Kayla Slater, Columnist
Do you find it difficult to keep track of your dietary intake or your fitness goals? Now it is easier than ever. All you have to do is download an app to your smartphone! With the increasing use of technology, more apps have been developed to help people keep track of calories to maintain, lose weight and eat healthier. But with the increasing number of apps, people may not know which one to choose. Here are the five top-rated nutrition/fitness apps reviewed by Registered Dietitians:
eaTipster:
Registered Dietitians rated this app with five stars. Dietitians of Canada developed it to deliver daily healthy eating tips. The pros of this app include simple to navigate tips from current research that are practical, easy to understand and cover a wide variety of nutrition topics. You can also save or send tips to friends. The cons include no way to view previous tips unless saved, and that the tips are not searchable. This app is rated highly because of its credibility and ability to deliver healthy eating tips immediately.
Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker by MyFitness Pal:
Registered Dietitians rated this app with four-and-a-half stars. MyFitness Pal LLc was developed to lose weight and keep track of fitness goals. The app allows you to set a goal, add the food you eat and exercise to keep track of your input and output. Then you can see your progress as you work towards your goals. Pros include tutorial videos, an analysis of nutrients and a database that includes more than 350 exercises. It also gives summary and reports/charts of progress and food database. The only cons of this app are that it has an average database for food and exercises and that it’s not as visually appealing as the other apps. Dietitians like this app because you can see what nutrients you are lacking. This is my favorite app because it is easy to use and I can track both the input and output of my calories.
Calorie Counter:
Registered Dietitians rated this app with four stars. About Inc. developed this app to track food, exercise, weight and the nutrients required based on a nutrition facts label. The pros of this app include a detailed analysis section, large database of foods that are easy to track and a group support. The cons of this app are that it takes too long to navigate and often crashes. This is a great app to track carbohydrates, fat and protein throughout the day.
Calorie Tracker by Livestrong.com:
This app developed by Livestrong.com received a four star rating. The app tracks calories to help you lose, maintain or gain weight. The pros of this app include a large database and related free apps. It also shows a calorie countdown and keeps a log of your caloric and nutrient intake. The cons include a lack of certain vitamins, lack of goal-oriented information and it sends e-mails of attendance. Registered Dietitians like this app for the access to its large food database for people who want to track their food and fitness.
Sparkpeople Food and Fitness Tracker:
Dietitians rated this app with four stars. Sparkpeople Inc. developed this app for people wanting to lose two pounds per week or to maintain weight. This app allows you to keep track of daily consumption and includes sample meal plans. The pros of this app are its ease and large database and that it counts backwards with goals, keep tracks of workouts, calories burned and it can monitor progress. The only con of this app is that it does not allow you to track sodium, saturated fat or fiber.
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