A "Target" in JXCirrus CalCount is something that you want to record, as well as setting some goals for. The most obvious target is calories: You record how many you eat, you can record how many you burn off during exercise, and you or the system set a minimum and maximum number to take in on any given day.
You can set targets for other things though:
This dialog lets you edit all of the details for a single target.
This is the value that you want to record. The system contains a whole lot of values that have already been defined for you - Just click on the arrows at the right-hand side of this field to see the whole list. The reason that the system has these pre-defined values is that for many of them (especially if they are nutrition values), the system can tell you roughly what your daily intake should be.
If you want to record something that is not in the list, select the "---" option at the start of the list, and then set the Label field to whatever you want to record.
This lets you decide what units you are going to record in. The system has a good guess at a default here, but you can change it to any of the values in the list. You can change this value at any time - JXCirrusCalCount will just display this target using the new units.
This is what gets displayed at the top of the columns on the diary page, as well as in the food lists and exercise lists. It starts out being the same as the "Value" field, but you can change it to whatever you like.
For example, you might be recording "Cholesterol", but that takes up too much space, and you just want to call it "Chol" - Type that in here.
JXCirrus CalCount can give you recommended daily intakes of many of the target values. Tick this box if you want to use the values that the computer calculates for you. If you have a range that a doctor has given you, un-tick this box, and enter those values in the Minimum and Maximum fields.
The computer has minimum and maximum daily intakes for most of the nutrition values. If you ticked the box above these fields, you will not be able to edit them - They will show you the values that the computer thinks are right for you. If the box is not ticked, you can enter anything you like in here. To find out how the computer calculates the values, see Calculations.
Some values the computer really has no idea for... For example,
it has no idea how many situps you should do, how fast you can run
5km, or how thick you arm muscles should be. Some values you are
just going to have to help the computer with and type them in
here. If it has no idea, it will say 0 for both.
NOTE: If you set a target period (see next section of this page),
then a second set of fields will appear to show you the target for
the longer time period.
By default, the targets are set up to work over 1 day. Take calories as an example: You have a minimum and a maximum value. Once you reach the minimum, then things are good as long as you don't go over the maximum.
But what if you go over the maximum? What if you have
a bit of a binge? Even the most disciplined do it once
in a while...
Yes, you do get a red background for the total, but the next day
everything is back to normal. Same old minimum and
maximum.
If you want to take this into account, then you can give the
target a longer time period, which tends to even out the
unexpected lumps and bumps. There are two different ways the
system lets you increase the time period for the targets:
This is the simplest method: Lets imagine your
calories target should be set for 1 week instead of 1
day. It works like this:
This means that during a week, if you eat a bit more one day, you
can still keep on target by eating a bit less the next day.
Etc etc...
Target Period |
What it means... |
Daily |
The usual daily target. The same
target is set for each day. |
Daily balanced weekly |
The target is calculated for a week, but the
remainder is divided by the days left in the week. |
Daily balanced monthly |
The target is calculated for a month, but the remainder is divided by the days left in the month. |
Weekly |
The target is multiplied by 7. |
Monthly |
The target is multiplied by the number of
days in the month. |
We think that using a daily target balanced over a shorter time
period is your best option for food targets, since it takes binges
into account (so "Daily balanced weekly" is probably best, but you
could use "Daily balanced monthly").
For exercise, since that can be missed altogether some days, we
would suggest a weekly or monthly target (not balanced).
This drop down list lets you choose whether this target applies
to food, exercise, both, or neither...
If, for example, you choose "Applies to Exercise Only"...
The same applies to Exercise.
If the target is neither a food nor an exercise, then it is a measurement (select "Measurement"). If, for example, you wanted to measure the diameter of your bulging biceps, then select this.
Categories are a way of grouping foods into similar sets. For example, beer and wine might both be in the Drinks category.
Similarly, Exercise can be grouped. For example, you might have a few different exercises:
Jogging
Gym
For any exercise in the Jogging section, you might want a Time target and a Distance target. Any exercise in the Gym section, you might have a Weights targets and a Repetitions target.
In the Time or Distance target, you could put "Jogging" in the Categories field. In the Repetitions or Weights target, you could put "Gym".
This means that when you add a new entry to the Gym section, you will have to fill in Weight and Repetitions, but not Time and Distance. Similarly, if you add an entry to the Jogging section, you will have to fill in Time and Distance, but not Weight and Repetitions.
If Distance applied to both Jogging and Bike Riding, put "Jogging, Bike Riding" (separated by commas) in this field.