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Best Weight Loss Apps 2021: Money-Saving Review
Looking to eat better? Improve your health? Lose some weight? Look no further. We have tested the best apps for the job and the results are here.

A revolutionary new approach to healthy eating
No calorie counting? No strict dieting? None of that? Yes, you can say goodbye to many restrictive rules and welcome a perfectly novel idea in healthy eating - that of mindfulness.
Why we chose Ate Food Diary:
- Costs a mere $4.99 per month for unlimited food journaling and tracking features
- A unique and stress-free approach to adopting a healthy lifestyle
- A simple and easy-to-use interface that will make the process even more enjoyable
- A perfectly customizable journaling feature that you can tailor to your own mindful eating goals
- Focus on emotions and personal experiences rather than hard-and-fast rules that you simply "have to" obey
Spring for the upgrade if:
- You want to take advantage of all the beautifully crafted features of the app
Stick to free if:
- You don't necessarily need a tailor-made experience and can manage with the basic package
Ready to try something new? This is just the app you need to shift your mind frame and allow you to get in shape - the easy way.
Read Ate Food Diary's Full ReviewA perfect fit for your budget
Most of the other apps we tested came with a (sometimes hefty) price tag. FatSecret lets you save your hard-earned cash while still delivering a solid service.
Why we chose FatSecret:
- It is free through and through with no paywalls
- It has a sharp focus on weight loss and will help you choose the right approach for you
- A good selection of options for counting macros and logging your daily meals
- A thriving community of enthusiasts who are on the same path as you
- Includes a photo album feature that will let you track your progress
If you're looking to improve your appearance and health but are still unsure whether you want to invest in an app for the purpose - this will be your safest bet.
Read FatSecrets's Full ReviewA fan favorite for a reason
You simply cannot be interested in fitness and healthy eating and not have heard of MyFitnessPal. The reputation that precedes it is, for the most part, well deserved.
Why we chose MyFintessPal:
- $9.99 per month or $49.99 a year for the best premium meal tracking, macros counting, and fitness recording services of any app we tested
- It's a comprehensive yet easy-to-use answer to most of your needs
- The ability to focus on individual nutrients and pinpoint any areas in which you may be lacking
- A great way to include your friends and make your journey extra fun
- An excellent selection of weight loss plans - including an option to make your own
Opting for the mainstream option is not always our first choice but, in this case, we cannot help but put this app into our top 3. The robust features are undeniable and seem to pave a clear way to success.
Read MyFitnessPal's Full ReviewEverything We Recommend
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Our PickAte is the most mindful & easiest to use food journal ever.
It only takes 3 taps to log a meal. Try it out!
What can you do with Ate?
- Quickly log meals via photos.
- Easily reflect on and log why you ate.
- Build sustainable healthy behaviors for lasting change.
- Experiment with new habits, to see what works for you.
- Automatically track your fasting (IF 16/8).
- Stay accountable via friends or your coach.
- Share your day on Social media, if you are into that thing.
What it’s not?
- We try to make it as non-judgemental as possible.
- We don’t track calories. Ever!
- It’s not a magic pill. There is NO magic pill!
Say goodbye to mindless eating and become a better version of yourself with Ate!
See what others are saying:
"I LOVE this app! I was looking for something exactly like this because I can’t be bothered to enter calories or even (or even search for) food descriptions. All I needed was something to make me be aware of what I was eating, and to record whether it was on the path or not. You have made it so easy and it’s really helping me every day!" - Phil
“I just wanted to let you know that since I started using your app I have lost 30lbs. I have tried MANY different things to lose weight (counting calories, macros, different diets) but I have found that this is the only thing that has helped me.” - from Christina
Don’t wait, start food journaling today with the #1 Photo Food Journal!
ALL CORE FEATURES ARE FREE!
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Why use it?
With all the distractions and stress that is present in our lives, it's no surprise that many of us end up eating mindlessly. We end up forgetting what and why we truly are eating. We just simply turn to food, shovel it down and move on.
