Try a Food Accountability App to Meet your Nutrition Goals
Food goals are hard--use the latest apps and features to help you stick to your healthy commitments!
A confession: sugar is my weakness. Put anything sweet in front of me, and I'm never going to say no to trying it. And, if I like it, any diet or calorie-counting plan I may have set for myself is going to go out the window -- for the umpteenth time.
Food goals are undoubtedly the hardest to follow through on -- after all, we live in a world full of delicious temptations. Even if you find the courage to say, "I'm going to start eating healthier", it can be hard to stick to this commitment for as long as you hope.
But then again, there's a reason we set such goals -- for our good health and well-being. So the next time you decide to try a new diet or watch what you eat for a while, why not take a little extra help to make sure you can stick to it?
Read on to find out about the features that the best food-tracking apps have, to try out to meet your food goals:
The Best Food Tracking Apps To Try
MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal is the all-rounder health app -- whether you need access to a large food database, want to calculate how many calories you can allow yourself a day, or simply want to maintain a log of your daily meals, the app has all the features you can think of. It also has a huge library of food-related articles and content so you can educate yourself on the best practices to try.
The app is not just good for food, but also your other fitness and weight loss goals -- try it if you want the complete experience?
Cronometer
Cronometer does one thing, but it does it really well. Cronometer is for those users who are serious about tracking calories -- it has an extensive food database, easy-to-use interface, and barcode scanning, so you can make a note of everything you buy to eat. You can also customize your food goals on the app, for a more personalized experience.
Noom
Noom is for people who want strict accountability for their weight loss and wellness goals -- not only does it give you a nutrition tracker and personalize your diet plan, but it also works on a "stoplight" system -- encouraging you to eat more "green" foods and snacks that are good for health and lower in calories. It also matches you with a diet coach, if you need that. (Or sign up with Boss as a Service for an accountability coach!)
Lose It!
Lose It! is for the beginner healthy foodies -- those who are just starting to watch what they eat and want a simple, fuss-free way to track their calories, food intake, as well as exercise and fitness. You can even link it up with other workout apps you may be using with friends. It also has the cooler features of other apps like a food database and barcode scanning, as well as access to a wider community for more support and peer accountability.
Ate Food Journal
Ate Food Journal is for those love philosophy in all aspects of life, including their eating habits. Instead of tracking your food and calories, you track what you ate and how it made you feel. For example -- you had a bagel. You put a picture of it on the app and write whether it was "on" or "off" path for your diet, why you wanted to eat it, and how it helped you better understand your diet.
It's great for those who have lots of food allergies, for example, and are often limited by dietary restrictions, because they can make a note of discovering foods they can enjoy while staying healthy!
Lifesum
Lifesum has three distinct features -- a food log, calorie counter, and a recipe library. The app is all about personalization -- when you sign up, it takes your height, weight, and age to help you design an ideal diet. Then the app shares appropriate recipes and track your meals. It also has a weekly health test, which tracks your body composition and habits and helps you understand which areas need improvement.
WW
WeightWatchers, simply called WW, is an old, beloved community -- and the app has a new look. It's replaced the decades-old "points" system for your meals with a more sophisticated and modern one, with a personalized program that simply encourages eating healthier foods. For those who resented the effort of driving up to your weekly Weight Watchers meeting, you can now join your community online and even seek access to personal health and diet coaches.
MyNet Diary
MyNet Diary Calorie Counter is great for people who don't have a lot of spare time, even for their meals. Set a simple goal, add your meal, and the app will help you track the macronutrients and calories you've consumed each time. You can also opt for detailed daily analysis to really drill down on your ideal food plan.
Simple
Simple is an especially great food-tracking app for people wanting to try intermittent fasting. It helps you decide your ideal fasting-eating ratio -- even beyond the standard 16-8 period (fasting for 16 hours and eating during the next 8-hour period). The app also has all the features that you want for food tracking anyway -- tracking the nutritional breakdown of your food items, community support, and education on mindful eating. It even gives you a personalized AI health coach at your fingertips!
Spokin
Spokin is for families who struggle with a lot of food allergies -- it allows you to enter specific food items you need to avoid so you can gain access to a diet plan and recipes better catered to what you can actually eat. It even has a guide of allergen-friendly restaurants and packaged foods so you do not need to worry too much when you want to have a meal out.
How To Create your Ideal Food Goals
Food tracking apps can help you track your goals, but you still have to set them. So, here are a few tips on setting good food goals that will be easy to stick to:
Focus on the Good, not the Bad
When we try to make a goal about cutting down on something, it suddenly becomes all we can think about! So, instead of cutting down all your favorite food and going cold turkey, focus on increasing one food group (the healthy one!) in the place of the other, and let the balance come in more naturally. For example, focusing on upping your protein and fat intake instead of lowering sweets is likely to work better than just saying, "No more dessert"!
Integrate it With Exercise
A healthy diet is a good goal in itself, but if you have an ideal outcome in mind -- better stamina, lower weight -- adding a workout or two to your routine will help. It will also give you a more well-rounded visual of your health so you can focus on improving it holistically.
Be Realistic -- and Kind to Yourself!
People struggle with food for many reasons, so don't set a goal you cannot realistically meet at the moment. Aiming for and gaining small victories will eventually get you to where you want. Take it one step at a time.
Also, if you have an off day or miss a part of your goal, don't beat yourself up! Failures are events to learn from, so focus on the lesson rather than punishing yourself.
Final Thoughts
Food goals are hard -- try an app to help you track and stick to them!
Looking for more tips on healthy eating? Check out these articles!