Abstract:
The present invention allows a user to track nutritional intake values and assists a user in maintaining nutritional intake goals. The invention looks up the nutritional values of foods, adds foods or food combinations to a temporary memory, maintains a daily diary of nutritional intake, generates the average nutritional intake for a selected number of days, and stores nutritional goals. In addition, the present invention allows the user to create custom meal totals, representing user-included food items and their corresponding nutritional values that the user consumes in a meal. Further, the present invention compares nutritional goals with the averages of actual nutritional intake.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/377,379, filed May 1, 2002. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    This invention relates generally to a system and method for assisting a user in tracking and maintaining nutritional intake goals. Specifically, the invention relates to a system and method for searching foodstuffs and other nutritional products from a database, selecting a desired item from the database, and maintaining a record of the nutritional values of the items selected for a predetermined period of time. The invention permits selecting nutritional intake goals and comparing actual nutritional intake against those goals.  
           [0003]    For a variety of reasons, people&#39;s diets may be limited by certain restrictions relating to the nutritional characteristics of the food they eat such as the number of calories, the grams of fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, and protein, and the quantity per serving. For some, eating habits are tailored to achieve a desired weight. For others, food intake is regulated by a physician&#39;s directions for maintaining or improving health. Although lifestyle and a sensible combination of diet and exercise are commonly viewed as the best ways to achieve some of these goals, many people find that they require assistance in successfully implementing an effective strategy to realize their dietary objectives.  
           [0004]    As a result, many tools have been developed to assist in these endeavors. Specifically, a variety of electronic devices exist to help people track their daily nutritional intake. Current nutritional devices typically allow users to select foodstuffs from a database and then maintain a record of the selected items and their associated nutritional values. However, the existing devices do not serve all the needs of people desiring to track their nutritional intake. For instance, these devices often require a great deal of time for the user to locate the desired food item, to observe to associated nutritional information, and log the food item in the record. Some devices require the user to view multiple menus of food categories before allowing the user to select a food item, others display long lists of foods that the user is required to peruse in order to select a food item, and still others present the user with a cumbersome and confusing menu of foods or food-types.  
           [0005]    Accordingly, there continues to be a need for an efficient and user-friendly device and method for searching foodstuffs from a stored list, efficiently locating and selecting the desired item from the list, and maintaining a record of the nutritional values of the items selected.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for enabling a person to exercise care in selecting a diet by recording and tracking, in an efficient and intuitive manner, the nutritional values of foodstuffs, nutrients, minerals, and vitamins he or she consumes.  
           [0007]    A further objective of the present invention is to provide nutritional assistance by enabling a user to easily enter additional food items and nutritional information that are not already available for the user&#39;s selection.  
           [0008]    Another object of the invention is to minimize the cost of nutritional assistance and tracking.  
           [0009]    The present invention allows a user to look up values of foods, add foods or food combinations to temporary memory, maintain a daily diary of nutritional intake, view the average nutritional intake for a selected number of days, and store nutritional goals. Alternatively, the present invention may compare nutritional goals with the averages of actual nutritional intake.  
           [0010]    In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is manifested in a handheld device with a user interface, a processor, a display, a database, and random access memory (RAM). When the user begins to interact with the device, the processor causes the display screen to show a main menu that includes a plurality of user selection options. During operation of the device the user may build a meal total, which represents the food items consumed by the user in a single meal, by interacting with the user interface. As food items are added to the meal total, the device maintains a tally of the nutritional values of all foods selected by the user, including the calories and the grams of fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, and protein. These values are stored in the memory, and, at the user&#39;s selection, the device will store the meal total in a diary for a date selected by the user. The present invention also provides the user the ability to create custom meal totals, which comprise a plurality of food items as entered by the user.  
           [0011]    Food items may be added to the meal total in different ways. For example, in one manner the food item is pre-stored in the database and added therefrom into the meal total, and in another manner the food item is entered into the database by the user and then entered in the meal total or simply entered directly to the meal total, without entering it to the database. These manners of adding food to the meal total are accomplished through the processes “add nutritional information for stored food to meal total” and “add nutritional information for new food to database or meal total,” respectively.  
