WhatsApp-based service offers 24/7 food analysis for a month

When WhatsApp crashed a few weeks ago we realised the extent to which our existence depended on the app While this is nothing to be proud of the news of a WhatsAppbased service that helps one eat healthier seemed like a good justification to remain hooked to it The Food Analysts a realtime human calorie counting service was launched in May this year The Dubaibased service is designed to be a personal food coach and what sets it apart from other calorie counting apps is that you get your information from real people and not a datacrunching algorithmHow it worksAll you have to do is send a picture of every meal including each strip of gum with a detailed description of its ingredients and within minutes their team of qualified nutritionists will send you a report of the macronutrient break up The subscription plans start as low is Rs 665 per month thats the amount we paid after conversion from US dollars The service is designed to offer 80 per cent nutrition information and 20 per cent training This means that the nutritionists dont just give you a breakup of what you eat they study your pattern and offer suggestions for changes in your dietThe macro breakdown of our mealThe real dealThe signup process is hasslefree Once the online transaction is complete you have to key in details such as your height weight lifestyle sedentary or active and your fitness goals ours was to eat right and lose unwanted fat in problem areas The experts then set your calorie and nutrient target for the day Next we got added to a WhatsApp group that included four experts We were impressed right from the startAll one has to do is click a pic and send it for analysis PicsFalguni AgarwalAll of our doubts and questions were answered with encouraging and relevant replies that pushed us to eat better and understand our meals The experts were patient with each of our many queries The analysis of every meal is presented in a tabular format that includes the fat cholesterol sodium carbs fibre sugar and protein percentage and content in weight It also shows the remaining balance of the nutrients for the day This worked wonders as it helped us plan our next meals and keep our target in mind The experts are wellversed with cuisines from across the world be it south Indian or Thai They even managed to spot a crumb of papad next to our khichdi that we forgot to mention in our description The only concern we had was to trust them blindly to judge the portion sizesWhat we loved the most are the small goals set by the team in our case starting our day with a fruit The encouraging words effectively helped us get into the habit within a week On days when our mealtimes went haywire we received worried messages that asked us if we had skipped our breakfast We also received reminders when we exceeded the nutrient or calorie limit for the day with suggestions for dinner that would help balance the excess And each of our messages be it at 4 am or 8 pm received prompt responsesThe experts suggest options one could try for different meals like this recipeFifteen days into the service the team informed us of their observations and highlighted the problem areas with solutions that included easytocook recipes The fact that someone knows and judges what we eat ultimately made us more conscious and guilty of bingesBy the end of a month we noticed the unconscious changes we made to our eating patterns Our nutrient balance improved too thanks to the constant support and newfound knowledge of nutrient makeup All the factors effectively make this service valueformoney and perfect for a working professional who is ontherunLOG ON TO thefoodanalystsin