are in the “Price” column.

To use the food journal, go to the "All" tab. Select the restaurant from the "Store" drop-down, and select the type of food from the "Category" drop-down. Once you've found the item, tap on the "Needed" column next to the item.

Click on the "Needed" tab, and you'll see a list of all the foods you've eaten, with their points value in the "Price" column. At the bottom you'll see the total amount of you've eaten so far. Just remember not to eat more than your daily allotment.