DietPower

4.0 stars

"Good Software Product needs some bells and whistles B+."

July 15, 2010  |   By Goldware4338

Version: DietPower 4.4

Pros

Good Product.

Cons

Data Base needs to be more responsive. Exercising "esc key" or new search each search is time consuming and boring. Could be improved in my opinion especially for the price being asked.

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5.0 stars

"Excellent program and features. No bugs after 6 months"

January 10, 2010  |   By cnetacct13191

Version: DietPower 4.4

Pros

I've been using this software for about 6 months now, and have lost 31 pounds.
I NEVER have had it crash, and I've never lost data.

Cons

After six months of daily use I love it and continue to find things I appreciate.
If I find one I will come back with an update.

Summary

I love the look and feel of the program. It is intuitive and easy to use, which makes entry quick and painless. It has too many really great features to list, but I looked at all of the competitors before I made the decision to buy it, and the competition is way overpriced by comparison. The least important factor to me regarding the decision to purchase was the low price for such a complete weight loss and nutrition management and analysis program. It has a huge food database which makes input on most foods automatic. It offers customization to every area - Foods, Menus, Exercise etc so it can be tailored very specifically to suit your preferences and needs.

The backup and restore functions work excellently, again I have never lost data or had any other problem. I use at home and at work so I backup to a thumb drive at home in the morning and put it on my computer at work. Vise-versa in the evening.
The user license allows this. Anytime you have important data you should back up frequently, even several times daily because you never know when your computer or power etc may fail. It only takes a few seconds to do so. This way you only lose data entered after the last save.

I love this software and I recommend that you do not take anyones word or review as your basis for decision. You need to try it for yourself on your computer, and the competition as well. This is when you truly appreciate the difference!

I love the look and feel. I love the fact that it is so easy to use. I love the results that I have gotten, as being able to see visually on the graphs for weight loss, nutrients and exercise, provides a visual day by day history that shows my progress, and achievement. Really keeps me motivated to continue.

Good luck, and I hope this was helpful.

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3.0 stars

"Great Program, Lots of Bugs!"

December 1, 2009  |   By jenramlor

Version: DietPower 4.4

Pros

I have never found any program that is as comprehensive as Diet Power. It does it all - nutrition, recipe calculation, exercise tracking, calorie tracking. Its integrated functions are really awesome.

Cons

Its old-fashioned interface and frequent crashes make it annoying to use. If you don't back up daily, you can frequently lose information and have to start all over.

Summary

I've had this program for nearly 5 years. I had to pay $50 for the original 4.0, then $30 to upgrade to 4.4 - that was insulting, especially since they've lowered the price for the new program to $29.99. I think you still have to pay for updates.

It really is simple to use, and a joy... when it does function properly. Unfortunately, that's not all that frequently. Also, the appearance is of about 1995 - very simplistic. A minor issue, but if you're going to spend a significant amount of time tracking your food and analyzing your own recipes, it should at least look attractive! It really could use an overhaul.

The worst part is that I've recently lost three years' worth of nutritional recipes that I was compiling for a cookbook. Diet Power crashed and wiped out my stuff. My backup files failed, so all my hard work is gone forever. I've been a regular with Tech Support, via email and phone calls - which is usually very good, depending on who you get that day.

No program should require this much maintenance. I've suffered through several catastrophic crashes, unfixable glitches, and bugs (usually caused by minor updates, which thankfully they no longer require me to pay for) that required me to either re-install or go through hours at a time with tech support.

I'm giving up finally. This is the second time I've lost nearly everything I compiled over the years. I'm going to use a lesser calorie-tracking program, then a separate one for my recipes (Living Cookbook is outstanding, by the way!). As annoying as it will be to use two separate programs when Diet Power can do it all, I can't risk losing any more of my information - and time.

If you're willing to take the risk on Diet Power, take it from me: back up daily, using the Travel Bag option! You can't transfer or save files in any other format that Diet Power will recognize. Any change (i.e. transferring manually) will cause the program to fatally crash.

