After some 9 months into my fitness & nutrition change, I finally had it with the existing sites. What I want is a rather basic thing:

1. Decent tracking of my measurements, with charts
2. Decent tracking of my workouts (both weights and cardio)
3. Decent tracking of my eating habits.

So far I've found no site that combines all the three, and I make do with caloriecount.com + a couple of spreadsheets on Google Docs. It just doesn't work. Finally, I decided to develop a web site of my own that will exactly fit the bill. Therefore, I have a couple of questions to ask:

1. Is there a site somewhere you use and find convenient, that answers to all the 3 requirements above? If there is one, I will just switch to using it, isntead of developing one of my own.

2. If you don't know of any such site, and I develop one, will you be interested in using it?

3. If the answer to #2 is 'yes', do you have any specific requests for this site's functionality?

Hi
Yes I'd be interested in using it.
Ideally it would be:
- Website based (why not part of JSF ? :tucool: )
- Multi language, multi culture (I'm fed up converting between cm/ Inches, Cups/grams... !)
- have a large food database where I could easily filter on the food I actually like/have access.
- have a very easy/quick way to enter the food I eat day by day, and the training I do
- have tools to design diets (carb cycling, 40/40/20)
- have tools to design training routine
- graphs of progress, store progress picture

Thank you for great ideas!


- Multi language, multi culture (I'm fed up converting between cm/ Inches, Cups/grams... !)

Yes, definitely! In fact, one of the reasons I'm so fed up with caloriecound.com is that they only sport US products, which are of no help to me.

- have a large food database where I could easily filter on the food I actually like/have access.
- have a very easy/quick way to enter the food I eat day by day, and the training I do


Definitely! With the emphasis on 'easily'! I have a few ideas in this direction, and I'll try to implement them.

- have tools to design training routine

Yep. I want to make it loosely based on the pattern set by exrx.net.

I'd suggest a "wiki-like" community involvement, letting people enter food information for their area, and making it available to everyone. Then if there were areas that were incorrect, other users could correct them.

I'd suggest a "wiki-like" community involvement, letting people enter food information for their area, and making it available to everyone. Then if there were areas that were incorrect, other users could correct them.

Yes, Croz - it's an absolute must! I don't have access to a huge database of products and ingredients, so community involvement will be crucial. The tricky thing will be to work out a way to prevent vandalism even for a short time - I don't want anyone to panic once they see a 3000 kkal penalty for eating a slice of bread :).

What technology do you plan to use ?

What technology do you plan to use ?

I'm using Python/Django running on Linux (Kubuntu) + Apache2 + MySQL.

I know you've seen lots of sites, but might I mention two more.

First is Nutridiary.com. It's free and allows many, if not all, of the functions you mentioned. I'm sure you could find some flaws, but I used it for 2 years and it was invaluable.
1. Measurements are entered and kept in a calendar interface. Just go to the day you want and your measurements that you entered are available. Not much in the way of charts though.
2. Workout tracking is done by inputing type, and duration, of workout and a calorie count is given. Not great for keeping track of workouts by reps and sets.
3. Extensive nutrition tracking. Breakdown by fat, protein, carb. Overall calories tracked. Charts showing many time based measurements.

Second is Gyminee.com. My current site.
1. Charts available for measurements of; body weight, resting heart rate, bodyfat, waist size, arm, shoulder, chest, thigh, calf, and a setting for custom measurements, in both inches, and metric, lbs, and kgs. Also charts for goals, and images of progress for a visual representation.
2. You can devise workouts or use workouts designed by others. You can submit progress and schedule workouts. Workouts are defined by exercises, which lets you include sets, reps, and name them. There are predesigned exercises with video on how to do them. Or you can design your own exercises, name them, and have access to them for workouts. Also you can submit what day of the week you do that workout on. These workouts include strength, and/or cardio.
3. Nutrition includes Food Search, My Favorites, and My Recipes. Food search is a searchable data base that includes all foods added by members. I haven't found a food yet that wasn't entered in some fashion. My Favorites is a listing of foods or recipes that you choose to include. My Recipes is just that, meals that you prepare and include in the database. Foods and recipes are broken down into Serving, Calories, Fat, Carb, Protein. Also there are extra breakdowns available.