The impact of this behavior on our health is both physical and emotional. Getting us into a loop where we find ourselves digging a deeper hole to health problems. We try diets and other quick fixes, but all they do for us, in the long run, is cause us to be even more stressed and frustrated.
That is why we built Ate, the mindful food diary that is thoughtfully designed to help you be more self-aware of your eating habits, behaviors, and feelings. All done without ever judging you or making you feel bad.
We worked with health professionals around the world and built the app on journaling techniques that have been proven over decades.
This food diary app is not about crash diets or restrictive living by calorie counting. It’s about building a sustainable, healthy lifestyle. A better version of yourself one small habit at a time. Something that you can easily maintain and enjoy in the long run.
Remember, HEALTH IS PHYSICAL, MENTAL & EMOTIONAL (+ SOCIAL). Make sure you focus on all four and you will discover your true potential!
Download the Ate Food Journal today and start on your new path!
Premium Subscription
Ate’s core features are free to use and will stay free. We do offer a premium membership that will unlock features such as custom Q&As, liquid and activity tracking, the ability to share your profile via the web and to reuse your favorite photos when saving a meal. You can sign up for monthly, quarterly and yearly auto-renewing plans.
Processing of a subscription is handled by the Google Play Store. Your credit card will be charged through your Google Play Store account when you confirm your purchase. Subscription renews automatically at the same price unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the subscription term. You can manage subscriptions in Account Settings in the Google Play Store after purchase. After the standard 48hour refund period offered by Google, refunds will not be provided for any unused portion of the subscription term.
Read our Terms of Service & Privacy Policy at https://youate.com/terms-privacy.htmlCostFreeFreeIn-App Purchases$3.99 - $29.99 per item$8.99 - $59.99 per item -
Runner UpWelcome to FatSecret, the easiest to use calorie counter and most effective weight loss and dieting app on the market. Best of all, FatSecret is free.
Keep track of your food, exercise and weight, using the world's highest quality food and nutrition database and connect with a global community of people looking to make a change for the better and start losing weight and achieve your goals the healthy way.
FatSecret is fast, simple to use and includes integration with external tools and services to help you succeed with your diet:
- An easy to use food diary to plan and keep track of what you're eating.
- A wonderful community that's ready to provide support and turbo charge your weight loss.
- Image recognition of foods, meals and products so you can take photos with the camera and track nutrition with pictures.
- A barcode scanner and auto-complete functions.
- Google Fit, Samsung Health and Fitbit exercise tracking integration.
- An exercise diary to record all the calories you burn.
- A diet calendar to see your calories consumed and burned.
- A weight tracker.
- Detailed reporting and goals for all your calories and macros.
- Photo album to keep a photodiet of your foodsnaps and instacalories.
- A journal to record your progress.
- Reminders for meals, weigh-ins and journals.
- Notifications for support, comments and followers.
- Fantastic recipes and meal ideas.
- Sharing and interacting with your professional of choice.
- Facebook and Google login.
- Widget.
The app syncs with FatSecret Professional, the most convenient way to share your food, exercise and weight with your preferred health professional. Your health professional will get free access to simple and powerful tools to monitor your performance and provide you with feedback, advice and support.
You can also sync your account online to access your info anywhere, any time.
Premium subscriptions are available for enhanced features and capabilities for those who need some extra help to achieve their diet and weight management goals. Premium users get:
- Nutritional meal plans created by our dietitian specifically for different diet preferences and calorie goals (Keto Style, Balanced, Mediterranean, Intermittent Fasting, High Protein Low Carb)
- Advanced Meal Planning: plan ahead and know in advance how many calories each meal contains
- Custom Meal Headings: Six additional meal types that allow you to spread your food intake across multiple points in the day
- Water Tracking: so you can make sure you reach a daily water intake goal
We hope you'll love Calorie Counter by FatSecret. We are constantly working to improve the app and welcome user feedback.CostFreeFreeIn-App Purchases$6.99 - $44.99 per item$6.49 - $38.99 per item -
Also GroovyWhether you want to lose weight, tone up, get healthy, change your habits, or start a new diet MyFitnessPal has you covered. Our members have lost over 200 million pounds and 88% of people who track for at least 7 days on MyFitnessPal lose weight. Sign up for FREE and start living a happier and healthier life today!