Also be aware that many of your user files are not in one file within the program itself; they are secreted in various files all over your computer (in My Documents, Program Data) - and are hidden, so if you do try to find them manually, it's almost impossible. I don't know how they wrote this program, but it just seems to be a mess.

I'm sure I'm overlooking the MANY other problems I've had with Diet Power... but this is enough of an idea. Hope it helps. Good luck!

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1.0 stars

"Worth the registration-only because it costs so little"

August 4, 2009  |   By angell2--2008

Version: DietPower 4.4

Pros

Good weight tracker.

Cons

Limited home cooking database, have to pay to reinstall.

Summary

If you want a simple application to help you track your weight, this is it. The graphing options are also nice. The food database that comes with the program is quite large, but limited. The database includes very few home cooked recipes. It does have an editor to let you add your own foods, or you can try to match up your cooking with a chain restaurant or prepackaged meals from the store. The calorie count in their database does not always match the calorie count from a restaurant?s nutritional information sheet. If you enter calorie information daily, you are forced to enter a weight daily, you cannot enter the program without inputting a weight. If you only weigh yourself weekly this provides a very skewed graph showing progress like a set of stairs instead of gradual over the week.

I used this for 6 months then got a new computer, I should have read the fine print! You have to pay an extra $6.00 every time you reinstall the registered program. It wasn?t worth the extra cost, I took it off and will never use it again.

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5.0 stars

"Best I have Found!"

June 7, 2009  |   By DietGal

Version: DietPower 4.4

Pros

Large database, great graphics, smart at figuring calorie and exercise goals,tells you if you are low or high on a nutrient and what you need to do to fix. I tried other programs like Calorie King and found this to have better food content/features.

Cons

Large database of food items, sometimes hard to find what you are looking for. That is a plus also, not limited to any specific food. Watch startup video or you could be lost, it is ez to use, but you need the quick instruction to use well.

Summary

Get it! You can't loose, free trial. I have used this site for years and this is the first review I felt compelled to write. I am surprised cnet has not reviewed this product.

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1.0 stars

"Couldn't figure out how to install."

February 2, 2009  |   By tkcas01

Version: DietPower 4.4

Pros

never got that far.

Cons

The download is a PHP file. I understand that is a scripting file, but how am I supposed to know what to do with it? I am on Vista Home Premium and it didn't have a clue.

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5.0 stars

"For losing weight or gaining muscle!"

February 27, 2008  |   By Rockon38

Version: DietPower 4.4

Pros

I've been using Diet Power for about 6 months now and have lost close to 13lbs. (I've got it on the 'Very Easy" setting, which is why it's taking so long). I love the fact that it breaks everything down nutritionally so you have a real good idea of the nutrients you're taking in.

Highly recommended!

- If you think it's too much work entering in all of the food items, just know that it takes only about 5 minutes a day after the first two or three week period.

Cons

- The interface is still somewhat clunky. A good example of this is when one checks their "Weight History" it would be nice if there were some kind of zoom feature there. But overall this is highly recommended, definitely check it out before going to Weight Watchers.

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4.0 stars

"Very helpful -- its lifesaving"

January 5, 2007  |   By Jake6186

Version: DietPower 4

Pros

After I was diagnosed with diabetes I had to lose weight -- and keep it off. Dietpwoer has been a big part of my success. Plus - whenever I've had a tech support issue, they have provided a level of service I haven't seen with any other software. They are there for you and will help.

Cons

I'd like to see a new version with a larger list of foods. What's there is extensive, but more would help.

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5.0 stars

"Worth the money"

October 16, 2006  |   By doyle440

Version: DietPower 4

Pros

I love the all the options, granted I have added alot of my own food items, but I did that for a better calorie history. I like the fact that you can add your own recipes. DietPower does all the math you add the items and other info along with servings. It's a very simple program.

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