Why I say available is the site is free for general use. Certain functions require a PRO membership. The cost for PRO is 15 dollars for 3 months.

There are several social networking functions available on the site. Like Buddies, Groups, and Blogs.

One interesting function is an iPhone ready app that conforms to the iPhone. You can get to that app by adding the "/iphone" after the .com address. I believe the address is http://www.gyminee.com/iphone.

So far I've been using it for 3 weeks and it's been very helpful. I was at Nutridiary.com for two years but it's no longer supported and no one knows how long it will stay up! You get what you pay for, and no one is home.

Wow, leftyx (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/member.php?u=12124), that Gyminee is a great site. Not ideally suited (therefore I think I will go on with developing my own for a while), but much better than anything I've seen so far. I will switch to it for now anyway. Thanks!

Wow, leftyx (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/member.php?u=12124), that Gyminee is a great site. Not ideally suited (therefore I think I will go on with developing my own for a while), but much better than anything I've seen so far. I will switch to it for now anyway. Thanks!

Thanks Mitek. I felt it was pretty good when I switched from my old site. But go ahead and develop something better. We all benefit. I'm on board for the next new site that works better than what's available. I hope you develop something with an iPhone app as I hope to get one of the new ones when they come out.

Also I questioned the Gyminee developers about a feature recently, and was told they're redoing the whole interface very soon.

I ran a search on Google Code - there's close to a dozen of fitness apps there, all dead at this point :). Hope mine doesn't follow suite (so far I've been working on it in earnest - and I have the 'measurements' part of it almost ready). The technically minded among us can visit its repository at http://code.google.com/p/fiteat/ and, you feel like it, to propose some features at the
'issues' page.

Sounds good Mitek. When you feel like you're getting close to have people play with it, PM me. In the real world, I am responsible for the usability, packaging, design, 'total user experience' of software applications. I'd be happy to spend some time on it, and send you enough feedback to make you ban me. :lol:

One more idea for the food section, Weight Watchers points. I realize WW isn't part of bodybuilding-type fitness, but my wife is doing it. I did some searching and could find sites that calculated points values based on the numbers you input, and food lists with nutritional values, but no sites that had the food DB, and the points calc.

The calc is easy. Calories/50 + Total Fat Grams/12 - Fiber grams/5

Adding that calculated value to your food DB would open you up to a whole new world of potential users.

Sounds good Mitek. When you feel like you're getting close to have people play with it, PM me. In the real world, I am responsible for the usability, packaging, design, 'total user experience' of software applications. I'd be happy to spend some time on it, and send you enough feedback to make you ban me. :lol:


You will have to work hard to make me ban you :) And I will definitely give you a PM once there's enough meat to show.

One more idea for the food section, Weight Watchers points.

Great idea (and easily accomplished). I will definitely do this (and I learned something new as well - I always wondered what is the meaning of these points).

OK, everything is proceeding as planned (except that I don't plan anything - oh, the pleasures of being one's own boss!)

I have the basic 'measurements' and 'cardio' functionality working - and I switched to using it exclusively instead of using caloriescount.about.com for the former and Google Docs for the latter. Next step is 'strength exercise' - that is rather straightforward (or so it seems to me right now :)) - and then the most difficult part (to make properly, that is) - nutrition. Some time before that plunge I will wrap things up in a usable manner and invite some folks to try it out - on my home server for the duration. Already there are some small features there that are not present on any of the sites I checked (like when you choose the type of cardio workout, the choices you use the most gradually bubble up to the top of the list, so you don't have to scroll - saves the valuable seconds!)
More is ahead, especially in the area of nutrition, which, I feel, is sadly underdeveloped by the plethora of sites that attempt to provide this functionality.

Great scott! A fellow Django developer and a google code repository!

Nice work, I've sent you a pm about this. I'd be up for a bit of collaboration on this.:tucool:

Great scott! A fellow Django developer and a google code repository!

Doesn't Django rock? I just love it - more and more so each new day, as another seemingly unsolvable problem just crumbles away with that or another smart feature of this great framework. I wish all our problems were as easily solved. And speaking of which, congrats on your impressive weight loss!

