Losing weight is perhaps the most difficult things to do (and maintain) in this life.
You’ve got every cell in your body craving that last cookie.
And every bodily hormone making you feel like you’re starving.
We totally get how hard it can be!
So, wouldn’t be nice if there were some apps on your device that could make weight loss just little easier (and even enjoyable)!
Fortunately, there are!
The very best weight loss apps out there are:
Today, we’ll be going through all of these effective apps for weight loss, one by one.
Outlining the pros and cons of each.
As well as educating you about how they actually help you lose weight.
Let’s get stuck in.
Open Table of Contents
| Thinking About Getting a Weight Loss App?
Weight loss seems complicated.
There are so many apps, programs, pills and regimes out there.
Trying to convince you that they have a ‘secret method’ for fat loss.
In reality, losing weight is super, super simple.
To lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn.
So to put it simply, you need to eat less and move more.
This is known as a caloric deficit.
And in order to a caloric deficit to be effective at getting weight off.
You need to stick to it for many weeks and even several months (depending how much you’ve got to lose).
Now, there are many different ways that you can achieve a caloric deficit.
For example, here are some of the different strategies out there which you might have heard of:
- Low carb or low fat (ketogenic, paleo)
- Portion control and Calorie Tracking (weight watchers)
- Intermittent Fasting
At the end of the day, they all work the same:
The all have you consuming fewer calories than you eat.
Let’s break down how they work.
Low Carb or Low Fat Weight Loss Apps
Calories come from three different food groups, known as macronutrients (or macros for short).
The three types of macros are:
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- Protein
- Fat
- Carbohydrates
One strategy for weight loss is to either severely reduce or even eliminate one of the aforementioned macros.
If you look at the pie chart below, you can see how diets like Keto or Low Fat work.
A weight loss app that uses this strategy for weight loss would be Carb Manager.
Diagram credit goes to this video by Alex Hormozi.
Portion Control / Calorie Tracking Weight Loss Apps
One of the biggest problems with our western diets is that we simply consume far too big a portion sizes.
We think that every square inch of real estate on our large dinner plates is open for placement.
But we really have no idea how much energy is in all that food!
To combat this, this strategy for reducing calorie intake is to reduce the total amount of fat, carbs and protein we consume in a somewhat even manner.
Rather than eliminating one of the macro groups alone.
This can be achieved in different ways, but is usually done through either:
-
- Portion control (e.g. weight watchers)
- Reducing and tracking macros (e.g. MyFitnessPal)
- Shake diets (e.g. the Man Shake)
If you look at the pie charts below, you can see how these strategies work to have you eat fewer calories.
Intermittent Fasting Apps
The final strategy involves reducing calories by controlling when in the day we eat and when we don’t.
Some popular intermittent fasting protocols you might have heard of are the 16/8 fast or the 20/4 fast.
If you’re someone who struggles with snacking throughout the day, or loves a post-dinner dessert.
Then intermittent fasting could be a great option for you.
Two examples of weight loss apps that incorporate intermittent fasting are Fastic and BetterMe.
| Best Weight Loss Apps
So, your task is less about finding the ‘best’ weight loss app.
And more so about finding a weight loss format that works for you and your lifestyle.
At the end of the day, the best weight loss app is the one that you can stick to consistently.
Which will be a different app depending on who you are.
For example, if you don’t mind skipping breakfast and/or lunch, maybe you should look into an intermittent fasting app like Fastic.
Or, if you’d prefer to have portion control meals sent to your doorstep, maybe you could try a portion control strategy by Weight Watchers.
It really comes down to what suits your lifestyle.
And what you think you can stick to.
Anyway, let’s get stuck in to the different weight loss apps on the market.
| Best Weight Loss Apps for Beginners
The following apps are all rounders.
This means that they use a combination of different approaches to help you lose weight.
Usually, they have you eating less in all the different food groups (protein, fat, carbs).
But might also have elements of intermittent fasting and other techniques.
