Intake · Health & Body · HourLife Premium
Water, coffee, a vitamin. One tap each, and the day adds itself up.
A one-tap log of what you had today: drinks, food, supplements, and anything else, with daily totals, reminders, and insights.
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One tap, with the time on itEach item carries its own buttons, an amount, a portion or a plain “+”. A tap is one log, stamped with the moment you made it.
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One line for everything elseType “pizza” or “300 water”. A name already on your list logs straight to it, and anything new opens a short sheet to file it.
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A total that starts freshWater adds up in millilitres and turns into litres at 1,000. Everything else counts its taps, and each day starts again from nothing.
Your first day with Intake
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Start from the list
Open Intake. An empty list starts you off with Water, Coffee, Milk, Green tea, Apple, Banana, Rice and Salad, so the first log is one tap away. Intake is part of Premium.
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Tap as it happens
Tap "500" on Water, "1 cup" on Coffee or "+" on Apple. Each tap is logged with the time, and the "TODAY" strip at the top adds it up.
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Add what you really take
Tap "+", name the item, pick its icon and category, then choose under "HOW TO LOG IT" whether it is Amounts, Count, Portion or Custom. A vitamin can carry a reminder.
Every step, in detail
- 1 Open Intake. If your list is empty, it starts you off with Water, Coffee, Milk, Green tea, Apple, Banana, Rice, and Salad.
- 2 Tap an amount, a portion, or "+" on an item to log it. Each tap is one log, stamped with the time.
- 3 For anything not on your list, type it into "Log pizza, coffee, vitamin". A number in front sets the amount, so "300 water" logs 300ml and "2 apple" logs two apples.
- 4 Tap "+" ("Add intake item") to add your own item, then choose its icon, category, and how you log it.
- 5 Tap the "TODAY" strip or "Details" to see "Today's Intake", the total for every item you logged today.
A day of taps, and what they add up to
Every tap is one log with the time on it. The row’s total and the strip at the top add them up the way the app writes them: water in millilitres until it reaches a litre, everything else as a count of taps. Tap, type, or use the widgets, and watch the day fill in.
Sample · the starter list on Tuesday, Oct 20, at 15:40 · try it
Each tap here moves the sample clock on 20 minutes, to 15:40 now. In the app a log takes the time you tap.
Intake
What you’ve had today.
- 1.2
- 2
- 1
- 1
DRINKS
FOOD
On the home screen
The day as it is stored
Each log on its time
Water’s bars are as tall as the amount, up to a litre. The other rows count taps, so a dot is one log whatever its button says.
What Day by Day lists for the day
- Water · 500Intake
- Coffee · 1 cupIntake
- Coffee · DoubleIntake
- AppleIntake
- Rice · RegularIntake
- Water · 200Intake
- Water · 500Intake
Four ways an item logs
When you add an item, “HOW TO LOG IT” decides its buttons and how its total reads. Only Amounts adds up a quantity. The other three count taps, so a Double coffee and a single one each count as one.
Sample · the starter items, a few taps each
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Amounts
Set specific quantities with a unit
100ml · 200ml · 500ml
500 then200 then500
Each tap keeps
500 ml,200 ml.💧 Water’s total1.2L -
Count
One tap logs one. No units.
Apple · Vitamin · Tablet
+ then+ then+
Each tap keeps a time and nothing else.
🍎 Apple’s total3× -
Portion
Small / Regular / Large
Rice · Salad · Soup
Small thenLarge
Each tap keeps
Small,Large.🍚 Rice’s total2× -
Custom
Your own button labels
1 shot · Double · Triple
1 cup thenDouble
Each tap keeps
1 cup,Double.☕ Coffee’s total2×
Quick amounts
What a button says
An Amounts or Custom item carries up to four buttons. Each is a number and a unit, with an optional label of your own. Millilitres are left off the button, a unit of one or two letters joins the number, and a longer one gets a space.
500andml5001000andml, labelled1L1L2andL2L30andg30g1andcup, labelled1 cup1 cup2andtablet2 tabletno numberandDoubleDouble
One line for everything else
“Log pizza, coffee, vitamin” takes a name, with a number in front if you like. A name on your list logs straight to that item. Anything else opens “Log Intake”, with a category guessed from the words.
Sample · typed against the four items above
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300 waterWater · 300mlThe number is the amount, in Water’s first unit.
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waterWaterNo number, no amount. The log counts, but Water’s total in ml stays where it was.
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2 appleAppleAppleApple is a Count item, so a whole number logs that many.
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2 coffeeCoffee · 2 cupCoffee’s buttons are your own labels, so this is one coffee marked “2 cup”, and its total counts taps.
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pizza“Log Intake” · FoodNot on the list. Save it in the sheet and it shows under “CUSTOM”.
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vitamin C“Log Intake” · SupplementsThe guess reads “vitamin” in the name.
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1.5 L water“Log Intake” · DrinksOnly the number is split off, so the name is “L water”, which is not on the list.
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ibuprofen“Log Intake” · FoodThe guess knows no medicine words, so it lands in Food. Adding it as an item instead offers “Health Medication”, which keeps medicine on the device.
- Under “CUSTOM”
What you save in “Log Intake” is listed under “CUSTOM” for the day, with its amount and time. Its ⋯ menu edits or deletes it.
- “Add to my list”
Turn it on in the sheet, or tap “Add to your list” under the entry later, and the thing becomes a one-tap item like the rest.
- Still counted
An entry left off the list is kept as a hidden item, so Insights counts it under its category like any other log.
Insights counts logs, not litres
“Insights” in the ⋯ menu reads every log as one, whatever it held. It shows how often you log, on which days, under which category, and what you reach for most. It never shows how much water you drank across a week.