See for yourself why MyFitnessPal is the world’s most popular health and fitness app.
▌TRACKING FOOD IS FAST AND EASY
■ Biggest Food Database -- 11+ million foods in our database including global items and cuisines.
■ Barcode Scanner -- Simply scan barcodes to log foods. 4+ million barcodes recognized.
■ Recipe Importer -- Easily import the nutrition information for the recipes you cook.
■ Restaurant Logging -- Quickly log menu items from your favorite restaurants.
■ Food Insights -- Learn how to make healthier choices about the foods you eat.
■ Personalized Experience -- Create your own foods, recipes, and meals and save favorites.
■ Calorie Counter -- We automatically calculate the calories in your foods, meals and recipes.
■ Macro Tracker -- We automatically calculate the macros (carbs, fat, protein) in your foods, meals and recipes.
■ Track All Nutrients -- Calories, macros (carbs, fat, protein), sugar, fiber, cholesterol, vitamins, and more.
■ Customize Your Diary -- Log breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks or create your own meals.
■ Water Tracking -- Log water in cups, ounces or ml. We save your recently logged amounts.
▌REACH YOUR GOALS
■ Choose A Goal -- We support weight loss, weight gain, and weight maintenance goals.
■ Goal Setting -- Create your own goals or let us create personalized goals for you, including calorie and macros goals.
■ Change Habits -- It's almost like having a nutrition coach right inside your pocket.
▌LOG YOUR EXERCISE AND STEPS
■ Connect 50+ Apps & Devices -- Syncing your workouts is easy and automatic.
■ Choose From 350+ Exercises -- Or create your own exercises and workouts.
■ Log Cardio Exercises -- Including running, walking, biking, swimming, yoga, pilates and more.
■ Log Strength Exercises -- Including sets, reps, and weight per set.
■ Track Steps -- Set a daily step goal and see a graph of your step history.
■ We connect with all your favorite apps and devices -- Including Fitbit, Jawbone UP, Garmin, MapMyFitness, Runkeeper, Strava, Runtastic, Misfit, Withings, HealthKit, UA Record and many more!
▌GET SUPPORT AND MOTIVATION
■ Add Friends -- Connect with friends for an extra layer of support and accountability.
■ Join Our Community -- Find motivation, support, tips, and advice in our active forums.
■ Newsfeed Updates -- Share your accomplishments and see friend’s progress in the newsfeed.
▌CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESS
■ Chart Your Progress -- Stay motivated with a graph of how you’re improving over time.
■ Progress Photos -- Add photos to your weight entries to see and celebrate your progress.
■ Nutrition Reports -- View a history of your calories, macros, and nutrient intake.
■ Share Your Progress -- Help inspire friends and family members on their own health journey.
Download MyFitnessPal and start living a happier and healthier life today!
For our full terms and conditions and our privacy policy, please visit: https://www.myfitnesspal.com/privacy-and-termsCostFreeFreeIn-App Purchases$0.99 - $99.99 per item$9.99 - $79.99 per item
The 411 from our Appventurer
How we tested?
We made an effort to include a wide selection of apps - some focused on mindful eating, others on general fitness, while some were geared specifically to weight loss. This made the process of testing somewhat challenging, but we didn't flinch for one minute. We knew we had an important task at hand.
The selection of features as well as topics each piece of software covered were at the top of our priorities. Ease of use was another crucial factor.
Ultimately, we also considered whether the premium options were worth paying for or whether you'd be better off saving your pennies for a more important purchase.
Why get the app?
