Technology is part of our daily existence, and the phone practically became an extension of our personalities. There are few moments when we put down the phone. We use it to play music during a workout, check the email, play games or surf the internet for various information. So, why not use the phone as a tool to fight those extra pounds?
Each phone has access to a store with different applications which, among others, provides a broad range of fitness apps, some of them are free, others cost money. Either way, some of them are very useful and offer valuable information for losing weight. A well-organized fitness app can guide you through the most effective workouts and count calories. It is a very convenient alternative to a personal trainer who might cost a lot of money. They are easy to use, and you can choose the program most fitted to your needs.
According to the reports presented by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over one-third of the American population is obese and even more are overweight which puts millions of people at risk of developing chronic diseases like diabetes or heart conditions. The most efficient way of losing weight is with diet and regular physical exercises, which sometimes is easier to say than do. For many people trying to keep a perfect diet and get a fitness membership might seem unappealing. If you lack motivation and feel the need to step out from the dull routine of going to the gym, it is a good idea to download one of these apps and start training. Your full activity and eating are monitored by these apps whether you workout at home or gym, walk at work or in the park.
In full holiday season, it is the perfect time to choose the app which will become your trusted trainer and will monitor your activity and diet. To notice results after using such an app, it is important to follow three aspects: activity, food logging, and motivation. Certain apps allow you to enter the meals you had so it can adapt the working out advice for faster results and motivate you with tracking results. The majority of iPhones and Android devices have powerful sensors which can track every movement you make. Some of them require special bands or fitness accessories; others don’t. They also can scan the barcodes of the foods you eat, so the app will know what kind of workouts to recommend.
Ten fitness phone apps with growing popularity in 2016
Here are some of the most popular apps for weight management with high ratings offered by the users regarding usability, the frequency of updates and contribution to the weight loss.
- Lose It! Weight Loss App
The name is quite motivating itself, Lose it! This is a weight loss application designed for smartphones and created to promote a healthy way of weight management. This tool is available on mobile stores for Android and iPhone and is free. In addition to the app, Lose it! also, has a website which allows you to connect from your desktop and see all the information regarding your evolution. This application is not an individual tracker, but it also has a social component. It allows you to exchange information with other people and get feedback to make some smart decisions regarding your weight. You can also connect with similar apps like Nike+ or RunKeeper and other devices which can bring a full picture of all data regarding your evolution towards the goals set. To make things even more fun and motivational, you can team up with your friends and set group goals or challenges and get support from the group to stay on track.
A unique feature of this application allows you to create a personalized plan for losing weight and set goals for yourself that include wellness and fitness in addition to lost weight. In order to be fully informed regarding your choices, Lose it! offers access to a verified food database to be able to track exactly your calories with a simple touch of the screen. You can even exchange recipes with other users and customize your foods and scan their label with the phone.
Lose it! has three versions available: for Android, iPhone and iPad and Kindle. Even if this is a free app, Lose it! has a premium option which unlocks for 39.99 dollars and gives access to more activity tracking, meal planning, and frequent updates. If you are interested, be sure to check the special offers for Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday so you can save half the money.
Users are happy with this app because it has a sleek interface with various uncluttered features. Lose it! has the basic features one would expect from a diet and fitness app and some extra. You can set individual goals or for your group and keep track of them. To keep you motivated, the app offers badges as rewards.
- MyFitnessPal
Another popular phone app which helps to track physical exercise and food intake is MyFitnessPal, developed by Under Armour. It can even call your friends when you need help to stay motivated. By downloading and installing you gain access to a database with over one million foods and you can add your food log to your phone. This app covers the main types of software used by smartphones and has versions updated for Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry.
This app is free and is a great tool for creating a personalized diet and set goals for diet and working out. To keep you motivated, it offers the option to connect with other users and Facebook friends so you can get support and motivation when needed. MyFitnessPal allows connection with various other complementary apps and accessories like Runtastick, Fitbit, Endomondo, Withings, Pact, Jawbone Up and others which help to generate a general view of the evolution towards the set goals. Recently it was launched an exclusive app for Apple Watch.
Users love MyFitnessPal because it is easy to navigate. For a good reason, this diet app became so popular. It allows you to track the way your daily exercise plan influences your body and log your meals to stay informed regarding the calories and nutrients in your diet. Also, the food database is constantly growing.
- Pact
Pact counts among the most impressive diet apps for smartphones which help users keep exact evidence of workouts and the food eaten. This app is free to download and install, but in order to work, it must be linked to your bank account. Because it is easy to lose interest, this app challenges you to put some money on the line when logging a food. You decide how much to bet on each Pact you make. This way you are motivated to perform the promised task and earn between 0.30 to 5 dollars each week from the app. Some users claim to have earned in several years up to 500 dollars, but also lost some of them. All you have to do is the same workout you did so far, but this time there is a financial reward for your effort. Careful what kind of Pact you make, because if you don’t keep it, the money placed on the bet will be charged from your bank account. If you don’t lose a pound, you might lose money. So, start betting small amounts of money at first until you get used to working out and eating your veggies.
The app is available only for iPhone and Android, but if used right, this app can pay for your new fitness accessory, equipment or gym membership.
