Apps For Weight Loss
There are few other health markers that are as important as weight. But managing weight – i.e. getting it down to a healthy level and then keeping it there – is a challenge for even the most strong-willed among us. Thankfully, people looking to lose weight and maintain a healthy BMI today have a lot of allies in their corner in the form of diet apps for their mobile devices. These state-of-the-art weight loss apps not only allow you to track daily caloric intake, they also make it easy to keep track of carbs, protein, fat and other macronutrients. Below are the 10 best apps for weight loss on the market today.
1. Lose it
Lose it is one of the most well-rounded weight loss apps available today. It enables you to devise a weight loss plan tailored to your specific needs and it helps you formulate an exercise routine and track your progress as well. Lose it lets you search a food database with more than 7 million entries so that you can determine whether something you’re thinking about eating is right for you or will get in the way of achieving your weight loss goals. Lose it also lets you scan the barcode on food items and see vital nutritional information on a product.
No other weight loss apps gives you as much support as Lose it. That robust technical support is one reason why the app has been downloaded millions of times and is considered the best calorie tracker app by many. While the app and the basic service is free for a minimal monthly charge you get access to an array of additional tools to augment your weight loss efforts. Those include nutrition reporting, meal planning, data analysis, macronutrient goal setting and more. You also get to compare notes and experiences with scores of others Lose it users. Lose it is compatible with most all iOS and Android devices, installs quickly and has a solid reputation for technical reliability.
2. MyFitnessPal
When you consider that the average person eats about 20 different foods per week having information on millions of different food items will ensure you’re never at a loss to determine if something is right for you or should be avoided. MyFitnessPal provides vital information on countless food products by allowing you to scan barcodes at the market to see nutritional information, including a calorie count, on any item before you put it in your basket.
MyFitnessPal also allows you to monitor your physical activity by connecting with an assortment of other fitness apps. Between them you’ll have a comprehensive picture of which activities are working and which need to be tweaked to provide a higher degree of effectiveness. MFP is backed up by a website where you can learn more about nutrition, discuss your efforts with other users and even shop for Under Armour athletic gear should you feel so inclined. Maybe the best weight loss app for iPhone it also offers an Apple Watch version.
3. Weight Watchers
Weight Watchers were industry pioneers and over the past several decades have helped millions of people lose weight and keep it off. So it’s no surprise that they’d weigh into the weight loss app field and also no surprise that their particular weight loss app would wind up on this list. The Weight Watchers app doesn’t require any meal prep containers or another accouterment of the standard WW program but it does give you instant access to the global Weight Watchers community, allows you to track your food and physical activity and, for a few dollars a month, to share recipes, pics and more.
Sync your Weight Watchers app with a variety of other fitness apps and use it to monitor your steps via FitPoints. With the app also comes the opportunity to join Weight Watchers and to get your first two months of fees refunded to you if you are able to lose 10 pounds or more. While the app itself does a great job of allowing you to track caloric intake and other nutritional markers the real selling point here is that vast community you’ll have access to.
4. Nike+ Training Club
Anyone who has tried to lose weight and keep it off knows that diet alone is not enough. You need to couple a healthy diet with a weight loss exercise routine and that is where many people falter. The Nike+ Training Club app allows you access to more than 100 workout plans covering every level from absolute beginner to advanced. You’ll be able to track your progress through the app, make adjustments and set up a personalized training program tailor-made to your ability and goals.
If you’ve always had difficulty trying to formulate a workout regimen that would help you achieve your goals the Nike+ Training Club app will remove the guesswork for you. All of the workouts provided here have been devised by professional trainers or world-class athletes like Serena Williams. The great thing about Training Club is that you can route it through your TV so you can break out the yoga mats and perform your workout routine in the privacy of your own home. A big plus for people especially when they’re just getting started.
5. SparkPeople
The SparkPeople app is available as a free download from the Sparkpeople website. It’s compatible with most mobile devices and installs quickly and easily. The Sparkpeople app allows you to track your fitness and dietary activity, create calorie charts, view exercise demos and view detailed reports that should enable you to make the weight loss progress you’ve been anxious for. The website claims that the Sparkpeople app provides access to the biggest food database of any such software. A claim others would surely dispute. Nonetheless, you will have access to millions of different foods from around the world so you’re well covered.
