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Community Corner

Glen Rock Resident Makes Dieting Digital

A local dietician has produced a free iPhone app to help users maintain a healthy lifestyle

A Glen Rock resident in association with a Canadian software company has developed a new iPhone app aimed at helping residents plan their meals and manage their weight. 

The app, Ace Your Diet, is based around three meal plans created by Erin Spitzberg, a Registered Dietician who runs a private dietary consultation practice in Oradell. Spitzberg, who had first planned to create a diet workbook and then an interactive website, said she wanted to produce something comprehensive and effective that users could access on the go - and the handheld smartphone seemed to be the best platform available. 

“I wanted to put together something that people will be confident in, that they’re using something that’s backed by the experienced of an expert in the field, not some anonymous company,” Spitzberg said.

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The app is free to download and allows users to select one free meal plan based on their profile, a combination of their height and weight. The two remaining meal plans can be purchased for $1.99 each or $2.99 if both are bought at once.

A meal plan is not a strict list of what to eat and what not, Spitzberg said, but rather an interactive set of options based upon different food groups. The app supplies a recommended number of servings and the best option from that food group - say, a recommendation of broccoli from vegetables - followed by a second-best option if the first doesn’t work out. 

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“They’re plans that people can know have worked for others, and they can work for them,” Spitzberg said. 

The app also provides shopping lists, diet tips, and a tracking system that allows users to monitor how much they’ve been working out and what they’ve been eating (“If you bite it, write it,” said Spitzberg) - all important considerations when trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

“Slow and steady weight loss is the best way, absolutely the best way,” said Spitzberg. 

Ace Your Diet, produced by Bawtree Software will become available on the Apple App Store on June 2nd. Spitzberg says she plans to update and expand on the application based on how people use it as well as on reviews and feedback. 

“I want it to be like having me in your pocket, 24/7,” Spitzberg said. 

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