           [0012]    To add a food item to the meal total where the item is currently stored in the database, the user selects one of the plurality of user selection options from the main menu. In response to a user selection of one such option, the invention initiates the process to add nutritional information for a stored food item to the meal total comprising the steps of: prompting the user for a stored food name; accepting user input; displaying the nutritional content of the food; receiving user input for quantity of the stored food; querying the user whether to add the nutritional content to the meal total; and adding the nutritional information to the meal total in response to a user selection.  
           [0013]    There will be times when the user wishes to enter an unusual food into his or her diet that is not included in the database. To add a food item to the meal total where the item is not currently stored in the database, the user selects a different one of the plurality of user selection options from the main menu. In response to the selection, the invention initiates the process to add nutritional information for a new food to the meal total. This option gives the user the opportunity to add his or her unique food to the database, along with the food&#39;s associated nutritional information. Alternatively, the system will enter such user-provided foods in the memory, rather than the database, and the unique food item will be stored in RAM, along with the food&#39;s associated nutritional information.  
           [0014]    The process of adding a unique food to the database or RAM comprises the steps of: prompting the user for the nutritional content of the new food; accepting user input; querying the user whether to add nutritional content to the database as a new food item; prompting user for the name of the new food item; and adding the food item to the database. Additionally, the user has the additional option of adding a unique food to the meal total without adding it to the database, comprising the steps of: prompting the user for the nutritional content of the new food; accepting user input; querying the user to add nutritional content to meal total; and adding the nutritional information to the meal total.  
           [0015]    Once food items are entered into the meal total and then added to the diary for a specific date, the user has the subsequent ability to review the nutritional values stored in the diary. This allows the user to view and change the nutritional intake for a given date. Additionally, the present invention generates averages of the nutritional values stored in the diary in response to a user request. This allows the user to compare the averages of historical nutritional information against user-defined goals.  
           [0016]    In addition to the two above-described user selections that allow the user to add food items to the meal total, the main menu provides the user with other selection options. In response to yet another user selection, the invention will initiate a process “review nutritional intake history and averages,” comprising the steps of: prompting the user to select from one of three options (view the diary, calculate averages, or input goals); in response to a user selection to view the diary nutritional information, displaying the diary information for a date; and accepting user input, thereby causing the device to display diary nutritional information for the date selected by the user.  
           [0017]    Alternatively, in response to a user selection to calculate averages in the “review nutritional intake history and averages” process, the invention performs the steps of: prompting the user for the number of days the calculated average will represent; accepting from the user the number of days the average will include; and displaying the average nutritional intake for the number of days specified by the user.  
           [0018]    In yet another alternative, in response to the user selection to input goals, the invention performs the alternative steps of: prompting the user for the daily nutritional intake goals including calories, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, and protein; accepting from the user the information; and storing the information in the memory. In response to another user command, the invention displays a comparison between actual nutritional consumption and daily goals.  
           [0019]    The invention further provides the user with the ability to adjust date and time information. To accomplish this, the user selects a yet another one of the plurality of user selection options from the main menu. In response, the invention will initiate the process to adjust the date/time information.  
           [0020]    The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention that proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0021]    [0021]FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 1A is a graphical illustration of an exemplary user interface;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the methodology according to the present invention;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 2A is a graphical illustration of the device display showing the main menu;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating the device methodology for adding nutritional information for stored foods to the meal total;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 3A is a graphical illustration of the device display while adding nutritional information for stored foods to the meal total;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the device methodology for adding nutritional information for new foods to the database or meal total;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 4A is a graphical illustration of the device display while adding nutritional information for new foods to the database or meal total;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating the device methodology for managing the meal total and adding it to the diary;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 5A is a graphical illustration of the device display while managing the meal total and adding it to the diary;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the device methodology for reviewing nutritional intake history and averages;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 6A is a graphical illustration of the device display while reviewing nutritional intake history and averages;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating the device methodology for adjusting date and time information;  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 7A is a graphical illustration of the device display while for adjusting date and time information. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0035]    Various embodiments of the present invention are shown and described to search and maintain nutritional values of foodstuff. It is to be understood that although these embodiments are shown and described in the context of a handheld device, various features of each embodiment can be combined with the others to produce a variety of embodiments or manifest in the form of another device.  