These apps also get you to incorporate exercise into your daily routine.
And also educate you around the psychology of losing weight.
They’re a good place to start if you’re relatively new to weight loss.
Noom
- Focus on Psychological Change
- Personalised Approach
- Access to Personal Coach for Accountability
Noom is one of the most popular weight loss apps on the market, trusted by more than 45 million users worldwide!
Noom markets themselves as a ‘diet free’ approach to weight loss. Stating that their method is more about lifestyle and psychological change, rather than strict diets.
They not only teach you what you need to do, but more so on why it’s important.
This means that when you are met with moments of temptation, you are more likely to stick to making good decisions as you are aware of what’s happening in your brain.
For example, Noom teaches you about triggers e.g. smelling a nice food at a restaurant. And how you can go about dealing with these triggers.
They have an interesting approach to weight loss by labelling foods as traffic light colours:
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- Red (eat rarely)
- Yellow (eat moderately)
- Green (eat abundantly)
To summarise, Noom has you:
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- Eating more foods like veggies and some fruits, because there’s hardly any calories but they’ll fill you up.
- Eating less oily and sugary foods, because there’s a bunch of calories but you won’t feel full.
BetterMe
Bodyweight Strength & Tone, Running, Yoga, Boxing, Wheelchair Workouts, Women's Health
- Beginner friendly
- Great user experience and content quality
- Supportive community and education
BetterMe is a fitness app with a large focus on weight loss.
It’s a great option for beginner and intermediate users hoping to focus on losing weight through a combination of basic workouts, macronutrient tracking and accountability.
If you’re a little torn whether to spend your money on a weight loss app or workout app, it’s a good blend of both.
A BetterMe subscription will give you access to:
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- 1800+ workouts off all training types
- Personalised meal plans
- Calorie and macronutrient tracker
- Intermittent fasting timer
- Article Library
- Live chat with real personal trainers
| Best Apps for Macro/Calorie Tracking
The next few apps work by having you manage the number of calories you consume through keeping track of them.
There’s a saying out there that goes ‘what gets measured gets managed’.
If you have no idea what you’re consuming and the energy within that food.
There’s a good chance you’re eating far too much.
I personally prefer calorie/macro tracking apps if I ever want to shave off a few pounds.
As I believe they give you the most accurate information around your energy balance.
That is, what you’re eating versus what you’re burning.
MyFitnessPal
In late 2020, the events of several lockdowns and a suspended gym membership, meant I was about 7 kilos heavier than I wanted to be.
By tracking my calories using MyFitnessPal and sustaining a daily calorie intake of 2225, I was able to drop 7kgs in around two months!
MyFitnessPal is perfect for fitness enthusiasts wanting to track and gain insight into their consumption of calories, as well as have better planning and control over their day to day eating.
However, MyFitnessPal can be a lot of upkeep and may not be the right fit in an ongoing capacity, so you’ll need to see whether it’s the right fit for you.
Fortunately the free version of MyFitnessPal has everything you need to see results.
You can learn more about MyFitnessPal by reading our in-depth review here.
Cronometer
- Accurate, Credible Information Only
- Less Expensive than MyFitnessPal
- Incredible Design
Cronometer is another calorie tracker that’s extremely similar to MyFitnessPal.
With one key difference – accuracy of information.
Many health professionals have criticised MyFitnessPal around the fact that anyone in the world can post recipes and foods.
This can mean that the accuracy of the information you input isn’t always up to scratch.
Enter, Cronometer.
Cronometer only allows contributions from trusted sources.
Which ensure the caloric information you’re getting is highly credible.
| Best App for Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting works on the principle that it is difficult to overeat in such a short amount of time, pushing you into a caloric deficit and helping you lose weight.
If you don’t mind skipping certain meals, or find eating multiple meals a day inconvenient, intermittent fasting could be worth checking out!
