Eating healthily is not always easy. Staring into the fridge, unsure what to make for supper that won’t ruin your health goals. Or perhaps you’re out with friends, trying to grasp a menu as your stomach growls anxiously.
Let’s be honest: sometimes keeping track of what we eat feels like a full-time job. But here’s the good stuff: your smartphone could be the secret ally you’ve been waiting for to improve your diet.
With suitable diet apps, you might have your dietitian, meal planner, and cheerleader right in your pocket. Intrigued? You should be. To save you time, let’s show you how to eat healthier by clicking a few buttons on these apps.
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How To Choose a Diet App
Before choosing a diet app, first think about what goals you’re looking to achieve. Then consider the features you’d want. Different diet apps come with their unique features and serve various purposes.
We have diet apps that focus on mindful eating, weight loss, pregnancy nutrition, calorie counting, food tracking, healthy recipes, etc. At the same time, some apps are designed for individuals with dietary conditions and allergies.
So you’d want to keep all these in check and ensure they’re backed by dietitians and doctors. Meanwhile, some applications come with a subscription fee while others can be used for free. It’s up to you to decide which one to choose.
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A Rundown of The Best Diet Apps
- Noom | Nutrition education app
- Lifesum | weight loss app
- MyFitnessPal | food tracking app
- DoFasting | best for beginners
- Simple | best free weight loss app
- PlateJoy | best meal planning and grocery shopping app
Our Top Picks For The Best Diet Apps
Noom
Using cognitive behavioral strategies, Noom, a nutrition education app, teaches you to understand your food choices and provides weekly challenges and custom meal plans. Its virtual coaching, support, and accountability team also ensure you stay on track.
Furthermore, Noom has an extensive database covering 1 million+ food items, making it among the top diet apps with a free version you can use on your Android or iPhone. These meal plans are developed by licensed dieticians.
One thing we like about Noom is that it offers a free trial upon signing up. But subsequent usage will require a subscription which costs $60 per month and $159 per year.
| Key features | Pros | Cons |
| Food tracking | 7-14 days trial period | Very pricey compared to other apps |
| Daily lessons | You receive support from the virtual coaching team | It doesn’t offer personalized workout plans |
| Unlimited coaching | Employs cognitive behavioral strategies to help you better understand your food preferences | Regular food tracking could be challenging |
| Custom meal plans | Has daily lesson plans that will be beneficial to you | Some customers say the coaching team provides an insufficient personalized response |
Lifesum: Healthy Eating
With its calorie counter, food log, and recipe library, Lifesum makes it easy for you to lose weight faster. The app features a weekly health test where you’ll learn about your habits and receive suggestions for areas that need improvement.
During the sign-up process, Lifesum collects your age, height, weight, and goals details with which it gives you a tailored plan. As one of the best iPhone and Android diet apps for weight loss, Lifesum customizes this meal plan to your preferences.
In addition to eating habits, you should download this app if you need help to improve your activity levels and sleep patterns. While this app is free to use, it has a paid version starting at $4.17 per month (billed annually).
| Key features | Pros | Cons |
| Prepares personalized meal plans including keto and Mediterranean diets | The free version has no disruptive ads | Some users say some recipes can be improved |
| Macro counting | Intuitive and visually appealing user interface | Meal plans have limited personalization |
| Body composition tracking | A wide selection of diets to select from | |
| Features weekly health tests to help you maintain track |
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MyFitnessPal
Listed among the best free weight loss diet apps for iPhone and Android, MyFitnessPal tracks your food by calculating your daily calorie intake and telling you what’s left. It also offers food insights, a barcode scanner, a restaurant logger, a food database, a calorie counter, a recipe importer, etc.
The food insights allow you to know what works and what doesn’t work for your body so that you can personalize your preferences. Besides losing weight, you can stay accountable or alter your eating habits with MyFitnessPal.
It has a free and premium version. With its premium membership starting at $9.99 per month or $49.99 per year, you can access additional features like customization options, training routines, food analyses, etc.
| Key features | Pros | Cons |
| Large database with 18 million+ foods from across the globe | Barcode scanner makes it easy to track nutrient | Detailed nutrient analysis only available as a premium feature. |
| Personalized daily plan | Free version has several fantastic features | Some users report that they experience difficulty, glitches, and confusion when using the interface |
| Free calorie tracker | Vast database simplifies food logging | |
| Restaurant logger |
DoFasting
DoFasting makes you practice intermittent fasting—eating at specific times and refusing food at others. However, you’ll have to take a comprehensive test first. Upon completion of this test, DoFasting will generate a personalized plan for you.