         [0036]    Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic drawing of a device  10  which appropriately performs the necessary functions. Device  10  includes a processor  12 , a database  14 , a RAM  16 , a user interface  18 , and a display  20 . One core component of device  10  is processor  12 , which communicates with and controls other components of device  10 , also shown in FIG. 1. Database  14  stores food items, their names, and their associated nutritional values. The nutritional values include the calories, the total grams of fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, and protein per serving for each food item. The food list stored in database  14  includes permanently stored food items and, in one embodiment, new user-defined food items. RAM  16  temporarily stores information. Among other things, RAM  16  stores nutritional values constituting the user&#39;s “meal total” for a specific day and a diary. RAM  16  also stores the diary, which includes historical nutritional values for up to 31 days, and may also include future nutritional values for up to 7 days. Further, in an alternative embodiment, user-defined foods may be stored in RAM  16  rather than, or in addition to database  14 .  
         [0037]    Device  10  delivers information to the user via the display  20 , which may include a monitor, by showing information to and requesting information from the user. Device  10  further includes a user interface  18  for allowing the user to enter data to device  10  for receiving and processing. FIG. 1A is a graphical illustration of one embodiment of user interface  18 .  
         [0038]    The embodiment of user interface  18  shown in FIG. 1A includes a plurality of buttons which allow the user to enter information to device  10 . The buttons displaying letters, when pressed, allow the user to enter food names to device  10 . The number buttons allow the user to enter numerical values to device  10 , such as a number of calories, or a number of grams of fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, or protein per serving. The ‘main,’ ‘back,’ and direction buttons allow the user to navigate device  10  and to accomplish different functions.  
         [0039]    The particular embodiment of user interface  18  is not limited to a keyboard as shown in FIG. 1A. It is contemplated that other embodiments of user interface  18  may be used. For example, user interface  18  may include a touchscreen, a mouse, a joystick, or speech recognition capabilities.  
         [0040]    Referring now to FIG. 2, there is a flow chart illustrating a session with the user interacting with device  10 . When the user begins to interact with device  10 —either by pressing a button on user interface  18  or turning on device  10 —device  10  displays to the user a main menu  1000 , shown in FIG. 2A, with a plurality of options for the user&#39;s selection, step  100 . Main menu  1000  may include many options. For example, these options may include: SEARCH FOOD LIST, ENTER UNLISTED FOOD, GO TO DIARY, ADJUST DATE TIME, and VIEW MEAL TOTAL as shown in the example display of main menu  1000 . Each of the options represent high-level steps performed by device  10 , shown in FIG. 2 as steps  200 ,  300 ,  400 ,  500 , and  600 .  
         [0041]    All of the above-indicated high-level steps comprise a plurality of sub-steps, as described below. Both steps  200  and  300 , among other things, allow the user to build a meal total, which is a tally of the nutritional values of foods selected by the user for a specific meal or day. Step  200 , “add nutritional information for stored food to meal total,” allows the user to add to the meal total a food item currently stored in database  14 . On the other hand, step  300 , “add nutritional information for new food to database or meal total,” allows the user to add to the meal total a new, user-defined, food item. Step  300  also allows the user to accomplish a different operation: adding a new, user-defined item to database  14  or RAM  16  for future use.  
         [0042]    Once the user has implemented steps  200  and  300  to add food items to the meal total, step  600 , “manage meal total,” allows the user to manage the meal total, including naming a meal total, making changes to the meal total, and adding the meal total to the diary. The user may initiate step  600  from within step  200  or  300 , as shown in FIG. 2.  
