The weight-loss gadget industry is as old as human vanity, with practitioners both well-meaning and profit-seeking making billions of dollars from it.

Cut Weight Deals | The Skinny On Weight-Loss Sites

From the vibrating belt and bizarre roller devices of a century ago to the ear clips, drug patches, magnetic bracelets and "miracle" pills by the hundreds of the present day, if you're looking for a shortcut to weight loss and good health, there are no shortage of vendors waiting to help you … for a small fee, of course.

Society has grown more savvy, though, in the age of technology, and consumers today are more suspicious of devices promising miraculous weight-loss results without real scientific backing or hard proof. The gadgets of yesteryear still have a market, but it is shrinking as we turn more to technological answers for our problems.

The Internet has been both a blessing and a curse to those seeking weight-loss helpers. While good information and counsel have become more accessible, it has also become far more difficult to distinguish the good from the bad. Anyone looking to make a quick buck can put up a Web site and make it look just as trustworthy and reputable as one backed by actual professionals.

Here are some of the better weight-loss helpers for both your home computer and your PC.

Weight Watchers: The biggest name in weight loss has gone online in a big way with Weight Watchers Online. You can choose to explore either the "Core" or "Flex" plans, and the site will help you keep track of your weight and track your progress.

That's all fairly tame, but where the site truly shines is in the Recipe Builder and other food-related tools. Ever wonder how good or bad that favorite recipe of yours really is? You can use the recipe builder to find out how many "points" it will cost you per serving, giving you an idea of how hard it will hit your waistline. You can also tinker with the ingredients. For example, try swapping cooking spray for butter, and you'll see the points value per serving drop.

There is also a fairly good-sized recipe library covering every meal of the day plus snacks and special occasion dishes. If you're eating out, there's a restaurant finder that will help you locate a diet-friendly spot. It's limited to chain restaurants, though.

If you don't want to put in your own recipes or try to find a complete meal's worth on your own, there are plentiful meal suggestions that will do everything but go to the store and turn on the stove for you.

Exercise is covered, too, in the form of videos, plans and tips to keep you moving and stretching properly.

There is also a new on-the-go feature that will allow you to sync your PDA with your online program

Using this site will cost $65 for three months, but there's a one-week free trial that will give you an idea of whether it's for you.

Skyscape: Addicted to your PDA? It can become one of your most powerful weight-loss tools. Skyscape, a leader in mobile medical tools, is dipping its toes into the consumer application market with the Skyscape Food Guide.

Incorporating the FDA's new Food Pyramid, this tool allows you to input your age, gender and physical activity level and get tips on what and how much to eat from each level of the pyramid.

If you've ever wished you could carry your diet guru with you, the Skyscape Food Guide is the next best thing. And, best of all, it's free.

eDiets: If you're willing to part with a few dollars, eDiets has a mobile diet adviser program that will work with your Palm or Pocket PC. It has all the bells and whistles. One of the best is the food log, which allows you to quickly and easily enter your meals and snacks and keep an up-to-the-minute picture of your day's consumption.

Anyone who's ever kept a written food log knows that it's easy to forget "little" things like that doughnut you ate in the conference room, that cappuccino you had in the afternoon or those appetizers you noshed at the company party. With your eDiets program in your hand, you can enter things as you consume them.

The software will also calculate the calories you burn in a day, compare them to what you've taken in and keep you apprised of your balance on any given day. You can also customize your plan based on what type of diet you're following: low-calorie, low-carb, low-fat or a custom plan.

Speaking of low-carb plans, followers of the Atkins diet can use that program's mobile carb counter to keep their intake documented.

Quite possibly the best of the bunch, though, both in terms of functionality and user-friendliness, is the Health & Diet Manager for Windows Pocket PC. It provides a great food tracking and entry interface, complete with a truly impressive database of fast-food and restaurant dishes you can select without having to hunt down their nutritional information.

You can also add whole meals to the database. If, for instance, you have a bagel with cream cheese and a glass of orange juice for breakfast every morning, you can set that up for easy entry every day.

The program tracks your body mass index, target heart rate and many other factors, and can help with managing glucose levels and insulin usage.

Weight Watchers users can also track their "Points" usage with the program. It doesn't offer a lot in the way of exercise tracking, other than activity level measurements, but that's more than made up for by the other features.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. As wireless and handheld PC devices become more popular and prevalent, and WiFi access becomes more widespread, expect to see "live" online diet counseling through your Blackberry, exercise coaches shouting at you through your Palm and personal chefs giving low-calorie cooking lessons on the screen of your Pocket PC.

Check TheDenverChannel.com all week for these great diet-related features:

Monday -- Weight-Loss Gadgets Go High Tech

Tuesday -- Can You Find A Healthy French Fry?

Wednesday -- Are Salads Sabotaging Your Diet?

Thursday -- Do Coffee Drinks Fit Into Your Diet?

Friday -- Which Cocktails Fit Into Your Diet?

More Extras:

• 10 Things Your Gym Won't Tell You
• A 'Gimmick' That Works
• Succeeding Through Technology
• Blow Up Diet Myths
• What Is In A Balanced Diet?