I've wanted to lose some weight for years (not loads, just a stone & a half) but haven't managed it. The reason is because calorie counting is just too hard, and guessing, or thinking "there's not much in that" just doesn't work. Livestrong makes it easier - most foods are in their database (and you can add any that aren't), so you just have to say what you had to eat and it does the rest. You can create meals too, so for instance we often have potatoes, carrots, broccoli and parsnips with something, so I just make all of these things into a meal called "Dinner" and I can add it to my daily intake with one click.
It's been a revelation and I've lost 12 pounds in about 6 weeks (I set it a goal of losing 1 1/2 pounds per week - it works out how many calories I need to eat to achieve this). It shows you how much protein, fat, carbs, fibre etc. you're getting too. As a by-product of this, I've started tailoring what I eat to ensure that I get enough protein and fibre - something I've never been sure if I get enough of, and seeing it here has shown that I wasn't. Now I ensure I have at least 100% of my daily protein intake (even changing my yoghurt brand to one with a higher protein count) while maintaining the right calorie level and also getting my "5 a day". I feel really good for it.
It produces some snazzy graphs too, showing the breakdown of your calorie/protein/carb intake etc, and trending various things against time. This is part of what "sold" it to me - I love stuff like that!
It also records what exercise you do (though I find some of it's colorie estimates for some activities a bit high and tailor them accordingly) and they've just launched a facility where you can upload mountain bike/running/walking routes to the site to share with others, and it works out the calories burned on these routes according to their gradient profile and the speed you do it in. All very interesting stuff.
As I love eating out I only stick to this for 6 days a week and give myself a "free" day - usually Saturday. It's a routine that seems to be working very well.
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