This is Kit Eaton for the New York Times.
Losing a little weight is something
we all try at one time or another.
For my body and lifestyle, the app Breeze
which is free for iPhones
really does work.
In an essence it's a step
and activity counter
based on the oft-quoted idea
that you should walk around 10.000 steps
in a day to help keep your weight
down and you in shape.
Breeze basically monitors
whether you are walking enough
and gently prompts you with
cheerful reminders if you've done well
or if you still need to walk a little
bit extra to achieve your daily goal.
It's simple, highly motivational
and I find its gentle prompts
really do keep me on target.
The app only works on an
iPhone 5S
and more recent ones.
But if you're looking for a slightly
more full-featured weight-loss app
you should check out Lose it!
which is free for IOS and Android
Lose it! tries to be a one-stop-shop
for smart phone users
who are trying to lose weight
effectively counting as a calorie counter,
a dietary advice database
and a fitness and activity tracker.
To do this it requires a little
bit of input from you.
Mainly in the form of tagging how many
calories you're eating in a particular meal.
The app tries to help with this task
via a vast database of calories
and particular meals
and a bar code scanner
for when you're cooking your own food.
But while core features of the app are free,
to get access to all of them,
such as an analytic section
to help you find out
where all your calories are coming from,
you have to pay up to $40 per year.
So a great alternative to this app,
albeit one that's slightly simpler,
is myfitnesspal's calorie counter.
This app is completely free for IOS and
Android and has many of the same features
as the previous app,
including the ability
to connect
to third party fitness tracking devices,
If it has a slightly plain interface.
But don't let that put you off.
And above all remember
that to use any of these apps
you really get the most out of them
when you're committed to losing weight
and getting a little bit fitter.