One popular app, MyFitnessPal, integrates calorie counting into its strategy for supporting weight loss.
MyFitnessPal calculates your daily calorie needs and allows you to log what you eat throughout the day from a nutrition database of over 5 million different foods. This even includes many restaurant foods that are not always easy to track.
After you enter your food intake, MyFitnessPal provides a breakdown of the calories and nutrients that you consumed throughout the day.
The app can generate a few different reports, including a pie chart that gives you an overview of your total fat, carb and protein consumption.
One of MyFitnessPal’s useful features is its barcode scanner, which makes it easy to enter the nutrition information of some packaged foods.
You can also track your weight and search for healthy recipes with MyFitnessPal.
Furthermore, it has a message board where you can connect with other users to share tips and success stories.
Pros
- MyFitnessPal has a “Quick Add” feature, which you can use when you know the number of calories you ate but don’t have the time to enter in all the details of your meal.
- If you use fitness-tracking apps, such as Fitbit, MyFitnessPal will sync with them and adjust your calorie needs based on what you burned via exercise.
- Although there is a premium version with extra features you can pay for, the basic version is free to use.
Cons
- The nutrition information of the foods in the database may not be entirely accurate, as most of them are entered by other users.
- Due to the size of the database, there are often multiple options for one food item, meaning you may have to spend some time to find the “correct” option to log.
- Adjusting serving sizes in the app may be time-consuming.
Weight Watchers is a company that offers various services to assist with weight loss and maintenance.
Their aim is to help participants lower their calorie intake by assigning “points” to foods based on their calorie, saturated fat and sugar content. The higher a food is in these components, the more “points” it has.
Based on individual goals, each person is assigned a specific amount of “points” to aim for in their diet.
You can participate in Weight Watchers by attending their in-person meetings, which are held in various locations throughout the US. Additionally, Weight Watchers has an online-only program you can sign up for.
A few studies have demonstrated the positive effects that Weight Watchers may have on weight control (14, 15, 16).
One review of 39 studies found that people who participated in Weight Watchers achieved at least 2.6% greater weight loss than those who did not participate (14).
If you are a member of Weight Watchers, you can use their app to monitor your progress. It allows you to log your food intake and keep track of your “points.” A barcode scanner makes it easy to enter foods.
Furthermore, the Weight Watchers app has a component that will assist you with making healthy choices while eating out. They have a list of some restaurant dishes and their point totals, which you can add to your intake with the click of a button.
Another benefit of the Weight Watchers app is its broad collection of recipes that you can search based on meal time and dietary requirements.
Pros
- The Weight Watchers app has many features to help keep you motivated, including its “Journey” tab, which provides details and graphs to show your progress over time.
- There is a “Connect Page” that gives you access to the Weight Watchers social community where you can view updates from other members.
Cons
- You have to be a member of Weight Watchers to use the app.
- There is a cost associated with Weight Watchers. It costs about $8.92 USD per week to attend meetings and $3.91 per week for the online program.
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