Inspiration
Nowadays, there are not enough resources for consumers to be aware of what they are eating without any ulterior motive. For instance, there are a plethora of other calorie counters designed to make users want to eat less and less, which promote eating disorders and other harmful habits. Kelorie aims to solve the social issue of detrimental calorie counting by simply being a tool - nothing more, nothing less. By not bringing toxic motives into its app and website, Kelorie successfully serves as a calorie counter to its user base.
What it does
Kelorie is a calorie counter that allows users to track the number of calories they eat in a day or over a certain period of time. Initially, users download the app and input their weight, height, gender, and how much they exercise. Kelorie then uses a series of formulas to approximate the number of calories the user should eat daily. Users then input the foods and their corresponding caloric value into the app on a daily basis. Kelorie tracks how many calories they have eaten as well as how many they have left, so users have a reference as to how many calories they consume daily.
How we built it
Kelorie is an application that people can use to count calories using Java. The program uses GUI to display information in an orderly manner and to get information from the user. Using this information, the app calculates how many calories the user should consume daily in order to maintain their current weight. The user can then enter a lower calorie number that they would like to consume every day if they would like to lose weight (at a healthy rate). Multiple classes are used to write this application, and information is also stored in text files so that it can be retrieved at a later date. This allows the user to enter in their information one time and continue using the app.
There is also a website from where Kelorie is downloaded of the same name - built on Qoom.
Challenges we ran into
At first, there was a discrepancy between the website in the viewing window in Qoom during coding and its actual appearance when accessed. This issue was solved when we accessed the Qoom workshop and followed step-by-step instructions to fix the issue. Afterwards, our website did not appear as a blank screen on desktop.
Another issue we had was that this was our first hackathon. Since we had not participated in a similar event before, we had some difficulty brainstorming an idea and accessing the proper resources to make Kelorie come to fruition. As such, we attended as many workshops as we could, and asked questions when necessary to gain as much experience as possible this week.
We also ran into various problems while coding the app. We wanted to store information entered by the user into text files so that they could be accessed at later dates, but we also wanted to compress everything into a JAR file at the end to allow easy execution of the app for the user. However, after doing some research, we discovered that text files in JAR files cannot usually be further edited, and we would have to find a different way to store information or put the compression of the program off until later. Because we were running out of time until the due date, we decided on the latter and simply provided a .zip file for the user to download on our website.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
This is our first hackathon project! It was also the first time for both of us to create a website on our own using HTML rather than an online website creator. On the whole, we are proud of the end result. We hope to make a real societal impact with Kelorie in the future.
What we learned
Projects are fun.
What's next for Kelorie
We hope to invest in obtaining a custom domain for our website. We will fundraise for this by reaching out for sponsorships or grants.
We also want to expand the customization of Kelorie. Kelorie will cater to users of all lifestyles, enabling them to edit and track their calorie consumption uniquely. Starting with different presets according to diet and lifestyle additions, our final goal is to allow for 100% customization of one’s calorie counting plan based on at least 3 additional factors.
We want to alter the programming behind our app so that the code and related files can be compressed into a JAR file, which a user can simply click and execute rather than going through the process of compiling and running the program.
We want to make our app and website iOS/Android friendly as well, so users can have the convenience of counting calories on their phone wherever they are. The mobile version of Kelorie will have the same functionality of the current desktop version, with the exception that it is pocket-sized.
Built With
- java
- qoom
