WalkingSpree Pedometer Wellness Program

The WalkingSpree Food Tracker page is a very useful tool in tracking your diet and nutrition and keeping it in balance with your activity

Track portions for each meal: Use the search to find a food item or to search for a recipe. Select the item and add it to a meal time for the day. You can adjust the portion size to get a better estimate of the calories and nutrition. The portions then update the calories, fat, cholesterol, carbs, protein and exercise needed to burn off the calories.

You can create your own meal or add your own foods that aren't on the list. I found this portion of the Food Tracker more cumbersome than some other sites, such as our Calorie Count site. I wished there was a way to select several items I had already entered and group them as a meal. I couldn't figure out whether that was possible, so I ended up recreating the items in a meal.

If you want to add your own "New Food" that isn't on the list, you will have to have all of the nutrition data available to input. You can use our Calorie Count site to find those.

Overall, I liked the Food Tracker well enough but didn't find it had the variety of pre-entered foods or the ease of use I have with some sites. But all similar sites are still fairly time-intensive to log your food intake.

Track your weight, body fat, measurements and BMI on the Body Tracker screen. You can set targets and see your progress towards your goals.

From the Teams & Clubs screen, you can join or set up teams or clubs of other users. You can see the total step count of the club, plus data on the individual members. For those who like a little competition, the members are all ranked by week, month, or other time period, plus an all-time ranking.

You can invite club members or other users to become a Buddy.

Walking Workouts: The WalkingSpree does not give the same level of detail for a walking workout as some programs do. It gives only total and aerobic steps per hour and does not calculate speed. But it records all steps, you don't have to remember to turn it on or off.

Nutrition Tracking Tools: WalkingSpree gives a one-stop diet and activity program for those who are able to calculate their portions. You may need extra resources to track items not on the drop down lists, but still should be able to use this well for a personal weight loss program.

Pedometer: The Omron pedometer is very large and is oriented vertically. But it can be carried in a pocket or on the waistband. It also is still useful as a stand-alone pedometer if you decide not to use or renew the WalkingSpree subscription. Omron has their own computer program to track your stats that you can use for free. But Omron's program doesn't include any food tracking, and is on a single computer rather than online.

Pedometer Display: It is also a big advantage for me to be able to see my walking steps and data continuously on the pedometer, without having to upload it or only getting a little green light or other icon to say I am near my goal.

Pedometer Accuracy: I found the pedometer to be very accurate and it did not overcount junk steps some pedometers do.

Overall: I rate the system as excellent, especially for tracking diet as well as steps.

Disclosure: A pedometer and demonstration subscription were provided by the vendor. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.