Eating healthy it's not just about weight loss. Even if obesity is turning into another global pandemic, on the other end of the scale, some people are looking to gain a pound or two. It all comes down to individual needs. This is why we made an effort to include a wide enough selection of apps to satisfy everyone's needs.
Of course, the first and most important reason you should be looking at this sort of software is to improve your overall health. Your heart, your digestive system, even your muscles, and bones can be severely affected by what you put in your mouth.
Call it dieting, mindful eating, or simply trying to live a genuinely healthy life - we have it covered. If you're searching for a new and effective way to get back on track - try any of our top three, and you won't be disappointed. Only a bit of willpower and effort is needed to succeed. You can do it, and your smartphone or tablet will be your trusted companions in the process.
Note that yours truly has lost a pound and a half during the process of testing these apps.
More About Ate Food Diary: Our Pick
Among all the calorie counters, all the diet fads, all the demands that you should look a certain way and weigh a certain amount - there is a glimmer of hope. If all this focus on measuring every ounce of food you eat feels oppressive to you - you are not alone. Many feel that way and wish to be freed from the shackles of dieting. It's time to try something different - a breath of fresh air, a perfectly new approach. Ate Food Diary offers just that.
Once you sign up or sign in, you start by picking your current goal. It could be "to feel healthy and happy," perhaps "to have more energy," or you can even devise your own. The process is beyond simple. You can then go straight to journaling to try some mindful experiments. Have you tried eating from smaller plates? Using your non-dominant hand to hold your fork? We never thought of that! Strangely enough, once you actually try it, it kinda works. The process feels odd and counterintuitive, prompting you to spend less time ingesting food. If weight loss is among your goals - this will definitely work for you.
The app covers several other options - from putting on a few pounds, eating more fruit and veg, to getting rid of certain negative patterns. It also allows you to take care of your mental health and injects a good deal of fun in the process.
It is important to note that not all tasks and their descriptions are free. Some will rest behind a paywall. Luckily, the price to unlock them is not high at all. If you decide to pay $4.99 per month, you will discover a whole new world of possibilities. You can pay directly through the app, and there is no need to use the browser or (god forbid) your computer.
At the moment, the app offers a 50% beta version discount, but we are not sure for how long this will last. However, we were in shock that the platform is considered to be in development. It feels so complete and easily blows its entire competition out of the water.
We should also mention the journal option and its strong focus on thoughts, feelings, and deep introspection. Your goal is, after all, to find your true path and feel as happy and as healthy as possible. The entire system is focused on the person and not the numbers. Managing reminders and notifications is easy, and the community you can create will be your safe space. The support team is also swift to respond, so you will never have trouble navigating the platform.
Ate Food Diary is truly novel yet fully functional. It can help you feel better about yourself and achieve all your goals with ease. The plethora of tips and tricks it offers are sure to nudge you in the right direction gently - without expecting you to starve yourself or slave away in the gym more than you feel comfortable with.
Snags but not drags:
This app's unique and borderline revolutionary approach to health and fitness comes with a few risks. Luckily, none of them will put your health in jeopardy but, at the same time, the novel system is still a bit rough around the edges and may require a bit of tweaking before it can be called perfect.
The most obvious downside is also one of its biggest perks - this is NOT a strict, regimented plan. If that is what you need, you are better off looking for it elsewhere. Perhaps the furthest thing from the military-like discipline of other weight-loss programs, it takes on a gentle, caring, nurturing approach.
This will work for many but will also be counterproductive for a few. When deciding whether to download this app or not, the main criteria are to know yourself, know your needs, and know what it will take you to reach your goals.
Other than that, it is quite difficult to pick out any major flaws as the app is well crafted, runs smoothly, and is reasonably priced - if you want to commit to a purchase, that is.
More About FatSecret: Runner Up
This is the only totally free option on our list. Most experienced users would be very suspicious of it based on this fact alone. Still, it was more than obvious that this is far from a bad budget option from the get-go. Contrary to our consumerist society's beliefs, you don't always need to spend a fortune to obtain a good quality product. Sometimes, the free solution is indeed more than enough. There is no shame in being frugal, especially when so many people have lost their jobs.
