OK, if you read my other post, I'm getting psyched up about starting a new fitness/dieting program and so on.

The thing is, I know myself and I know that I am shitty at following a routine.  Go to the gym 3x/week, I can handle that.

But to plan my meals out in advance, or count calories and grams of protein all day is not something I think I can do.

I've never used a handheld computer before, like a palm pilot or anything, but I was thinking there's got to be a program out there somewhere for a Palm-Pilot type machine that will hold a database of common foods, and the nutritional information.  There's also got to be a program for counting your calories and shit everyday.

This way, I figure if I decide to go to a restaurant, or don't feel like cooking dinner or whatever, I can still keep track of my diet.

This is really all I would need a palm pilot for.  Does anyone use a program like this?  It doesn't seem too complicated and I reckon I can get a handheld computer that's a few years old for cheap and it will get the job done.  What can you tell me?  Where could I find such a program?  What specs should I look for in an old handheld that will do the job?

Thanks.

Edit to add: I'm single so I can't get a wife to cook for me every night and I have lots of hobbies and interests and a short attention span so I tend to do things "spurr of the moment."  Unfortunately, this makes it difficult to eat properly, thus I'm trying to remedy this with convenience afforded by modern technology.

Edit again to add:
I did a quick net search and found the following programs.  Will some of you familiar with a Palm Pilot type machine give your thoughts on what would be most useful, or suggest another program that I didn't find:

[url]http://www.healthcrazed.com/palm.htm[/url]
[url]http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/palm/[/url]

There are more, in fact there's a whole section at tucows containing palm software: [url]http://pda.fastnet.it/palm/dietandexcercise_default.html[/url]

-Nick Viejo.

Respectfully, are you sure you need another gadget?

Myself, I'm the kind of guy who will buy every prop there is in order to convince myself I'm serious about something. I'd buy a treadmill, instead of just walking my dogs. I'd buy a home gym, instead of weights. Or a set of weights, instead of just starting out with gallon jugs of water to lift like I did when I was a kid. I thought buying stuff would help force me commit to a plan of action that I needed but wasn't ready to embrace.

Depending on what you're trying to accomplish - gain, lose, or cut - chances are the amount of food you eat will not be a problem, it's [i]what[/i] you eat.

If you're looking to lose weight, whether a chicken breast weighs 8 ounces or 11 is immaterial, just skip the brownie fudge sundae afterwards. Eat all the salad you want, but watch the sugary fruits and juices.

Looking to gain, eat more of the good stuff - you'll soon enough learn to calculate amounts easily. Buy a small kitchen scale so you can actually see what stuff weighs. And supplements are pre-measured or have scoops, you can balance the amounts easily.

And if you under or over eat on one day it's no big deal - work out more or eat more the next day or two to make up for it. Don't restrict yourself too much or it'll become a job - something you [i]got to do[/i] instead of [i]want to do[/i].

Have fun!

Chet Chat, yes, I need another gadget.  I'm not into having around useless crap (except maybe having around more than one "assault rifle").

And I know for a fact that I won't keep good track of what I eat unless it's right there in front of me.  I don't eat on a normal schedule, and I need some way to keep track of the chaos.

As for my goals, I'm happy with my weight now; I'm about 6' and 185 or so but I want to work out a bit mostly for cosmetic reasons (get "cut") and for more longevity and energy throughout the day.  So I'll probably be trying to replace some of my body fat with muscle and once I do that maybe I'll decide I want to gain weight, but that is a decision I have not yet made.

So this isn't about buying stuff to convince myself I'm serious, this is about knowing my personal limitations (inability to plan meals) and work around them.

-Nick Viejo.