App Review: Carrot

I was poking around on Facebook and one of my friends had posted a link to the 36 Struggles of Using MyFitnessPal.  That was the app that I used the last time I tracked calories (I've also used the LiveStrong calorie counter), so of course I clicked, and proceeded to laugh out loud.  Because it is SO TRUE.

CARROT is the same, essentially, as all of the other apps I've used to track calories.  Except it calls me Meatbag.  And threatens me with full page ads if I go over my calorie allotment.  Scratch that, it is way the hell better than the other apps because it is FUNNY, and seriously, we need  a little funny when we are tracking calories.

Because duuuuuudes.  I always forget.  It is always such a bucket of cold water when I start tracking again, at how far out of line I've gotten.  I mean, I've tracked enough calories to have a pretty general idea of how many are in a lot of what I eat.  I've tracked enough to be capable of selecting the better choice if two things are sitting in front of me.  Where I always get lost when I'm not tracking is just in how MUCH I eat.  How many components there are and how they all add up to a much bigger number than what I'm seeing.  Also I always get lost in the fact that I'm a little girl and my allotment isn't really that much.  Nope.  Not much at all.

Anyways, the interface is really simple.  Click on "Record Calories".

Start typing in food and it will do an on the fly search as you are typing.  When you finish typing you can click search for fuller results.  And if they don't have what you want, you just go down into the calorie box and type those in, too, and create the entry on the fly.  Super easy.  Oh, and it gives you an idea of what you have to do exercising to fix what you've just eaten.  (Although I must say, I think it gives you more calories for exercise than it should.)

And then you can look at and edit your diary later. (And read whatever funny line is there.)

 

 

Pros: Easy, super easy, to use.  Funny.

 

Cons: No meal function yet.  In-app purchases (although the number is pretty limited and I think for 5 bucks you could get it all done).
Recommendation: Get!  Especially if you can get it for free like I did.  Because when calorie tracking we all need an app where "Choking Chickens" is an exercise option and it turns DefCon 3 red when we go over our calories!