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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.