         [0043]    Step  400 , “review nutritional intake history and averages,” generally allows the user to review information that has been added to the diary, generate average nutritional intakes, set nutritional intake goals, and compare average nutritional intakes and nutritional intake goals. Step  500 , “adjust date/time information,” allows the user to make corrections to the date and time information.  
         [0044]    The user has the ability to navigate the options displayed on the main menu by interacting with user interface  18  to select a high-level step from the main menu  1000 . Standard navigation of device  10  involves presenting a plurality of options to the user or device  10  requesting information from the user and then accepting input from the user. When device  10  displays options to the user on display  20 , one option is highlighted. In order to choose between options and select the desired one, device  10  changes which option is highlighted in response to the user pressing the UP and DOWN buttons. The option above or below the currently highlighted item is highlighted in response to the user pressing the UP or DOWN button on user interface  18  respectively. Once the desired option is selected, the user may communicate that fact to device  10  by pressing the ENTER button. In response to the ENTER button being pressed, device  10  accepts and processes the user&#39;s selection. The user can also cause device  10  to return to the previous display screen by pressing the BACK button. Further, device  10  returns to step  100  and displays the MAIN MENU at any time in response to the user pressing the MAIN button. On appropriate screens, the user can enter text and numbers by using the proper letter or number buttons on user interface  18 . The user can correct mistakes by pressing LEFT button, which deletes previous entries; each press of LEFT deletes the previous letter until no letters remain.  
         [0045]    Returning to the main menu display, step  100 , in response to the user&#39;s selection of the SEARCH FOOD LIST option device  10  begins ADD NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION FOR STORED FOOD TO MEAL TOTAL, step  200 . The first step is locating a stored food, step  210 , as shown on FIG. 3. Device  10  prompts the user to enter the name of a food item. Example display  2100  shown in FIG. 3A demonstrates the manner in which device  10  may request the information from the user.  
         [0046]    In response to a request from device  10 , the user may enter a food item name with user interface  18 . As the user begins typing the food name, device  10  causes display  20  to automatically show foods starting with the letters typed thus far, updating the display after each keystroke. For example, if the user intends to enter the food “raisins,” after typing “r” the display might show “radishes,” but after typing “rai” display  20  shows “raisins.” To maintain a user-friendly display, this search procedure is displayed on a single screen-not through multiple menus-and only a single food item is displayed at a time, thereby maintaining simplicity for the user.  
         [0047]    Once the user has located the desired food item, pressing ENTER causes device  10  to accept that particular food item and proceed to the next step, “display nutritional information for selected food,” step  220 . During this step, device  10  displays the nutritional values associated with the selected food item in the previous step. For example, display  2200  demonstrates the display screen where the selected food is raisins. After the user presses ENTER, device  10  proceeds to the next step.  
         [0048]    In an additional aspect of the present invention, device  10  further accepts from the user input of the number of portions the user would like to select. The default is one portion. If the user chooses to enter a different number of portions, the displayed nutritional values update automatically to accurately reflect the number or portions the user has selected.  
         [0049]    During the subsequent step, “add food to meal total or view meal total,” step  230 , the user may accomplish three general operations: (1) add the selected food item to the meal total; (2) view the meal total without adding the selected food item to the meal total; or (3) return to the main menu without adding the selected food item to the meal total. In step  230 , the device  10  displays the selected food item and prompts the user to select from a plurality of options. These options may include: “ADD TO MEAL TOTAL,” “VIEW MEAL TOTAL,” and “DISCARD &amp; GO TO MAIN.” Example display  2300  demonstrates the display screen where device  10  prompts the user to select an option. As described above, the MEAL TOTAL is a tally of the nutritional values of foods selected by the user for a specific meal or day. The MEAL TOTAL is stored in RAM  16  and the user has the ability to add multiple foods to the MEAL TOTAL. Once the user has completed a MEAL TOTAL, that information may be added to the DIARY, which includes historical nutritional values for a user-defined period, for example, up to 31 days. The DIARY may also include future nutritional values for a user-defined period, for example, up to 7 days. Like the MEAL TOTAL, the DIARY is also stored in RAM  16 , but the DIARY stores nutritional values for a plurality of days, whereas the nutritional values stored in the MEAL TOTAL are added to a particular day in the DIARY.  
