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Free health and diet apps that will save you money
By James Yeo
Here is a hard truth: Too many of us are getting out of shape due to unhealthy habits like binge drinking and eating excessive fast food.
In fact, according to recent media reports, obesity is estimated to have cost Singapore at least $614 million in 2016, in terms of healthcare and lost productivity.
Expensive gym memberships doesn’t seem to alleviate the problem too. The last we checked, gym memberships these days can cost a bomb, ranging from $70 per month onwards (if we exclude the cramped ActiveSg neighbourhood gyms).
On our end, we feel that there is a better, more affordable way around this – watching our diets and keeping tracking of our physical activity through the use of apps. With that, here are four free apps that are specifically designed to help you on your fitness journey.
1) Healthy 365
An initiative by the Health Promotion Board in Singapore, the Healthy 365 app is a great companion to your health and weight loss journey.
Free to download, it helps you to track your calorie intake for the day as well as your physical activity. It also gives you in-depth information about how you are going for the day in terms of calorie deficits and weight loss goals – a handy thing to save you from counting calories.
It even has local foods in the database with their calorie content. And the best thing about this app? It has inbuilt challenges to keep you motivated and on track towards your goals, and list health and exercise events in your local area.
To grab this very helpful app, click here.
2) MyFitnessPal
Another free fitness app that comes with outstanding reviews is the MyFitnessPal app. It even took Lifehacker.com’s Best Food and Tracking App award.
While it is not designed to help keep track of your physical activity, those looking to curb their poor eating will appreciate this app greatly.
It has a searchable database containing millions of food products so that you can enter your meals and not have to count the calories yourself. On top of that, you can even add your own foods and recipes at any time and access them from anywhere with an Internet connection.
Last but not least, it provides a personalised diet profile, customised to your unique weight loss goals.
3) LoseIt
If you are someone who likes to set specific goals, measure them and achieve them, this app is for you!
LoseIt tracks your food and exercise daily, allows you to set a caloric budget (and stick to it) and it also encourages you to set a weight loss plan that is best for you. Not a one-size-fits-all model, but the opportunity for you to devise and create a plan that is going to suit your lifestyle and set you up for success.
The calorie intake option for the LoseIt app allows you to search for the food, scan the barcode of the product or even take a picture of it to get the best match! Best of all, it comes with a community of like-minded people who are all in the same position as you – or have been.
This one is also free, but you have the option of unlocking an amazing array of extra features for a small monthly fee.
4) FitBit
We’ve all seen the FitBit Trackers to count steps taken during the day, but did you know that FitBit also has a free app available for your smartphone?
Working in a similar fashion to the tracker, FitBit tracks your steps and movements using your phone, calculates your distance covered and calories burned – all based on of the data you put in.
The FitBit app allows you to stay inspired on your fitness journey by sharing stats and challenging friends and family. What better way to keep you motivated than a little friendly competition – backed by science!
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