Getting Started

The first dialog you will be shown (apart from the main window, which is lurking seductively in the background) is a dialog titled "Your Details". This dialog gathers a little bit of information about you so that the system can automatically show you the recommended amounts for calories and all the other nutrients. There are eight pages that you need to fill in and then you can be unleashed into JXCirrus CalCount.

(technically, you can ignore this dialog altogether by pressing Cancel).

You can come back to this dialog at any time by using the Tools menu, then selecting User Details.

Page 1: Age

Just start filling in the information...

Name

Um - Just put your name in here (if you like).

Birthdate

Just put in your birthdate here. This is used to calculate your age, and hence your calorie requirements.

Page 2: Sex

Sex

Just click on the one that applies to you. Please note - The app needs to know your sex, as opposed to your gender. The reason for this is that you nutrition requirements are driven by your biological makeup.

Pregnancy

If you are male, JXCirrus CalCount cleverly disables this. If you are female, and pregnant, enter the expected due date here (don't worry, JXCirrus CalCount won't tell anyone). The reason to give this information is that being pregnant changes the number of calories you should take in, as well as a few other nutrients.

Once you are finished, press "Next" or just click on "Active".

Page 3: Active

This page just asks you how active you are. JXCirrus CalCount needs to know this so that it can tell you how many calories you should take in. Just have a look at the descriptions on the right, and decide which one applies to you. However, there is one thing that you need to consider.

Are you going to record your exercise in the calorie diary?

Yes - I will record exercise.

If you are going to record your exercise, then ignore the "Exercise" bit of each description, and just base your decision on your occupation. The reason for this is that when you record exercise, the calories you burn off during the exercise get subtracted from your daily total.

For example, if you are an office worker who jogs twice a week... If you are going to record your sessions, select "Sedentary" since that describes what you do most of the day. If you are NOT going to record your sessions, select "Lightly Active".

No - I won't be recording exercise.

Then take your exercise into account when you select your activity level.

Once you are finished, press "Next" or just click on "Weight".

Page 4: How tall are you?

This page records your current weight and height.

Height

Fill in your height here. The combo box just to the right of the field lets you pick which units you are going to record your height in. It usually starts off in "cm". If you want to record inches, select "in" from this and then type your height in inches into the field (i.e. 5 ft 4 in = 64 in - you should enter 64 here).

Weight

As with height, you can select which units to use here (pounds = lb). You don't have to open "Your Details" every time you want to record your weight - You can use the "Measurement" menu on the main screen (see Measurements).

Weight Range

If you want the computer to give you your weight range automatically, leave the "Calculate weight range automatically" box ticked. JXCirrus CalCount will show you what your minimum and maximum weight should be.

If you want to use your own value for your weight range, un-tick the "Calculate wieght range automatically" box, and then type in your minimum weight in the field labeled "Minimum" and the maximum weight in the field labeled "Maximum". The computer uses the same units that you used to enter your weight.

NOTE: Weight range is calculated using BMI - There is a button next to the tick box labeled "Please Read" which tells you a bit about what is wrong with relying to BMI to give you a weight range.

Calorie Intake

As with weight, the computer can calculate your calorie intake range for you, based on your age, sex, weight, height, and level of activity. If you leave the "Calculate calorie intake automatically" ticked, the computer will give you the range automatically. If you un-tick the box, you can enter your own values for range into the Minimum and Maximum fields, as well as your exercise calories.

As with weight range, if you have been given a calorie range by someone who ought to know what they are talking about, then use that rather than what the computer thinks. However - JXCirrus CalCount is far more confident that it can calculate your calories than it is in calculating BMI.

You can also select between several calorie formulas:

NOTE: Older versions of this app use Harris Benedict, so for consistency will keep using that after the upgrade. If you start using this version, it will default to Mifflin St Jeor.

Page 5: Goal

This page lets you set up a weight goal. For more information on weight goals, see Weight Goals.

Page 6: Tracker

This page lets you tell JXCirrus CalCount whether you have a fitness tracker (FitBit, Garmin, etc...), and how the app will interact with the device.

This page has a bunch of pieces of information that you need to enter to set this up, and the questions on the page will change depending on how you answered some of the earlier questions.

Active Energy,  Resting Energy and Total Energy

There are two different parts to the energy that you use up each day:

The total energy you use is the resting energy + active energy.

If you wear your fitness tracker for the whole day, then some are able to calculate the total energy you use, and/or the active energy you use.   JXCirrus CalCount lets you decide how your total energy is calculated (whether you use values from your fitness tracker, or from JXCirrus CalCount).

If you are happy that your fitness tracker is accurate, then we suggest you use that...   The tracker sets there measuring your heartrate all day, so it has a very good idea how much energy you use.

But... Some trackers can be a bit inaccurate (sadly).   If that is the case, then you might want to let JXCirrus CalCount calculate the resting energy, or even the active energy.

Page 7: Daily

If you have a fitness tracker, there are a bunch of measurements that it takes that you might want to capture each day.   This includes steps, floors climbed etc.

JXCirrus CalCount lets you record these values at the end of each day if you wish - If you tick any of the boxes on this page, the app will remind you to enter these values each day.

The application also lets you update records some records during the day. Entries ticked in the second list can be updated as many times as you want during the day.

Page 8: Fasting

If you are interested in using either 5-2 or 4-3 fasting, you can enable that using this page. See Fasting for more information.

Once you have entered everything on this page, press "Finished", and you can start using JXCirrus CalCount.

Next: Adding Food to the Calorie Diary