Category: Healthcare & Fitness
Price: $3.99
TiP Rating: 4/5 stars
Version: 4.5
Seller: Nanobit d.o.o.
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch. Requires OS 2.0 or later.
Link to app (clicking launch iTunes)

App store description: This application will calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) to find your Daily Calorie Needs based on your height, weight, gender and age. New in Version 4.5: added 2000 food items,  added the possibility of gaining weight, and fixed bug that caused problems while loading the app on some slower devices.

Summary: As any iPhone toting calorie watcher and exerciser knows, there are MANY apps out there devoted to reining in our expanding waistlines, and one that’s been rated well in the store is Tap & Track. Despite a robust database which was recently updated, there are some well-known items that are still missing. But it offers several great features — like a log and a handy graphical chart view — and has been recently updated to add the possibility of gaining, not just losing weight. Overall, it’s a great app to have in the arsenal in the “battle of the bulge.”

Full review: Tap & Track basically consists of three main elements: the day’s overview where each day’s nutritional information and exercise are stored, the log where you track your progress graphically, and the weight section, where you enter your weight, and can also view progress (or lack of!) graphically.

When you first download the app, you will be prompted to edit your profile. Here you throw down the cold truth –height, gender, age, of course, weight and your goals. You also enter what activity level your job affords you. Smart! Clearly a landscaper burns more calories than a writer, and some other apps don’t account for this. Also, here you can adjust your daily allowance of calories, carbs and fat for metabolic and health considerations. The nurse in me likes this, and also that you cannot choose to either gain or lose more than 2 lbs a week, which as we all know is the safe limit, right folks?

The overview is where you do most of your data entry. You enter the food eaten as well as your daily exercise here. Your calories burned for excersize are automatically deducted from your total calories allowed. For both food entry and exercise, you can either pick from the database provided, or manually add it. Both also allow a “quick add” feature — you just add the raw calories for calculation. Honestly, I am a little unsure about the food database. To be fair to the app, this is a tough one to do — there are so many different brands out there.  I found some odd omissions, though. For example, Lipton Cup ‘O Soup is listed but only chicken noodle flavor. Yet there was an entire list of a far less popular brand, including “split pea,” so they can’t just be going on popularity. I could not find Peppermint Patties under York, but when I looked up Peppermint Pattie, “York” came up as manufacturer. Even so, I have to say, there is A LOT of info in this database.

Under the “log” section, you can either view your food or exercise log in a variety of formats. My favorite feature here? Just tilt landscape for the line graph that shows total calories over days. Under the “reports” section, you can either view your daily or weekly data in numbers or in a pie chart breakdown.

There’s pretty standard stuff under “weight.” Enter up to one weight a day, and from the main screen rotate to landscape to view the line graph progression. I really like this. Or maybe I really don’t like it, BUT the point is — nothing is quite as motivating as an ascending line that tracks my weight. That actually has the power to make me put down the cheese and step away.

Overall, the app enables you to track, not just the calories, but the nutritional info of your food and present it in a graph. For a visual person like me, the graphs are a real plus in judging how I am fairing in the battle. The only suggestion I have would be to tighten up and expand the database for the food selections. I personally don’t have trouble losing weight, but boy, do I have trouble keeping it off. I am hoping the detailed info provided here will make my trouble spots clear. I use other apps for fitness: one just for running and one for tracking Weight Watchers points. I have also tried a few other calorie tracking apps, and while I have found them all useful, the combination of features, ease of use, and ability to customize in this app makes it a solid winner. I am counting on it to help me to be one in this fitness game, too.