History of Carbs & Cals
Celebrating 13 years of the award-winning nutrition and carb-counting system.
2009
- Dietitian Chris Cheyette and photographer Yello Balolia research and create test booklets (see below) using food portions to show carb counts in different portions of commonly consumed foods.
- The test booklets are well-received in clinic by people with diabetes, so Chris and Yello decide to produce a full book containing over 1,200 food photos. Carbs & Cals is officially born!
2010
- Chris and Yello set up Chello Publishing and publish the very first edition of Carb & Calorie Counter (known then simply as Carbs & Cals).
- Diabetes UK quality review the book, give the stamp of approval, allowing their logo to be added to the front cover.
- Chris and Yello launch the Carbs & Cals app for iPhone.
2011
- Carb & Calorie Counter and the Carbs & Cals app win the Dame Barbara Clayton Award for Innovation and Excellence at the British Dietetics Association Awards.
- The Carbs & Cals app is launched on Android.
- Roche gives away a free copy of Carb & Calorie Counter with every Expert meter.
- Chris and Yello launch Carbs & Cals Flashcards.
2012
- The Carbs & Cals app wins the New Product of the Year award at the Complete Nutrition Awards.
- Carb & Calorie Counter reaches the coveted #1 spot in the weight loss, diet and nutrition category on Amazon.
2013
- The 5th edition of Carb & Calorie Counter is published.
- The matching Carbs & Cals Pocket Counter book is launched.
- Carb & Calorie Counter reaches an incredible 29th position on Amazon out of 41 million books!
2014
- The Carbs & Cals educational resources win the Best Dietary Management Initiative award at the Quality in Care Diabetes Awards.
- Chris and Yello publish 50 free educational PDFs on the Carbs & Cals website, covering everything from carb counting to managing hypos.
2015
- Chris and Yello publish the 5:2 Diet Photos book for those following the 5:2 diet.
- They also produce a Carb Counting Quiz resource on behalf of King’s College Hospital and the Diabetes Education Network.
2016
- Carbs & Cals undergoes a rebrand, with a new logo, colour scheme and style.
- The 6th edition of Carb & Calorie Counter is published in the new style.
- Chris and Yello publish the Carbs & Cals Soups, Smoothies and Salads recipe books.
- The nutritional values are updated in all Carbs & Cals resources.
2017
- The Carbs & Cals Very Low Calorie Recipes & Meal Plans book is published.
- The iOS version of the Carbs & Cals app has a makeover.
2018
- Carbs & Cals Gestational Diabetes is published.
- Carb & Calorie Counter is published in Dutch.
- Chris and Yello create the Carb Portion List for DAFNE.
- Carbs & Cals Very Low Calorie Recipes & Meal Plans is translated into German for a research trial.
2019
- Carbs & Cals World Foods is published.
- Carb & Calorie Counter is published in German.
- Carbs & Cals World Foods wins the award for Diabetes Collaboration of the Year at the Quality in Care Diabetes Awards.
- Carbs & Cals Gestational Diabetes wins the Elizabeth Washington Award at the British Dietetic Association Awards.
- Carbs & Cals World Foods is a finalist for the Primary Care Innovation of the Year award at the Health Service Journal Awards, and the Clinical improvement Award at the General Practice Awards.
2020
- Brand colours are updated.
- The Carbs & Cals YouTube channel is launched.
2021
- A brand new website is launched.
- The Carbs & Cals app was rebuilt from the ground up, and launched on both Android (July 2021) and iOS (December 2021) so all customers have the same app.
- Chris wins the BDA’s Outstanding Achiever Award (which recognises someone who has created significant impact throughout their 10+ year career) for his work on Carbs & Cals.
2022
- 2 new books published: the Carbs & Cals Meal Planning Guide and Carbs & Cals Weight Loss Guide.
- Our ongoing relationship with UK-based app company Pocketworks strengthens, and we’re able to add new foods to the Carbs & Cals app each and every month, as well as regular feature and improvement updates to the app.
- The app’s database grows from 5,000 to 22,000 foods & drinks by the end of the year.
2023
- We form a partnership with BrandBank to implement a barcode scanner into the Carbs & Cals app, increasing the number of foods from 22,000 to a whopping 130,000, and the feature makes it much quicker for users to look up foods.
- Ramadan foods were added to the app, and 6 free Ramadan PDF resources were made, to help with carb and calorie awareness during Ramadan.
