Exercising more and losing weight are the top two New Year's resolutions according to research group Statista. As motivated as many of us are in January, persevering with a pledge to get in shape and shed pounds can be quickly derailed by cost when you consider equipment, meal plans and membership fees.
The key to trimming costs while slimming down may be at your fingertips, literally.
Many app-based weight loss programs are available to download to your smartphone that can help you monitor your calorie intake, carbohydrates, fitness regime and water consumption and give you access to healthy recipes, lifestyle coaches, community support and more.
Not only are weight loss apps plentiful and accessible, but they are proven effective. A team at Stanford Medicine recently compared nearly 40 different studies on weight-loss monitoring. What they found is that regardless of which weight loss tactic you choose, youre typically more successful if you track your progress with digital health tools. Self-monitoring via digital health makes us more aware of what we are eating, how much we are moving and our progress, and is consistently associated with improved weight loss in behavioral obesity treatment.
Most digital weight loss apps are free to download and fairly easy to use after some time and practice. A basic, free membership gives you access to a wide range of tools; however weekly, monthly or yearly fees may be required for premium functionality. If youre on a budget, pick an app that offers the greatest access to features and information without monthly fees.
The key to succeeding with the do-it-yourself approach to diet and exercise is finding an app that is user-friendly, motivates you to make healthy changes, holds you accountable and offers you support. Heres a breakdown of some of the top-rated weight loss and fitness apps that will help you stick to your get-fit resolution without going broke.
Lose It!
Cost: The basic program is free or you can pay $40 a year for the premium upgrade.
The skinny: A super-intuitive and easy-to-use app, the free version also allows you to create a customized weight loss plan and tracks macronutrients, water intake, blood pressure, measurements and more. You can quickly and easily input your calories in and out by logging items from a database of over 32 million foods and exercise. Plus, you can sync other health apps to better track your progress and add friends and join community support groups to work with others to achieve your goals. Premium members can unlock features for advanced nutrition and exercise tracking, like the camera feature that allows you to scan package barcodes or photos of food. The Lose It! Technology will help you log it with ease.
Visit: https://www.loseit.com/
My Fitness Pal
Cost: Free for basic membership; premium membership is available for $9.99 a month or $49.99 for the year.
The skinny: With a focus on mindful eating, the app and supporting website allows you to track meals, learn about your habits and reach your goals. You can keep things simple by signing up for the free version where you'll be able to log your food from an extensive database, monitor your workouts and track your progress. If youre interested in a more enhanced experience, a premium membership is ad-free and allows you to customize calories goals and track your macros by gram or percentage. Youll also have access to personalized coaching and nutrition plans and be able to subtract your exercise calories.
Visit: https://www.myfitnesspal.com/
Healthi (formerly iTrackBites)
Cost: Healthi is free to download and use but you can upgrade to Healthi PRO for $29.99 (rather than $59.99) annually during the limited time promotional period.
The skinny: Billed as an entire weight loss program in your back pocket, Healthi assigns a BITES value to each food. The healthier the food, the lower the BITE value (its very similar to WWs tracking programs). To make logging a cinch, you can access a database of 6 million foods. Healthis premium option does feature significantly more. Youll also have access to meal plans, online coaching, community support, a restaurant guide, barcode scanner and a hands-free voice recognition feature. Healthi has also developed six tailored plans to help users achieve weight loss goals: Carb Conscious, Conquer Cravings, Sugar Smart, Calorie Command, Better Balance and Keeping Keto (the latter two available with the premium membership).
Visit: https://www.healthiapp.com/
MyNetDiary
Cost: There is a free option or you can upgrade to premium membership for $9 per month or $50 annually. New users are entitled to a free two week money-back guarantee.
The skinny: Rated the no. 1 mobile diet app by American Journal of Preventive Medicine, MyNetDiary lets you simply track what you eat and how much you exercise. Set a weight goal, enter a target date, create a meal plan and log away. The app will customize the advice, behavior and offer hundreds of easy recipes based on your eating style. MyNetDiary also boasts superb connectivity to wearable tech and other fitness tracking apps. When you upgrade to premium, you can access tailored diet plans, like low-carb, keto, high-protein, Mediterranean and more.
Visit: https://www.mynetdiary.com/
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Shed weight, not cash, with money-saving fitness apps - Albany Times Union