Doesn't Django rock? I just love it - more and more so each new day, as another seemingly unsolvable problem just crumbles away with that or another smart feature of this great framework. I wish all our problems were as easily solved.

It most certainly does** and this is why I use it every single day. Everyday without fail there is one point where I vocally declare my love for Django.

And speaking of which, congrats on your impressive weight loss!

Thanks, though I have to say it was easy. All I done was coded myself up in a models.py file....


probelia = Probelia.objects.get(pk=1)
probelia.weight = 187.3
probelia.save()


Well not quite :) It hasn't been easy, but it has been very enjoyable. It was more like, eat right, dedicate to a routine and stay focused. I've still got quite a long way to go before I reach my ultimate goal ( 200lb @ 10% bf) but the cut is going really well and I should be done in time for late summer. Then it's time for bulk #1.

Anyway to bring this back on topic I think what you're doing is a great thing and if I can help in any way, just let me know.

Good stuff Mitek and damn you're fast at answering pm's :claphigh:

Cheers,

Probelia.

Disclaimer
** this is by nature a result of using a framework and similar results may be achieved with any number of similar frameworks from a wide variety of languages.:D

I think it would be a nice feature to show a picture of the can/bottle/box when searching for nutrition facts of certain things.

I think it would be a nice feature to show a picture of the can/bottle/box when searching for nutrition facts of certain things.

I'm not sure I understand, what would such a picture signify. The typical packaging of the product? It's value (ranging from bad to good)? Something else? Please do clarify, because this sounds like something quite easy to add.

Suppose you are looking up the ingredients for a recipe on your website. It would be nice to spot the packaging / containers that certain items come in, as well as compare their Nutrition Facts. That way, when you make it to the store, you might be able to recognize a pre-determined brand (or package).

[Admittedly I haven't read all the replies, but ...] If you're looking to build a massive database of foods, I strongly recommend you make it wiki-like. That way you don't have to add in requests individually and you don't have to find everything yourself.

That being said, I probably wouldn't use your application, but that's because I'm generally turned off by the web as a repository for "application"-like outlets. Like I don't use Google docs etc., nor do I like web-based mail because you always have to be online to find it and you have to have a reliable connection.

Personally, I've developed my own Excel sheets to keep track of this stuff. I have recipe files that list all the ingredients I use (found either on the package or from nutritiondata.com) that I just copy into my weekly menus that keep track of macros and goals. I have another, master file in which I keep my weight, measurements, bf, exercises, etc.

Now, if you were to build an application that would keep track of all of that and make it for the Mac, I'd try it out, offer to help develop it, and test it. But, as it is, I'll stick with my spreadsheets, for better or for worse. (Simply answering the topical question of if I would use your online application.)

Suppose you are looking up the ingredients for a recipe on your website. It would be nice to spot the packaging / containers that certain items come in, as well as compare their Nutrition Facts. That way, when you make it to the store, you might be able to recognize a pre-determined brand (or package).

Ah, a shopping list with pictures of the packaging - smart, that! Yes, I will definitely look into implementing this.

[Admittedly I haven't read all the replies, but ...] If you're looking to build a massive database of foods, I strongly recommend you make it wiki-like. That way you don't have to add in requests individually and you don't have to find everything yourself.

What I was thinking about is a bit more fine-grained system, in which there are several sources for the nutrition DB:

1. The admins (supposedly taking the info from governmental data bases such as that of USDA)
2. The user himself
3. The information added by other users - and approved by moderators
3. The information added by other users - that wasn't yet approved by moderators

The user will have the choice of which kinds of sources does he want to see in his user interface - and in which order.


That being said, I probably wouldn't use your application, but that's because I'm generally turned off by the web as a repository for "application"-like outlets. Like I don't use Google docs etc., nor do I like web-based mail because you always have to be online to find it and you have to have a reliable connection.

Personally, I've developed my own Excel sheets to keep track of this stuff. I have recipe files that list all the ingredients I use (found either on the package or from nutritiondata.com) that I just copy into my weekly menus that keep track of macros and goals.

I realize that makes sense for a lot of people (especially those, who, unlike myself, have a specific menu and actually stick to it).