         [0050]    To accomplish the first operation, adding the selected food item to the meal total, the user selects “ADD TO MEAL TOTAL”. In response to the user&#39;s selection of ADD TO MEAL TOTAL, device  10  adds the nutritional information of the selected food item to the MEAL TOTAL and proceeds to step  600 , “manage meal total,” described below.  
         [0051]    To accomplish the second operation, viewing the meal total without adding the selected food item to the meal total, the user selects “VIEW MEAL TOTAL”. In response to the user&#39;s selection of VIEW MEAL TOTAL, device  10  proceeds to step, “manage meal total,” step  600  described below, without adding the nutritional information of the selected food item to the MEAL TOTAL.  
         [0052]    To accomplish the third operation, returning to the main menu without adding the selected food item to the meal total, the user selects “DISCARD &amp; GO TO MAIN”. In response to the user&#39;s selection of DISCARD &amp; GO TO MAIN, device  10  returns to the beginning of step  100  and displays the main menu, without adding the nutritional information of the selected food item to the MEAL TOTAL. This option is particularly useful for a user that desires to merely lookup a food&#39;s nutritional information without adding it to the MEAL TOTAL.  
         [0053]    Returning to FIG. 2 and the main menu display, step  100 , in response to the user&#39;s selection of the ENTER UNLISTED FOOD option, device  10  begins ADD NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION FOR NEW FOOD TO DATABASE OR MEAL TOTAL, step  300 . This is an alternative procedure to add a food item to the meal total or to the database for future use, i.e. adding a new, user-defined food. Further, it is to be understood that in one embodiment such a user-defined food and its associated nutritional information is stored in the food list on database  14 , or, in an alternative embodiment, such a user-defined food and its associated nutritional information is stored in RAM  16 , specifically “user-defined foods.” The former embodiment, storing user-defined foods in database  14 , will be described below, but this description is intended to encompass the alternative embodiment of storing user-defined foods in RAM  16  as well. As shown in FIG. 4, the first step is acquiring nutritional information for the new food, step  310 . Device  10  prompts the user to enter the nutritional information of the new food item. Example display  3100 , shown in FIG. 4A, demonstrates the manner in which device  10  may request the information from the user, “FILL &amp; PRESS ENTER.” 
         [0054]    The user may enter the nutritional values for the new food item, for example, calories, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, and protein. The user can navigate from field to field for each of these pieces of information by using the UP and DOWN buttons. When the nutritional information has been entered to the user&#39;s satisfaction, the user may press the ENTER button to proceed to the next screen. In response to pressing ENTER, device  10  prompts the user to determine whether to add the nutritional information to the food list, step  320 . During this step, the user may accomplish two general operations: (1) add the nutritional information to the meal total without creating a new food that is stored in the database, or (2) create a new food item and add it to the database, but not add it to the meal total. As shown in FIG. 4A, display  3200  demonstrates the manner in which device  10  may prompt the user for a selection, “ADD TO FOOD LIST?” 
         [0055]    To accomplish the first operation, adding the nutritional information to the meal total without creating a new food that is stored in the database, the user selects “NO”. Upon the user selecting NO, device  10  adds the nutritional information to the MEAL TOTAL without saving the nutritional information values as a custom food item in the FOOD LIST and proceeds to step  600 , “manage meal total.” 
         [0056]    To accomplish the second operation, creating a new food item and adding it to the database but not to the meal total, the user selects “YES”. Upon the user selecting YES, device  10  saves the entered nutritional information in database  14  and acquires a name for the new food, step  330 . This option allows the user to create a custom food entry and associate nutritional information with that food.  
