There’s an App for That! Weight Loss Trackers and Calorie Counters

These days, we’re in luck.  Personal finance? There’s an app for that!  Counting steps? There’s an app for that! Healthy eating?  You guessed it – there’s an app for that too. It’s not always easy throughout the day to count calories, keep track of every carb, or pull out the trusty Google search for the nutrition info on every item.  Luckily, we have tech – and smartphones that go everywhere with us, like little handy helpers that fit so perfectly in our pocket or bag with endless amounts of information instantly at our fingertips. What’s even better?  If you happen to be tracking your finances as well, you can proudly log into your spending app that most of these options are free.  

MyFitnessPal

One of the amazing things about MyFitnessPal is the sheer volume of foods it contains.  Never again will you have to worry about whether or not your trusty app can procure the item you need info on – MyFitnessPal’s food registry contains a whopping eleven million-plus foods.  Input your inquiry in the search bar, and MyFitnessPal will give you info about serving size, calories, and more from multiple brands and types (i.e. even a baklava search – not the healthiest food on a diet – will still offer you options on whether you mean Turkish or Greek baklava).  Inputting your meals for the day, if you’re counting calories, is quick and easy. Meanwhile, you can customize your meal plans to your specific diet – for example, if you’re trying to follow Atkins, South Beach, or any other unique meal plan.  

FatSecret

FatSecret has a user base of 35 million people, so it must be doing something right.  With a food diary and an exercise diary available, FatSecret is a helpful partner in tracking your progress.  Besides being able to search their extensive food database, they boast a vibrant support community where you can even take part in regular challenges, like the “-700 Club” that tries to create a caloric deficit of 700 calories each day.  Don’t even have time to search the food database to input your calories?  FatSecret has image recognition built in. Take a picture of your meal, and let FatSecret get to work analyzing how many calories you’re putting away while you get busy tucking in – after all, not everyone has a long lunch break, and who wants to spend extra time finding foods in an app?  Add to that its handy barcode scanner, for when you’re at the store before choosing what to eat, and FatSecret comes off as an efficient tool for meal planning and weight loss tracking.

YAZIO

Maybe you’re not just trying to lose weight.  Many people combine diet and exercise as part of a weight loss program, and with YAZIO, you can tailor your program according to whether or not you’re trying to shed pounds or gain muscle.  The app will offer a personal plan for you based on your goals, and allow you to track the nutritional value of your foods accordingly. Rated one of the AppStore’s Best Apps of 2017, YAZIO can also count your steps, sync up with other fitness apps you might be using, and offer healthy recipes in case you run out of ideas for dinner.  With a hefty roster of calculators for everything from Calorie Intake and Calories Burned to the Body Mass Index and Ideal Body Weight Calculators, YAZIO’s interface is clean and simple. It’s capabilities, meanwhile, even include the ability to track and chart things like your blood pressure and blood sugar levels, as well as body fat loss over time.

Lose It!

Lose It! boasts a stunning 88 million-plus pounds lost on the homepage of its website.  Taking a more personalized approach towards weight loss, Lose It! will ask you a few questions about yourself before creating a customized plan just for you.  Additionally, programs like their “Pennies for Pounds” initiative can add an element of giving back to a weight loss regimen, and just maybe an extra boost of motivation for reaching your goals.  You can input your foods each day three ways – by either searching, scanning, or snapping a photo. If you decide to go Pro for a few bucks a month, and you’re a fan of DNA programs like 23 and Me, you can even input your genetic information into the program to gain insights on how your genetic makeup might affect your weight (and thus your approach to your weight loss program).  You can also specifically track your macronutrient intake, and, if you happen to be one of the people who has a daily fight with their scale, Lose It! even offers a wireless body scale with wifi support.

MyPlate

From the ever-popular Livestrong.com comes MyPlate – another award-winning calorie counter (Webby People’s Voice 2018) used by millions.  Not just a food tracker, MyPlate will also help you identify which meals in your day contained the most calories, allowing you to adjust your diet according to the foods that might be affecting it most.  You can also find out exactly how much sodium, sugar, or calcium (for example) that you’ve consumed in the day, and create custom goals for your micro and macronutrients. Meanwhile, if you struggle with drinking enough water in the day, you can use MyPlate to help tally that too.  Want a nudge at mealtime about what healthy eating looks like to help keep you on track? Set a MyPlate reminder. You can even get an 8-week meal plan from nutritionist, dietitian, and author Keri Glassman (founder of “A Nutritious Life”), as well as get support from the MyPlate community on progress, meal planning, and more.

While the list doesn’t end there, the internet is full of tools and tricks that can help you along your weight loss and fitness journey.  New apps are coming out regularly alongside the tried-and-true versions that have stood the test of time, and each has its own angle on what they think works best.  The trick is to find the one that works best for you, or the one that fills the gap you need most – maybe it’s macronutrients or keeping track of sugar intake, or perhaps it’s deciding what choices are the healthiest before you ever pick them up off the shelf.  Whether you want an assistant that provides lots of nutrition education or one that motivates you by contributing to charity every time you hit a goal – there’s an app for that!