eFit Free Edition

Weight loss is a multibillion-dollar industry in the United States, and it's no surprise that software developers want a piece of that action. eFit Free Edition is a basic meal planner and weight tracker that lets you keep a record of your food intake. Although it works well enough, it's not nearly as full-featured as similar programs we've seen.

The program opens with a pop-up window encouraging you to take a survey about your weight loss plans. At the end of the survey you are given a code that will disable the survey pop-up in the future. Once we were past that, we configured eFit with our preferred units of measurement (English or metric), entered our height and weight, and started exploring. The program has a simple meal-planning feature that draws on a large database of foods, including name brands and restaurant items. You can easily enter foods that aren't already on the list. Tracking your food intake is simply a matter of selecting what you've eaten (or plan to eat) for each meal; eFit will automatically tabulate your calories, protein, carbs, and fat. The program also lets you track 13 different body measurements, including your weight and the circumference of your arms, legs, waist, and chest. A grocery list generator looks at the foods you've eaten and then creates an editable list, allowing you to quickly remove items that you don't need more of just yet. An Online Services menu gives you access to the eFit message board. The program comes with a PDF Help file that does an adequate job of explaining its features. Overall, eFit functions as it should, but it's not very sophisticated. We were especially surprised, given the program's name, that it does not offer any way to track physical activity, this being one of the most important aspects of fitness.

eFit Free Edition leaves a folder behind upon removal. We recommend this program to all users who need a basic way to track their food intake and not much else.