Now, if you were to build an application that would keep track of all of that and make it for the Mac, I'd try it out, offer to help develop it, and test it. But, as it is, I'll stick with my spreadsheets, for better or for worse. (Simply answering the topical question of if I would use your online application.)

Yep. Unfortunately, since I don't use a Mac, and since I decided to only develop that which I can use and benefit from myself (at least before I start making any money from this), Mac is not on my task list for the moment. But thanks for answering anyway - this is also a valuable info (and perhaps someone will even pick up the glove in regards to Mac).

I wonder whether there exists an exercise data base like the one on exrx.net, but in a public domain. The one on exrx.net is excellent, but I don't think I can use it in my app.

I don't wanna come in here and stomp on this whole idea. but have you checked out mydailyplate.com?

I don't wanna come in here and stomp on this whole idea. but have you checked out mydailyplate.com?

Yes, I did - as well as about a dozen other sites. They just don't cut it, for one reason or another.

This sounds like a great project. I'd like to check it out. I've downloaded a copy but do I need other programs to be able to access it? I.e. do I need to be running a web server on my laptop to be able to access the page?

This sounds like a great project. I'd like to check it out. I've downloaded a copy but do I need other programs to be able to access it? I.e. do I need to be running a web server on my laptop to be able to access the page?

Yes, at this point you have to do quite a lot of tinkering to make it work (at the very least - install apache2, mysql, python, django, reportlab and django-multilingual, then configure it all). What I plan to do in the next few days is to wrap it all up, and install it on my home server (in addition to the laptop on which I develop stuff), then I'll give access to it to everyone willing to play around with it. That will save people quite a lot of meaningless effort. I will make an announcement to that effect, once it's up and running. Thanks for your interest, I appreciate it!

Okay, I'll wait and let you do the work :P

I use Linux anyway, so it shouldn't be a big deal. I've been checking out the code and will be happy to provide Spanish and Scots translations for you.

I've been checking out the code and will be happy to provide Spanish and Scots translations for you.


Wow! I can't tell you how thrilled I am about your proposition! I was planning to do the Russian and the Hebrew translations myself, but I needed volunteers for other languages, since the first and foremost feature missing in all the existing similar sites is localization (and I don't mean just the translation of the UI, but also the custom foods DB), so ability to translate it all to as many languages as possible (especially to one as popular as Spanish) is a must for this project to really take off!

I'm Scottish and not a native speaker of Spanish, but I'll do my best. :)

I thought it will be a good idea to create a Google group for this project, in order both to avoid clattering JSF with technicalities and to better coordinate the effort, should more people join in. So here goes:

http://groups.google.com/group/fiteat-dev

Will this be released under the GPL?

Spanish translation uploaded to Google Group.

Will this be released under the GPL?

Yes, definitely.

Spanish translation uploaded to Google Group.

That was an amazingly quick job!

(I will add Spanish and Scots to the list of supported languages, so that the DB translation interface recognizes them).

I'm Scottish and not a native speaker of Spanish, but I'll do my best. :)

I checked this issue. Apparently, Django has not been translated to the Gaelic yet, and as such, does not allow applications to be translated to it :(.

Ah I don't speak Gaelic. Scots is different. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_language

Ah I don't speak Gaelic. Scots is different. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_language

I didn't realize there is a language of the German family in Scotland other than English (must have been the language of Rob Roy, isn't it?) Sorry for the confusion. Anyhow, it isn't supported by Django neither, as far as I can tell.

I'm now working simultaneously on the installation instructions and on moving stuff to the server, so hopefully it will all be usable soon.

I'll sign on to test your stuff out, I been meaning to play around with Django for the last few months just haven't really had the time until now. If you have it zipped up somewhere I can do it local.

Good idea had been on my mind for quite some time as well. I feel your pain with the rest of the sites.

If you have it zipped up somewhere I can do it local.

I'm now working on the installation instructions (http://code.google.com/p/fiteat/wiki/Installation). They are by no means complete yet, but if you know your stuff, you can use them to see how things work.

I'm really impressed with Gyminee.

For anyone that wants to add my as GymBuddy, my username is Guille there.