The global pandemic has also prevented us from eating out way too often, which, for many, will be a good starting point on their weight loss journey. If excess weight is your problem, this is the perfect time to get fit. Let's dive right into what FatSecret has to offer.
Once you log in, the app will start by asking you all the relevant questions and subsequently recommend the right amount of calories. Next come the ideas of what you should eat and a great platform to enter and tweak all your recipes.
You will be able to monitor not just the calories you consume but also focus on individual nutrients. This is a particularly neat option if you have diabetes and looking to cut sugar or your gallbladder problems require you to stay away from fatty meals.
You can also take a few surveys, read plenty of useful articles, learn, and find out how you can best adopt a healthy lifestyle. The app even offers you a chance to create a photo album and track your progress that way. This will be particularly suitable for those who intend to lose large amounts of weight. Just watch those inches melt away.
In short, FatSecret has most of the features that you'd expect from this sort of platform but one thing that sets it apart - an enormous and constantly growing community. We are inclined to think that the app is free is contributing to the numbers, but its quality is also an important factor. Without it, thousands upon thousands of people would not be flocking to its digital doors.
The community is amazing if you need support and someone to cheer you on. You can also exchange ideas and recipes for success. Believe it or not, you have the option to invite your dietician or doctor to join the fun. For a free app, this definitely takes the cake as the most impressive one out there.
More About MyFitnessPal: Also Groovy
This has to be among the most popular apps of its kind. However, this sort of fame does raise quite a few suspicious in our minds. We are never willing to let an app slide just because it has high ratings or a huge number of downloads. Not on our watch. We put MyFitnessPal to the test and expected it to perform amazingly well. And perform it did.
Much like FatSecret, the first thing you need to do is enter your current stats and goals. Once that is done, you are free to use the calorie counter and macro tracker, take a peek into nutrition breakdowns, and pinpoint whether you lack iron, calcium, or any other substance in your diet.
A 30-day free trial gives you plenty of time to decide whether you want to purchase the premium membership or simply switch to another platform. Changing, however, most likely won't be on your mind. With an option to add friends, you will be able to keep your enthusiasm for your journey towards perfect health in the months or even years to come.
Another feature that caught our eye was the diary. Dividing the meals into breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, it also manages to include notes on exercise and an option to track your water intake.
The recipes section is particularly rich, filled to the brim with cool ideas, and divided into many different categories. Pantry staples? Check. Pre- or post-workout meals? Check and check. Low-carb delicacies, as well as those high in protein are offered in abundance, while the vegan option is presented for just about any dish.
When it comes to diet and exercise plans, you can choose among those available - from "Progressive Bodyweight" and "Reaching Your Calorie Goal" to "Support Your Immune System" - or you can even create your own from scratch.
Perhaps our only complaint is that it's a bit difficult to track your recipes or make small edits to existing posts. Other than that, the app is pretty amazing. It is perhaps less revolutionary than Ate Food Diary - offering a tried and tested approach rather than a new one - but it does its job well enough and leaves little to be desired in any department it aims to cover. You can't go wrong with it.
Other Apps Considered
A pretty good all-round solution with some minor technical glitches. After you input your profile details and calculate your daily calorie budget, you are ready to work on it and reach your goals. Perhaps not quite as comprehensive as some of the other entries on our list - it is still pretty decent and allows you to compete with yourself (and others!) with the help of some neat challenges. The app covers keto, paleo, and many other diets. After a 7-day free trial, you are required to pay to continue using the app. It may be worth it for the sake of the community support.
While some apps focus on healthy living in general, WW is more about weight loss in particular. Through its smart points system, it helps you attain your goals and trim down your waistline. With a surprising portion of the world's population being overweight, this seems like a worthy enough cause. The platform aims to be a robust solution but manages to fall flat on one front. Its forum - a very prominent feature indeed - is extremely glitchy and not always the easiest to use. If only this segment were better - a lot better - we would've considered WW as one of our top contenders. For now, it remains among the honorable mentions.