Furthermore, the app features a massive recipe library with 5,000+ recipes, materials about intermittent fasting, and real-time updates. It stands out for how it encourages beginners to begin with 12-hour fasts before progressing into longer hours.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are also recommended based on your calorie requirements and dietary preferences. Since it’s a premium weight loss app, you’ll be offered a three-month membership at $79.20. You can also purchase a one-month plan at $36.99.
| Key features | Pros | Cons |
| Calorie tracker | Great for beginners | Irregular pricing structure |
| Fasting timer | Educational resources | No coaching |
| Workout routine | Customized workout recommendations | According to some customers, it can be difficult to cancel your subscription |
| 5,000+ recipes | Sets macronutrient and calorie goals to help you reach your target |
Simple
Simple is undoubtedly one of the free weight loss diet apps that’s compatible with Android and iPhone devices. Unlike other weight loss apps, it isn’t based on restrictive eating; instead, it focuses more on giving you various nutritional choices.
Like DoFasting, Simple is a meal-tracking and intermittent fasting app that promotes healthier habits, and weight loss, and aids your relationship with food. But simple offers a more intriguing feature called Avo—an AI personal assistant trained by licensed dietitians and healthcare practitioners.
Simple users can upload a photo or use their voice to log their meals, access Avo, and weight loss tips, receive prompt feedback on their food choices, and get their wellness questions answered instantly.
| Key features | Pros | Cons |
| Coaching | Doesn’t require calorie counting | Primarily made for intermittent fasting |
| Exercise log | Fasting tracker is shown on your phone’s lock screen | No customized coaching |
| Nutrition education | Has a large library containing educational content | Portion sizes are not considered for nutrition scores |
| Food log | Compared to other weight loss apps, its free version has more features |
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PlateJoy
If you’re looking for an app that helps you save time on meal planning and grocery shopping, PlateJoy fits it perfectly. PlateJoy, which doubles as a grocery delivery app (through Amazon and Instacart), makes personalized recipes & meal plans, and shopping lists, and caters to your dietary preferences.
Users can pick their portion sizes, specific ingredients they’d like to have, and the ones they’d like to avoid based on their dietary preferences and allergies. Then meal plans will be created for them.
While the app can be downloaded for free, it has subscription plans priced at $12.99 per month, $69.99 for six months, and $99.99 annually.
| Key features | Pros | Cons |
| Over 1,000 easy recipes | Saves your time on shopping and meal prep | Must be a subscribed member to use the app |
| Personalized exercise plan | Has different diet plans and customization options | Doesn’t add cost of ingredients |
| Shopping list | Plans a nutritious meal according to your preferences and needs | |
| Tailor recipe to avoid allergies or dislikes |
FAQs
The most effective/best weight loss apps are Noom, Wellos, WeightWatchers, Lose It, and Zero.
The best apps for diet plans are Noom Weight, Cronometer, Yazio, MyFitnessPal, Mealime, PlateJoy, and Paprika.
The Omo weight loss app’s subscription costs $40 per year.
Omo is an all-in-one app that helps you count calories, eat healthily, stay hydrated, and lose weight. It is free to download and easy to use. However, using the app requires a paid subscription.
The following are low-calorie Nigerian foods you can eat to lose weight: unripe plantains, moi-moi & beans, eggs, fruits & vegetables, fish & seafood, Jute leaves soup (ewedu), herbs & spices.
In Nigeria, moi-moi is prepared by boiling beans as a puddle and garnishing it with eggs, fish, spices, and vegetables. Thus, moi-moi contains weight-loss-friendly fiber and proteins.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the best weight loss diet apps for your Android or iPhone device will be determined by your nutritional goals, dietary preferences, allergies, and desired app features. These apps can make tracking and reaching your wellness & health goals easy-peasy.
You can download and use most of them on your iPhone, Android, or desktop devices. Additionally, some apps require a premium membership, some include optional in-app purchases, and others are completely free to use.