         [0057]    To accomplish custom food creation, device  10  prompts the user with NAME FOOD ITEM &amp; PRESS ENTER, as shown in example display  3300 , FIG. 4A. Custom food list items may begin with an indicator, such as an asterisk (*), to distinguish them from other foods that are permanently stored in database  14 . Custom food items may be deleted while they are being displayed by highlighting the food item and pressing DELETE. After the user enters a name for the custom food item and presses ENTER, device  10  stores it in database  14 . Upon storing the custom food item, device  10  displays to the user “SAVED,” thereby indicating that it has been successfully saved, and return to step  100 .  
         [0058]    Returning to FIG. 2 and the main menu display, step  100 , in response to the user&#39;s selection of the VIEW MEAL TOTAL option, device  10  begins MANAGE MEAL TOTAL, step  600 . While the user may select other options to initiate step  600  as described above, selecting VIEW MEAL TOTAL allows the user to immediately see the contents of the MEAL TOTAL. This option is particularly useful when the user wants to view the MEAL TOTAL without initiating steps  200  or  300 .  
         [0059]    As shown in FIG. 5, the first step of process  600  displays the current MEAL TOTAL and provides the user a plurality of options, step  610 . Example display  6100 , shown in FIG. 5A, demonstrates the manner in which device  10  may display the MEAL TOTAL and request the information from the user. If the user has just added nutritional information to the MEAL TOTAL, the current display reflects that addition.  
         [0060]    On the currently displayed screen, the user has the opportunity to navigate through the food items that comprise the nutritional content of the meal total by pressing the DOWN arrow. The foods are displayed on the screen, preferably one at a time. While navigating through these food items, the user may remove any of them by pressing DELETE when the desired food is highlighted. In response to the user pressing DELETE, device  10  causes the nutritional values in the MEAL TOTAL to adjust automatically to reflect the change in the food items.  
         [0061]    During step  610 , shown in FIG. 5, the user is offered options: “LOOK UP MORE FOODS,” “SAVE TO DIARY,” “NAME THE MEAL TOTAL,” “CLEAR MEAL TOTAL.” In response to the user&#39;s selection of LOOK UP MORE FOODS, device  10  proceeds to step  100  and displays the main menu. In response to the user&#39;s selection of SAVE TO DIARY, device  10  proceeds to step  620 , “save meal total to selected date.” In this step, device  10  displays the current date and prompts user with message, “PRESS ENTER TO SAVE MEAL TOTAL TO ABOVE DATE,” as shown in example display  6200 . The user has option to save the meal total to the current date or changing the date using the LEFT and RIGHT buttons to highlight the month, day, or year and the number buttons to enter the appropriate number in a specified format, such as mm/dd/yyyy. In response to the user&#39;s pressing ENTER, device  10  saves the meal to diary in RAM  16  for the selected date. Device  10  displays to the user “SAVED,” thereby indicating that the MEAL TOTAL has been successfully saved to the diary, and return to step  610 .  
         [0062]    In response to the user&#39;s selection of NAME THE MEAL TOTAL, device  10  proceeds to step  630 , where the user is given the opportunity to save the nutritional information currently stored as the MEAL TOTAL as a custom food item. Device  10  prompts the user with, “NAME FOOD ITEM &amp; PRESS ENTER,” as shown in example display  6300 . The user may enter a name for the custom food item and presses ENTER. In response to the user pressing ENTER, device  10  stores the custom food entry in RAM  16 . Upon saving the custom food item, device  10  displays to the user “SAVED,” thereby indicating that it has been successfully saved, and return to step  610 .  
         [0063]    In response to the user&#39;s selection of CLEAR MEAL TOTAL, device  10  clears the MEAL TOTAL, erasing all of the values stored as the MEAL TOTAL from RAM  16 . Device  10  then proceeds to step  100  and displays the main menu.  