Visually, this app is as close to perfection as it gets. Its functionality, however, is just about average. A good food diary allows you to create your own diet plan. You can track different food categories separately and even monitor your water intake. Many plans are covered, including a strong focus on a sugar detox. Lifesum is, however, not particularly comprehensive unless you pay for it. Plenty of the more advanced features are hidden behind a paywall and, in the free version, you will be forced to sit through quite a few YouTube ads for fitness gurus of dubious quality. Not our idea of a good time.
Sometimes, your own mind is your own biggest enemy. The solution is simple - you have to trick yourself into turning towards a healthier lifestyle. This interesting app uses psychology and small goals to help you lose weight. A good idea with an even better execution is, however, marred by an inability to plan your meals for the coming week and a genuinely shocking price tag. After 7 days of free use, you have to invest no less than $26.82 to continue using it. That's one big "no" from us.
Much like Lifesum, it covers a few different diet plans and is perfectly customizable. You get a free trial for the pro version that, ultimately, you will need to pay for to continue benefiting from all the premium features. Cronometer has good customer support, and even the smallest inquiry will be responded to in great detail. Unfortunately, the interface is ruined by too much clutter. Needless to say, we have a strong preference for a cleaner, more minimalistic look. Perhaps this concoction of features, buttons, and diagrams is why it takes the software forever to load. Still, if you got plenty of time on your hands - it may be worth a try.
This could be considered a decent competition to MyFitnessPal. Its barcode scanner is perhaps its biggest advantage, allowing you to identify the ingredients in just about any item you intend to use in your meal prep. Still, this doesn't always work the way it should. The app boasts over 250,000 entries, but, more often than not, you will encounter a message that says, "some foods do not have nutritional values associated." Your choice is to either manually add them - or look elsewhere. Still, Fooducate has a number of pretty good features - including a meal planner and a way to avoid GMOs - so it's definitely worth a try. Its most recent update also contains a segment focusing on boosting your immune system. What could be better in the time of this global pandemic?
People use the most diverse methods to get rid of excess pounds - some healthy, others less so. MyNetDiary emphasizes natural weight loss and urges you to avoid artificial formulas and extreme dieting. It is a gentle approach that can sometimes turn into an overwhelming policing of every little thing you intend to do. If the app decides something is unsafe for you, it won't allow you to proceed. Luckily, in most cases, this will be based on a common-sense approach, but, at times, it will seem a bit arbitrary. The system may be too cautious for its own good.
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Stefan Racic
WriterMy phone tends to be filled to the brim with apps I am either trying on for size of using on a regular basis. I use them for a variety of tasks, including sketching and creating art, keeping in touch with friends, being up to date with the latest news, learning about diverse spiritual practices and, of course, playing games!
With over 10 years of experience as a translator and writer, I channel my creativity into writing about things I enjoy. My education in business (I hold a bachelor's degree in operations management) is but one part of expertise. I have worked for art magazines, spiritual blogs, news and business sites, and now I explore the fascinating world of apps.
My previous work is as diverse as my interests. Fresh out of college, I was employed as a translator and interpreter at the fringes of the corporate world and the NGO sector. After switching to writing, I first focused on business news, then shifted to working for a series of art magazines (WideWalls perhaps being the most well known), and even wrote content for a couple of spirituality-focused apps for Labyrinthos Academy. Little did I know that I would eventually devote a good chunk of my time to writing about all sorts of interesting new apps out there.
Introduction
We are what we eat. Nowadays, this is perhaps truer than ever, as our dietary choices can dramatically affect our health. Track your meals, work on improving your health, and the results will come. But do you really need to pay to achieve your goals? We tested top apps and hidden gems alike, and determined that up and coming app, Ate Food Diary, may be your ticket to eating more mindfully. Read on to hear more about this app and our other top picks.