Actively pursuing weight loss, especially without a nutritionist or dietitian to assist you, requires tracking everything, from the food you eat to the calories and pounds lost over time to even tracking how much of certain nutrients you have consumed daily. Of course, it is a given that doing these manually is a Herculean task. Thankfully, there are available on the App Store or Google Play that will help you track your progress all by yourself with little difficulty. Clark.com has shared some of them:
Cronometer
Fond of counting calories or new to active dieting? Then the Cronometer app is your choice.
Only a free account is needed to let you see the amount of nutrient tracking that you can access. Aside from calories, this simple-to-use app monitors macronutrient goals and provides a summary of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, lipids and protein.
On the app’s home page, you will see the date, food diary and a breakdown of daily calories. This includes the amount consumed, the amount burned and those remaining. The plus sign at the bottom lets you add food or scan a barcode, in addition to adding notes, adjusting your biometrics and logging an exercise.
Fooducate
Fooducate is a great choice if you need a community to support you in your health and wellness goals. It has a “Community” tab that lets you see trending and recent posts from other Fooducate users. Also, you can follow and message fellow users on the app or start a thread by writing a post or sharing a photo.
The app’s free version allows you to add your target weight and a target date for achieving your goal, and displays your weight loss progress up to six months in the past. In addition, you can also track your calorie intake and quality, as well as some nutrients and water intake up to a month in the past.
The bottom part of the app has features such as the “Food Finder” barcode and the “Tracker” home tab. The latter lets you see the remaining calories you have for the day. If you sign up for Pro membership, the plus sign at the bottom lets you log body measurements, in addition to water, food, exercises, mood, weight, hunger, sleep or additional notes in the free membership.
The “Recipes” tab features tons of trending, recent and favorited health recipes from other users and also allows you to upload and share your own. Lastly, the “Diet Tips” tab contains recent articles, references, tips and tricks from other Fooducate users.
My Diet Coach
My Diet Coach is just what you need if you want to stay motivated and engaged. Though aimed mainly towards female users because of its visuals, there are male avatars and dietary recommendations in the app as well.
You can use the app’s “Reminders” tab to control motivational reminders and set new ones to drink more water, go to the gym and more. Through the “Challenges” tab, you can set challenges for yourself and monitor your progress. Besides providing daily quotes and letting you customize your avatar, the “Motivation” tab tracks your in-app points that you earn as you complete more activities in the app. You can then spend these points on digital rewards that will let you style your avatar.
MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal is the best weight loss app if you are after a simple calorie counter or food log. Once you have created your account and answered a few questions regarding your body type, activity level and goals, you can start a one-month free trial of the app’s premium features or just continue using those on the free version.
Based on your responses to those initial questions, you will see a daily target amount of calories across the top of the app on the home screen. It also displays the amount of calories you have logged, the amount burned from exercises and how many you have left for the day. The app’s “Diary” tab allows you to keep a log of your food, water and workouts for free, while its “Progress” tab features charts tracking your steps, weight, neck, waist and hip measurements.
MyNetDiary
MyNetDiary is your friend if you want to lose a lot of unwanted weight. Its “Coach” tab lets you view progress charts and weight loss advice, as well as containing additional resources such as an app guide, tips and tricks. It also includes a special library that contains nutrition and weight loss-related articles along with how-to guides.
Through the app’s “Me” tab, you can update your account settings, measurements and personal information. The app itself even allows you to take and upload before and after photos, link other apps and devices and import recipes directly from the web.
LifeSum
New to dieting or unsure about your weight loss approach? Lifesum has you covered. Many of the app’s features are for premium members, but its free “classic dieting” plan offers all that you need to get you started.
The plus sign at the bottom of the screen allows you to log your weight, water intake, exercise, meals or snacks. While adding food, you can also search the app, scan a barcode or choose from recent favorites. Though you will need to upgrade to a premium subscription to get the app’s food insights, its other free features allow you to view your calories, carbs, protein and fat, as well as track your weight loss and keep a log of your food, water intake and exercise.
Lose It!
Lose It! is worth your time if you want to lose weight on the go. The app is fast, easy to set up and has features that are more than what you will need to start tracking your calories, food quality and weight.
Once you download the app and set up a free account, you will be able to enter your target weight before indicating how quickly you would like to reach your goal (e.g. half a pound to two pounds weekly).