         [0064]    Returning to displaying the main menu, step  100 , as shown in FIG. 2, in response to the user&#39;s selection of the GO TO DIARY option, device  10  begins REVIEW NUTRITIONAL INTAKE HISTORY AND AVERAGES, step  400 . The first step prompts the user to select from a plurality of options, step  410  on FIG. 6. The user is prompted with such options as, “VIEW DIARY,” “CALCULATE AVERAGES,” and “DAILY GOALS,” as shown in example display  4100 . In response to the user&#39;s selection of VIEW DIARY, device  10  retrieves nutritional intake information from the diary in RAM  16  and displays that nutritional intake information for the selected date, step  420 . The display includes all nutritional information stored for that date as shown in example display  4200 . The default date is the current date, though the user may scroll through dates using the RIGHT and LEFT buttons. The user may also adjust any of the displayed nutritional values by scrolling to the desired value using the UP/DOWN buttons and entering a new value with the number buttons. The user may save these changes by pressing the ENTER button. In response to the user pressing ENTER, the device displays to the user SAVED, thereby indicating that it has been successfully saved to RAM  16 .  
         [0065]    From step  410 , in response to the user&#39;s selection of CALCULATE AVERAGES, device  10  obtains the number of days for the average calculation, step  430 . To accomplish this, device  10  prompts the user with, “00 DAY AVERAGE,” as shown in example display  4300 . In response, the user may indicate the number of days the average should include by entering a number between 2 and 31. In response to the user&#39;s entering a number and pressing ENTER, device  10  calculates and displays the daily average nutritional information, step  440 . As shown in example display  4400 , device  10  indicates the average calories, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, and protein the user entered into device  10  for the selected number of days. Additionally, the user may compare a daily average nutritional consumption with DAILY GOALS by pressing the * button while viewing averages.  
         [0066]    An additional aspect of the present invention relates to another method for comparing nutritional consumption with DAILY GOALS. From step  100 , the main menu display, in response to the user&#39;s pressing the * button, device  10  displays a comparison of the DAILY GOALS and the nutritional information of the food items consumed thus far that day. This aspect of the present invention, shown in FIG. 6, allows the user to easily view his or her daily nutritional status relative to his or her daily goal, directly from the main menu display, step  100 , by simply pressing a single button.  
         [0067]    From step  410 , in response to the user&#39;s selection of DAILY GOALS, device  10  enables the user to manage daily goals, step  450 . This option allows the user set nutritional goals—maximum daily intake of calories, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, and protein—as shown in example display  4500 . Device  10  prompts the user with, “FILL &amp; PRESS ENTER.” The user has the opportunity to enter a number for each of the nutritional values by navigating through the display and entering values with the number buttons. The user may save these goals by pressing the ENTER button on user interface  18 . In response to the user&#39;s pressing ENTER, device  10  saves these goals to RAM  16  and display to the user “SAVED,” thereby indicating that it has been successfully saved, and return to step  410 .  
         [0068]    Returning to FIG. 2 and the main menu display, step  100 , in response to the user&#39;s selection of the ADJUST DATE TIME option device  10  begins ADJUST DATE/TIME INORMATION, step  500 . This step comprises acquiring new date/time information, step  510 . Device  10  prompts the user with, “ADJUST DATE TIME; PRESS ENTER TO SAVE,” and display the current date/time, e.g.: “01 21 2002 14:55:37,” as shown in example display  5100 . The user may adjust the date and time by navigating to the values that need correction with the LEFT and RIGHT buttons and entering new values using the number buttons. Once the values display the correct date and time, the user may save these adjustments by pressing the ENTER button. In response to the user&#39;s pressing ENTER, device  10  displays to the user SAVED, thereby indicating that the information has been successfully saved to RAM  16 , and return to the main menu, step  100 .  
         [0069]    Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or central attributes thereof. In that the foregoing description of the present invention discloses only exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that other variations are contemplated as being within the scope of the present invention. For example, the present invention may be implemented on an individual computer, computers connected through a network such as the Internet, a handheld computing device such as a PDA, or a mobile telephone. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited in the particular embodiments which have been described in detail therein. Rather, reference should be made to the appended claims as indicative of the scope and content of the present invention.