Online Programs To Help Lose Weight

With so many apps available to help you with your weight loss or management goals, you're bound to find one that suits your lifestyle.Getty Images

Welcome to the know-everything era. We’re obsessed with knowing everything that goes into our bodies (calories along with macronutrients like carbs,  fat, and protein), the calories we’re burning via exercise, how many steps we’re taking, our hydration status,  sleep — you name it. And in some cases, more info is actually a weight loss tool.

“Weight loss apps can help people become aware of what they’re actually eating, as well as the number of calories they consume, which is helpful because we generally underestimate the number of calories in some foods, ” says Deena Adimoolam, MD, an endocrinologist in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. You can also use them to get more know-how about nutrition labels and what macronutrients they contain if you’re trying to follow a specific diet.

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Of course, there are downsides to weight loss apps, too. Research on their efficacy is mixed. For instance, a previous study suggested that while apps may be useful for a certain type of vigilant dieter, the average overweight person will probably not lose weight on them. Another previous article outlining research on young adults came to a similar conclusion. What many apps don't do, another study, published in July 2019 in JMIR mHealth uHealth concluded, is provide users with behavioral change techniques, which is necessary to help people keep weight off in the long term.

That said, in a study that looked at nearly 24, 000 app users who have body weights considered obese or overweight, those who were obese lost 5 percent of their body weight within 62 days of using the app, according to the Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome in December 2021. (Overweight folks lost that amount of weight in 65 days, on average.) Users who logged their weight and exercise and food intake lost that weight even faster.

Plus, a review looking at randomized controlled trials, which was published in June 2020 in Frontiers in Endocrinology, concluded that an app may indeed be a tool for weight loss — but, the authors clarify, it is just one tool. An app won’t be everything you need to reach your goals.

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Still, monitoring food intake has been shown to be effective for some people. A study in the August 2017 issue of the Journal of Diabetes Research found that people with diabetes who consistently tracked their food lost an average of 10 pounds over one year. (This was compared with those who rarely or inconsistently charted their nutrition, who didn’t successfully shed pounds.) It’s also important to note that the nutrition info on the food database in some of these apps, even the really reputable ones, can vary, noted a study published in October 2021 the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. So, it’s important to keep your expectations in check, as the apps may not be consistent across the board.

App engagement is an important factor in success. A separate study, published in JMIR Mhealth Uhealth in November 2021, looked at Noom app users (which appears on this list, below), and found that people who are more active on the apps — reading supplementary articles, logging meals, recording steps and exercise, sending a message to a coach (if available), and recording weight — were more likely to lose more weight compared to less app-dedicated folks.

And while food tracking can help you gain a greater awareness about every bite you put in your mouth, it may fail when the excitement drops off, says Tiffany Wright, PhD, aka “The Skinny Coach, ” a weight loss expert in Los Angeles. So, if you’re someone who’s interested in using an app to support your weight loss, choosing one suited to your needs and likes is all the more important.

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To say the market for weight loss, nutrition, and fitness apps is oversaturated is an understatement. “The myriad of health apps out there is confusing for both patients and providers, ” says Reshmi Srinath, MD, the director of the Mount Sinai Weight and Metabolism Management Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. The ideal app, she says, both motivates you to make healthy changes and holds you accountable for enacting those changes.

The biggest problem is that people stop using the apps, says Dr. Wright. It’s okay to download a bunch of the apps (most are free) and sift through them to find the one that feels the most user-friendly to you. When you like the features, you’re more willing to stick with it, rather than the one your friend loves.

It can be tough to find accountability on an app, so look for those that feature a community of fellow dieters, offer daily reminders that pop up on your phone (make sure to adjust the settings accordingly), or have personalized professional support (via registered dietitians, for instance).

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That said, if you find that you’re eating to a certain calorie target and charting food and exercise to the best of your abilities but you’re stuck in a plateau, you may need help from a weight loss professional, says Dr. Srinath. If you’re interested in seeing what a weight loss app can do for you, there are some stellar places to start.

The best apps for weight loss let you chart your food intake and document exercise, says Srinath. These may sound like bare-bones goals, but Srinath says that Lose It! excels in this regard. It’s easy to use and sets a daily calorie budget for you, and you can track food using their bar code scanner or by snapping a photo of your plate, making it easy to use.

Lose It! also allows you to connect certain fitness trackers so you can integrate everything in one place. The company says that users have lost more than 78 million pounds total. Impressive!

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There are legit reasons why you have a hard time shedding those extra pounds, but if you know the facts about losing weight, you can overcome these obstacles and reach your goals.

When looking for a diet app, you want one that makes nutrition info easily accessible, and breaks out that info according to macronutrient or calorie goals.

If you’re trying to cut back on carbs, MyFitnessPal makes it easy. “I like apps with built-in nutrition information, like MyFitnessPal, especially for my patients who have diabetes or who are interested in following a specific diet plan, ” says Dr. Adimoolam. With its bar code scanner, you don’t have to search for the specific food you’re eating, which really speeds the food tracking process. You’ll also like how at the top, all your nutrition stats are congregated in a clean way, displaying your goal calories, how much you’ve eaten, how much you’ve burned through exercise, and how many you have left.

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A word of caution: A study published in January 2019 in Nutrition on MyFitnessPal found that, while 80 percent of participants surveyed praised the ease-of-use within the app, the authors found that there were discrepancies in nutrient measurements as much of the data is user-generated. This means some of that data may be inaccurate. To get around this issue, they suggest connecting with a registered dietitian for guidance on how best to use this (and any other nutrition app) in order to meet your goals.

If you’re following a specific diet — keto,  paleo, or the like — this is the app for you. It allows you to log your food and monitor 82 nutrients to stay on track while also avoiding nutrient deficiencies. If you’re following a form of intermittent fasting, there’s also a timer to track your eating and fasting times. The app contains a bar code scanner so you can easily add packaged foods, a database for logging meals from restaurants, and a recipe logger so you can save your favorite meal ideas all in one place. Cronometer will sync up with your Apple Watch, Apple Health App, or Fitbit. You’ll be able to access some functions for free; otherwise, it costs $6.99 a month.

With five million food items in the database, MyMacros+ makes watching your food intake seamless. If you’re tracking your macros (protein, carbohydrates, and fat) as a way to stay fit, you’ll be able to set a macro goal and use the macro calculator to stay on course. Handy graphs lay out your progress in a simple, visual way.

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Crunching the info on the nutrition label to determine if a food is healthy can be tough, and Fooducate does the work for you. The app has a database of 250, 000 foods — all you have to do is scan the bar code and you’ll see what grade the food gets (A, being the highest, to D, being the lowest), plus an explanation of the grade and suggested alternatives.

“I like this app because it recognizes common packaged products and allows you to do more than just analyze your diet. You can track your hunger levels to figure out how certain foods specifically affect your body, ” says Wright.

This app has all the requisites: food tracking (including two million items, a bar code

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