Fastic
Intermittent Fasting
- Personalised & educational
- High level of care
- Great free version
- Minimal exercise focus
Fastic provides users with an all in one fasting platform complete with tailored fasting plans, tracking tools and educational content.
It’s also got a great user experience, helping you stick to your fast with charts and progress bars. It almost makes losing weight fun!
| Best Apps for Low Carb
Carb Manager
Low Carb diets are high fat, moderate protein and low carbohydrate diets that have become in vogue of the past decade as people search for new ways to lose weight and stay healthy.
As a result, Carb Manager Keto Diet Tracker was founded by Mandy Davis to help people lose weight by closely monitoring their diet and helping users restrict their carbohydrate intake.
Today Carb Manager supports over 3000 healthy recipes, 8 million customers and a 4.8 star rating on the app store.
If you’re interested in everything low carb, or simply want to find out more, check out our full review.
| Best Apps for Movement Tracking
In this day and age, everything has become more convenient.
Some of us work from home and hardly leave our desk.
Others get food delivered to our doorstep, rather than walk around the grocery store.
Which is why movement has become less a part of our daily life.
Remember, that losing weight requires a balance between energy in and energy out.
This means that it’s not only about eating less, but also about moving more.
FitBit
That’s why with an app like FitBit, you can measure the amount of movement you’re performing on a daily basis.
You can also keep track of your food and water consumption, weight goals, heart rate and sleep habits.
The app is used in conjunction with a wearable tracking device and can be set up with alarms and reminders to help you incorporate more movement into your day.
FitBit is great way to keep yourself accountable and moving enough to shed that weight!
Before deciding, we suggest comparing the Fitbit to similar devices and apps, such as an Apple Watch and Google Fit.
You can check out our full review of FitBit here.
| Best App for Portion Control
Portion control helps us manage the amount of food we eat in each meal.
It’s pretty easy to load up a plate of ‘healthy’ food.
With no idea what that actually amounts to from an energy perspective.
Weight Watchers
The weight watchers app, in conjunction with their weight loss meals sent to your doorstep, helps you to control the amount of food you’re eating in each meal.
It’s a done for you service, meaning you won’t have to go grocery shopping or cook your meals.
So if you’re someone who is extremely busy, hates cooking, or simply wants a convenient option.
Weight Watchers could be the right choice for you.
You can check out our full review of the Weight Watchers app here.
| Best Fitness Apps with Nutrition
Like we mentioned earlier, moving more is also an extremely important part of the weight loss equation.
Although primarily focused on workouts, these fitness apps have weight loss tools to help, including:
- Healthy and nutritious recipes
- Ability to track your calories / see how many calories in your meals
They’re a great hybrid between fitness app and weight loss app
And save you having to pay for two subscriptions at once!
Centr
HIIT, Pilates, Boxing, Yoga, Meditation, Strength
- Easy navigation
- Personalised
- High quality programs
Centr is a personalised digital health and fitness app founded by Chris Hemsworth and his team in 2019 which saw 100,000 downloads in their opening week and over 1.4 million downloads in the first year!
It’s is an incredible app for anyone seeking weight loss, with their broad range of offerings including quality workout videos and sessions to follow, delicious recipes with handy shopping list function.
Move with Us
- Great Educational Content
- Calorie And Macro Nutrient Tracker Included
- Holistic Goal Setting
- Caters To All Fitness Levels
Move With Us (formerly Bodies by Rachel) is a fitness app founded by 3x WBFF Bikini World Champion Rachel Dillon.
No matter your experience level, her team of accredited dieticians and expert trainers are there to support and guide you. Her fitness journey has transformed all aspects of her life, and she wants to see the opportunity to see what you can achieve on your own journey.
The Move With Us app has a wealth of resources around tracking your macros, healthy nutritious recipes and of course, incredible work outs to help burn more daily calories and lose weight.
If you are still not convinced, take our 3 – Min Quiz that has been specifically tailored by our team to help you find the perfect fitness app for you.
