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This is Kit Eaton
for the New York Times.

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Losing a little weight
is something

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we all try at one time
or another.

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For my body and
lifestyle, the app Breeze

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which is free for iPhones

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really does work.

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In an essence it's a step

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and activity counter

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based
on the oft-quoted idea

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that you should walk
around 10.000 steps

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in a day
to help keep your weight

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down and you in shape.

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Breeze basically monitors

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whether you
are walking enough

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and gently prompts you
with

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cheerful reminders
if you've done well

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or if you still need
to walk a little

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bit extra to achieve
your daily goal.

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It's simple,
highly motivational

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and I find its gentle
prompts

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really do keep me
on target.

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The app only works on an

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iPhone 5S

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and more recent ones.

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But if you're looking
for a slightly

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more full-featured
weight-loss app

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you should check out
Lose it!

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which is free
for IOS and Android

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Lose it! tries to be
a one-stop-shop

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for smart phone users

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who are trying to lose
weight

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effectively counting
as a calorie counter,

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a dietary advice database

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and a fitness
and activity tracker.

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To do this it requires
a little

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bit of input from you.

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Mainly in the form
of tagging how many

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calories you're eating
in a particular meal.

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The app tries to help
with this task

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via a vast database
of calories

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and particular meals

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and a bar code scanner

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for when you're
cooking your own food.

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But while core features
of the app are free,

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to get access
to all of them,

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such as an analytic
section

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to help you find out

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where all your calories
are coming from,

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you have to pay up
to $40 per year.

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So a great alternative
to this app,

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albeit one
that's slightly simpler,

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is myfitnesspal's
calorie counter.

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This app is completely
free for IOS and

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Android and has many
of the same features

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as the previous app,

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including the ability

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to connect

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to third party fitness
tracking devices,

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If it has a slightly
plain interface.

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But don't let
that put you off.

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And above all remember

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that to use
any of these apps

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you really get
the most out of them

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when you're committed
to losing weight

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and getting
a little bit fitter.