As part of this whole SIBO mess I found myself using multiple tools to track symptoms, food consumption, and bodily functions. I started out using the My Wonderful Days app which was pretty nice since it worked on iOS and OSX but that meant manually figuring out all my calories for all the foods each day. It also had no graphing capability so I had a big Numbers spreadsheet stored in iCloud too that I would move weight, calories, sleep hours, etc… from the journalling app into so that I could see a chart. Lots of work.
I decided what I really needed was Apple’s yet to be released iWatch which is rumored to be very health oriented. Since that isn’t available yet I did some research into the wearable tech that is available and settled on the FitBit Flex. While the FitBit is made for people wanting lose weight and reduce calories to get fit I was planning on using it for the opposite – I wanted to gain weight, increase caloric intake to output in order to get fit. The FitBit app allows me to sync data to my iPhone as the day progresses and the web interface works well with Safari even on the iPad where a few Flash-required pieces don’t show but I can live with that.
So, what did I need to do to make this really work efficiently given I was going opposite of what the device was intended for?
1. Add in all the custom SCD foods. The FitBit food database leans towards big brands and restaurants. I eat nothing that is packaged or from a restaurant. So, I use the custom food option to create entries for the foods I do eat. Luckily the SCD Lifestyles Meal Plans have calorie information spelled out for each food so I know that 1 c. of pureed carrots have 82 calories and 3.7g fat, 12.1g carbs and 1.1g protein. I also add in the info from actual labels on the foods I do buy. The bison I buy has 190 cal per 4 oz. serving, 100 of these from fat so that is easily added to the custom food. Custom foods are easily added in the iPhone app which is where I usually do it though they can be added in the web interface and much more detailed nutritional information added there.
2. Use the Journal section of the web interface. I use the Mood/Energy portion to track just that, basic mood and energy levels. The allergies section which has a Mild-2-3-4-Severe rating I use to track my overall symptoms for the day.
3. Buy the Premium membership and use Custom Trackers to track specific items you need to or want to track. I set up custom trackers for #BMs and Bristol Stool numbers for each day. If you only need one custom tracker you can get by without the Premium membership.
4. I put in a weight goal above my weight and the software gets a bit confused. It does track you to the set weight goal but wants your calories to be in maintain mode and not increase mode. I sent them an issue around this and now the wizard lets you know they currently don’t have a food plan to increase weight.
4. Get a scale that has body fat analysis, a wireless sync one like the Aria that works directly with the app would be great. We have an Ironman scale so I just grab the stats and enter them in the iPhone app. I was doing this daily but it was adding to my stress level watching things drop so my doctor advised I do it a few times a week for a while and try to just let it be what it is.
5. Ignore the badges they have pre-set, all these are for people wanting to lose weight. I just try to keep my Very Active Minutes low and pay no attention to logging steps. Even that way I somehow managed to earn my 5000 step badge on the first day and still seem to manage 2.5-4 miles/day not really going anywhere and only on days I’ve been totally knocked down in bed am I less than 2 miles. I want a badge for taking a shit each day, or for those with the IBS-D issue, maybe only taking one shit each day.
6. Use the iPhone app with your doctor. It was so great to just bring up my weight chart, expand it out and show the very scary off a cliff looking chart that showed my fast decline from 170-156, my leveling out and then exactly the day this last decline started dropping me down to 151 and maybe below. Nothing shows it better than a chart. This way I also have all my info on diet, sleep, etc at my fingertips. I wish the logging was all available on the iPhone app too, maybe it will be one day and until then you can go out to Safari and see it though it is awfully small on the phone, on the iPad it is pretty good though.