- Diet Hero
Counting calories is a very stressful and depressing activity, so if you are looking for some help, you can choose Diet Hero. This app was free for a while, but now it costs $1.99 and for now is available only for iPhone. This is an attractive alternative to keeping track of your activity and diet.
Diet Hero is your personal diet consultant. You just select the food you like to eat and then those that you have in the house. The app analyzes them and tells you what and how much to eat. If you don’t like the suggestion, you can delete it, but you should at least consider it first. If you swap the recommendation, the app will make a new proposal replacing protein source for another protein source and a carb source for another carb source until you find something you like. In order for Diet Hero to tell you what to eat and how much so you can meet your goals, you must give some personal details like weight, height, gender and how much weight you want to lose and how fast.
- Fooducate
Changing the eating habits is difficult, and you need clear information about what kind of food will help losing weight. Fooducate is an app created for smartphones to teach users about healthy foods. You can scan the barcode of an individual product, and the app will instantly offer you the information. This app is available in app stores for Android and iPhone.
Fooducate has a unique feature which allows you to use the camera of the smartphone to send an inquiry to the app and decide if you should or shouldn’t buy that particular product. You no longer have to waste energy trying to decipher the nutritional content of the small label placed on the back of the box or package. The information offered by Fooducate is clear and useful for making a decision. There is also a Fooducate community ready to answer your questions about healthy foods.
Users like this app because it is uncluttered, although it seems feature-heavy. Fooducate is the best free trainer for proper nutrition and regular workouts. Unlike other apps, this is more than a tracking tool. It also educates users and helps them understand the basics of healthy nutrition and how processed food influences the goals for losing weight. It is easy and fun to use and it offers immediate information for the scanned product.
- Nike+ Training Club
If you are a beginner in the world of working out, Nike Training Club is an app which offers free guidance. After installing this app on your smartphone it starts teaching you what kind of workout is most efficient for losing weight. Nike Training Club helps you create a workout plan for the next four weeks. You can choose from over 100 types of physical exercises according to the individual level of training, beginner, intermediate or advanced.
The app can be downloaded on Android devices or iPhones and can be used on TV as well if connected with an HDMI cable, AirPlay or chromecast. It is a popular choice because it has a sleek and sharp interface. Nike trainers and professional athletes came up with over 100 types of effective workouts to help you control your weight. Of course, Nike Training Club offers the possibility to connect with friends and train together. It has a Sports Feed feature which brings real-time updates from the trainers and athletes.
- iPhone Health App
iPhone users can install a special free health app to help them track their progress towards the goals set for losing weight. Health App can count steps, track the stairs walked and all your physical activities. The 5S and newer versions of iPhone will track this information without the need for you to install complementary apps or fitness accessories. Of course, this app can also be connected to other apps and the sensor incorporated in the smartphone can be linked to the Apple Watch or other accessories which can collect information regarding your health and transmit it over to the iPhone.
The latest versions of iPhone come with Health App pre-installed and ready to be connected with other services.
- Google Fit
Obviously, Google kept up with Apple Health App and launched Google Fit to help Android users keep track of their activity by only using their phone. The app is compatible with special devices like Android Wear smartwatch and can be connected to other apps which record fitness and health data. By installing Google Fit you get on your phone daily reports regarding your weight, physical activity, and heart activity. There are multiple ways to keep you motivated. For example, you can set 60 minutes a day movement goal or 1000 steps, anything that will push your limits and keep you active.
Users started liking this app because it works on the majority of Android devices and has a simple but effective interface. It proves useful for the tracking of the daily activity, burned calories, distance walked and steps made. It can be synced with an Android watch and get all the info sent to the phone and presented as daily charts so you can notice the progress made.
- Weight Watchers
Not all the apps are free and Weight Watchers is one of them. Even if it is a bit more pricey than many other similar apps, this one is among the favorites. With a monthly fee of $19.95, the Weight Watcher app offers many options. Oprah Winfrey is a huge fan of the app which helped her lose almost 26 pounds by using Smart Points instead of calories. Weight Watchers can be installed on Android or iPhone, and if used along with Firebreak app it can become a very powerful tool for keeping you active. If you are interested in getting this app for free, stay alert for special offers, including those for a refund the money for first two months if you don’t lose at least 10 pounds.
Users love Weight Watchers app because of its elegant interface with lovely photos. The app helps you track your diet by giving a point value to each food. You can communicate with other users by sharing pictures of your meals and accomplishments.
- 7-Minute Workout
For those working long hours at the office or school and have little time for themselves, the gym is not a valid option, so an app which can teach you the most efficient workout exercises that can be done in just a few minutes is the best solution. NYT 7-Minute Workout app offers a scientific type of workout which maximizes each second used to exercise. It is available for both Android and iPhone. This app must be added to the home screen of the smartphone. The recommended physical activities have high intensity and improve both the metabolic and cardiovascular system while keeping the appetite under control.
Users like NYT 7-Minute Workout app because it has an interface with many illustrated examples of the exercises. The program is focused on obtaining maximum results in a short time, so the workout is very intense. Users can choose from 12 different types of workouts, and all the needed equipment is a chair and a wall.
Regardless, the app you find more appealing it is essential to stay healthy by doing regular physical exercises and eating the right food. All the above apps offer excellent guidance for losing weight and staying healthy.