The Sparkpeople website provides an extensive array of supporting materials, workout videos and community engagement opportunities. There are recipes, challenges and plenty of fitness clothing to help you get the most from your workouts. While interfacing with the app isn’t as intuitive as we’d like it to be the overall Sparkpeople app is more than just a running for weight loss app so you might want to give it a try.
6. 7 Minute Workout
You may be wondering what an august journalistic institution like the New York Times is doing in the calorie counter app business. And if you are you wouldn’t be alone. But we’re going to put head scratching incongruities aside for the time being and focus on the app itself. The 7 Minute Workout app was devised for busy folks who still need to watch their weight and stay in shape. The app guides you through one of two different 7-minute workouts that are allegedly (as any good journalist would say) the most scientifically advanced compact workouts yet devised.
Will they work for you? Are they broad-based enough to accommodate the needs of people at different stages of their weight loss and fitness odyssey? Can you throw away the blenders and rely strictly on these workouts to lose weight? Probably not. But if you are already in pretty decent shape and don’t need to lose a substantial amount of weight these workouts will probably help you lose those last few pounds and keep the weight off. The app is compatible with both iOS and Android and is free for the taking.
7. Fitbit
Fitbit is known in some circles as the best diet app for weight loss, but is that really the case? Well, it’s certainly easy to install and works across the full spectrum of mobile platforms, the interface is simple and easy to get your head around and the app allows you to network with other Fitbit users to coordinate your efforts and lift each other up via an array of different challenges. So, while the potential is there, whether or not this is actually the best weight loss tracker app will depend on just how committed you are to your efforts.
Fitbit uses your smartphone’s GPS to track your physical activity and determine how many calories you’re actually burning. In addition, the food logging aspect of the app helps you stay on top of what you’re eating and prevent things from getting into your lunch box that shouldn’t be there. There’s no doubt Fitbit has most of the necessary bases covered. Whether or not it actually helps you lose weight will be up to you.
8. Noom Coach
Noom Coach aspires to be more than a simple step tracking app or calorie counter. Their own PR states their desire to help you build long-term sustainable diet and lifestyle habits that will allow you to eventually take complete control of your overall health without needing a supplemental weight loss tracker. The app is a free download but in order to take advantage of what Noom Coach has to offer, you’ll need to register and provide a bunch of personal information including your gender, age, weight, weight loss goals and more.
The Noom Coach algorithm then takes this information and formulates a diet and exercise program that should help you achieve those goals. From that point on all feedback, you get from the app is relative to the fitness plan it has devised for you. There’s an extensive food database the app uses to help formulate weight loss tips (and you can use to determine if that new indoor grill you want to go to is going to help or hurt your efforts). Noom Coach is iOS and Android compatible with most current mobile platforms.
9. Pact
Pact is not really a food tracker. Instead, it forces you to put your money where your mouth is. It’s an idea some folks will love and others will loathe. Essentially, you choose to enter into one of several predetermined weight loss pacts, decide how much you’re willing to risk losing if you don’t live up to the conditions of your pact and then get to work. If you make all your goals Pact pays you a modest amount as a reward. If you miss your goals you lose the money you put up. It’s a neat idea but it’s also an idea that requires the user to read the fine print very carefully.
You see Pact has a habit of charging various fees for missed activity, inactivity and other assorted things. Notice of these potential charges is sometimes tucked away in the fine print so you may wind up fulfilling your pact as far as you understand it but still wind up losing money. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who have had a positive experience. So our advice would simply be to read everything before signing on the virtual dotted line.
10. Fooducate
In prehistoric days your food choices were simple: kill that antelope and eat well, let it get away and be forced to eat insects for the next week. Today, we have millions of different food products available to us which is both great and not so great. While being able to choose from such a variety of foods is one of the distinct advantages of modern life, figuring out which of these foods is good for you and which are not can be a significant challenge. Fooducate aims to end the confusion.
Fooducate is a calorie counter and nutrition tracker that some consider the best calorie counter app out there. It’s compatible with most iOS or Android devices and installs quickly and easily. Once installed take your phone to the market with you and take a pic of the food you’d like to buy. Fooducate will determine what the item is and return useable caloric and nutritional information to you in a matter of seconds. Whether you actually resist buying the food if it’s deemed unhealthy will be up to you because willpower is not one of the things Fooducate is able to provide.