Sample · six weeks to Tuesday, Oct 20, with the day above at its end
You’ve logged 262 intakes.
47 logged in the last 7 days.
Cadence · 14 days
You log on the days you’re active.
Averaged over your active days in the last month.
That line is the same for everyone. The Saturday with no bar had nothing logged, and the average only divides by days that did.
Weekly rhythm
Wednesday is when you log the most.
Logs by weekday, all time.
- 44M
- 28T
- 53W
- 45T
- 37F
- 14S
- 41S
By category
Drinks leads your log.
Every log, all time, by the item’s category.
- Drinks181
- Food54
- Supplements27
Most logged — last 30 days
Your go-to items.
- Water81×
- Coffee43×
- Vitamin D19×
- Apple14×
- Salad11×
- Rice9×
Outside the Intake page
You can log from Today, from the home screen and from a shortcut, and the logs come back in Day by Day. A reminder can nudge you for the one you forget.
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The Intake card on Today
Off until you add it. It carries the same line, up to four quick-log items and today’s totals.
INTAKE4 logged today, counting items rather than taps -
Widgets and shortcuts
The Water and Coffee widgets above, and the “Log Water” (an amount in ml, 200 unless you say) and “Log Coffee” shortcuts. The log waits until HourLife next opens, then is filed with the time you tapped.
+200 on the widget, 16:05→HourLife opens, 18:30→Water · +200ml, at 16:05 -
Day by Day
Every log is a line on its day, captioned “Intake”: the name, and the button’s label when it had one.
TUESDAY, OCT 2007:15 Water · 500
07:40 Coffee · 1 cup
10:05 Coffee · Double -
A reminder per item
“REMINDER (OPTIONAL)” on an item sets a time, the days it repeats and a message of your own. Removing the item cancels it.
REMINDER · 9:00 AM · EVERY DAYTime to log Vitamin D.
- Synced through iCloud
Items and logs reach your other devices through iCloud, like most of HourLife.
- Not Apple Health
Intake has no Apple Health link either way, so water and caffeine stay out of the Health app.
- Medication goes to Health
Adding a supplement or a medicine-like name offers “Health Medication”, for prescriptions, dose confirmation and courses. That log stays on the device.
- Removing an item
Its logs are kept, but Insights stops counting them, so the cards drop when an item goes.
Tips
- On a count item, "−" removes the most recent log for today, so a mistaken tap is one tap to undo. An amount or portion tap has no undo, so tap those once.
- Keep quick amounts short. They sit on one line, and up to four fit.
- For prescriptions and dose tracking, use the "Health Medication" option that appears when you add a supplement. Intake logs that you had something, but it does not track doses or courses.
- Intake does not read from or write to Apple Health. What you log syncs between your devices through iCloud.
- For water and coffee, the "INTAKE · WATER" and "INTAKE · COFFEE" home-screen widgets log without opening the app.
Questions
About Intake day to day.
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Does Intake count calories, nutrients or a daily target?
No. Intake records that you had something, with an amount when the button carries one. It has no calories, no nutrients and no daily goal, for water or anything else.
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Does Intake save my water to Apple Health?
No. Intake neither reads from nor writes to Apple Health. What you log syncs between your devices through iCloud.
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Can I log water without opening the app?
Yes. The small "INTAKE · WATER" widget has "+100" and "+200" buttons, and the "INTAKE · COFFEE" widget counts cups. The "Log Water" and "Log Coffee" shortcuts do the same. Each log is filed under your Water or Coffee item the next time HourLife opens.
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What does a number in front of a name do?
It depends on how the item logs. "300 water" logs one 300ml Water. "2 apple" logs two Apples, because Apple is a Count item. "2 coffee" logs one Coffee marked "2 cup", because Coffee's buttons are your own labels and its total counts taps.
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I tapped the wrong button. Can I undo it?
On a Count item, "−" removes today's latest log. A one-off entry under "CUSTOM" has "Edit" and "Delete" in its ⋯ menu. A tap on an amount or portion button cannot be undone from the Intake screen.
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Should I log my medication in Intake?
Use Health's medication log for prescriptions and doses. When you add a supplement or a medicine-like name, the form offers "Health Medication", which opens it. Intake syncs through iCloud, while medication stays on the device.
Works with
Where Intake hands off to the rest of HourLife.
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Today
The "Intake" card on Today (off by default) shows today's totals, up to four quick-log items, and the same type-to-log line.
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Health
When you add a supplement or a medicine-like item, the form offers "Health Medication", which opens Health's medication hub for prescriptions, dose confirmation, and courses.
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Habits
A habit can link to Intake ("Log a food or drink item"), so the habit opens Intake for you to log from.
Read and try
Books from the library that Intake puts into practice.
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How Not to Die Michael Greger, Gene Stone Greger's Daily Dozen is a tick list of what you ate today, the kind of log Intake keeps.
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The Circadian Code Satchin Panda Panda on when you eat and drink, not only what. Intake's log keeps the times.
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The Obesity Code Jason Fung Fung on the timing of meals, worth reading beside a few weeks of your own log.
The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss
Jason Fung
Already have HourLife?
Intake is under Health in the module list. "+" on the Intake page adds an item, and its ⋯ menu holds "Insights" and "Settings". Today can carry an "Intake" card too, which is off until you add it.
Intake is in the Library, under Health & Body. If it isn’t there, turn it on in Settings → Look & Feel → Modules. It needs HourLife Premium.
What would you like to know?
Ask a question about this feature or tell us what’s missing.
Try Intake in HourLife.
HourLife is free to download. Intake comes with HourLife Premium.
