There are a lot of apps that help you run or work out at the gym, but we all know that being physically active isn’t the only way to stay fit. The way you eat is more important, and you need to be aware of what and how much you eat. So, it is important to keep track of food. Here are some of the best Calorie Counter Apps for iPhone.
Here are five apps that do five different things very well. So, you can choose the one that works best for you. But don’t worry, these apps all do a great job of keeping track of calories. Let’s start the list, and of course, the first thing on it is Apple Health, which comes with every iPhone.
Calorie Counter Apps for iPhone
1. APPLE HEALTH – DEFAULT APP TO LOG IN CALORIES
Apple Health has been a useful addition to the iPhone since it came out in 2014. It can help you keep track of a lot of things, from the number of steps you take to how much sleep you get. It’s a great way to keep track of what you eat and keep track of how many calories you’re eating.
There are two ways to use this feature. Since the app doesn’t have a built-in calorie tracker, you can either enter calories by hand or connect a calorie counting app.
The app seems to let you keep track of a good number of nutrients, but it doesn’t have much else going for it. When you look at the other apps on our list, you’ll know.
On Apple Health’s nutrition page, you can see a full list of the calories you’ve logged. You can also mark some nutrients as favourites, which will show up on the dashboard. When you write down calories, all you can write is the amount of each nutrient. You also get some fun facts about the nutrient for the nerds. Once you’re done, it will show up in a cute graph that shows how much of it you ate each day, month, or year.
Overall, this app works, but only if you already know what’s in your food. If you have an Apple Watch, it’s even better because you can add the calories you burn to the app and learn more about how you eat.
Pros
- Great user interface.
- Works well for minimalists – with just the basic features.
- No advertisements.
- Option to connect to other apps.
- A good companion to the Apple Watch
Cons
- No catalog of food, hence you must add values manually.
- Does not provide much inference on the logged-in nutrients.
- Not a fan of the long list of logged-in nutrients; a pie chart would’ve been better.
Price: Free
2. HEALTHIFYME – GREAT CATALOG OF FOOD
HealthifyMe stood out to us right away because it has the most food items in its database of all the calorie counter apps for iPhone. We could find even something as unusual as the Oreo cheesecake we had for dinner. Not only that, but it also gives you a lot of freedom when you are adding things to your meals.
You can add breakfast, lunch, snacks in the morning, dinner, and any other meals you might eat during the day. It also does a great job of breaking down micronutrients. You can also set up a meal plan, and the app will tell you what to add or take away. This is only available in the pro version, though.
The macronutrient breakdown is also a neat way to keep track of your main nutrients and see how your eating habits have changed over time.
We love this app just because you can add so many different kinds of food to it. But sometimes it can be hard to figure out what to eat because some foods have the same name but slightly different nutrition information. It makes sense when you think about it, but the app probably can’t be accurate to the milligramme level.
Pros
- Great catalog of food items
- Impressive micro and macro nutrients breakdown
- In-built diet planner.
- Non-intrusive advertisments.
- Added health features apart from food tracking.
Cons
- Slightly sluggish.
- Multiple listed food items under the same name.
- Constant ads about their pro plans.
- Can’t sync data to Apple health.
Price: Free; HealthifyMe Smart Plan: $15
Download HealthifyMe
3. MYFITNESSPAL – CONNECT YOUR NUTRITION DATA TO APPLE HEALTH
One of the most popular calorie counters right now is MyFitnessPal. It has a huge nutrition database with information on more than 11 million foods. You can also find recipes online or make your own food and dishes. It has a free version, but the paid version is the only way to get things like meal prep and recipes, macronutrient counters, and guided workouts.
The app keeps track of your weight and estimates how many calories you should eat each day. It also has a record of what you eat and how much you exercise. MyFitnessPal also keeps track of how far you’ve come towards your goals and has chat rooms where you can talk with other users. In the forums, you can find conversations, recipes, tips, and personal success stories. This makes you part of a larger community working towards a healthier life.
With the barcode scanner on MyFitnessPal, you can quickly enter the nutrition facts of some packaged foods. Your daily food intake is shown as a pie chart, with slices for carbs, proteins, and fats. You can also write down what happened or how you felt every day.
What we don’t like is that the free version of the app has ads for the paid plans. We know the app has a “pro” version, but constant reminders are annoying. This seems to be a common thing for these kinds of apps, but in the case of MyFitnessPal, it seems a bit much.
We love that the app can send your calorie information to Apple Health. See the next section if you want all of your information on the Apple Health app.
How to Connect MyFitnessPal to Apple Health?
Step 1: Launch the Apple Health app on iPhone and click on the profile icon.
Step 2: Select Apps.
Step 3: Select MyFitnessPal and tap on ‘Turn On All’ to connect your calorie data to Apple Health. That’s it.
Pros
- Good catalog of foods.
- Ability to connect to Apple Health.
- Good app to record other fitness data as well.
- Barcode scanner to instantly grab nutrition data from products.
Cons
- Too many intrusive ads.
- Sluggish user interface.
- The free version misses out on micronutrient analysis.
- Calorie recording and presentation are easier in other apps on this list.
Price : Free; Pro Version: $19.99 per month or $79.99 per year
Download MyFitnessPal
4. LIFESUM – GREAT FOR RECIPES AND MEAL PLANS
Lifesum isn’t just a way to count calories. Along with keeping track of your calories and macros, the app has a rating system for food and meals that tells you if a dish is healthy and if your meal is balanced or not. It gives a free breakdown of micronutrients and macronutrients, which it does very well.
But the design language is what we all seem to like most about the app. It seems much more understanding and doesn’t use words like “unhealthy” or “junk food” or other words that might make you feel bad about what you eat. And the same goes for the user interface. Take a look at it below; it seems to be well organised and easy to read and understand.
A Premium membership for a year starts at $4.17 per month. The pro version has more features, such as a more complete nutrient analysis, recipes, tips, and educational resources to help you learn how to choose healthier foods.
Another great thing is that there are many meal plans to choose from. This app has everything you need for a low-carb diet, a high-protein diet, or an intermittent fasting diet. You also get a great set of recipes for all your meals that are healthy. You can also stick to the diet plan better if you use these. You also get a barcode scanner so you can scan the food you buy. But it doesn’t have something like an online community.
Pros
- Brilliant user interface and great design language.
- A good number of diet plans.
- The recipes tab has a helpful menu to aid your diet plan.
- Easy to view a breakdown of nutrients.
Cons
- Misses out on connecting to Apple Health.
- Recipes are not free through the app, but you can visit the website to access them.
- The catalog does not seem as extensive as MyFitnessPal or HealthifyMe.
Price: Free, $4.17 per month for Premium.
Download Lifesum
5. LOSE IT! – COMPREHENSIVE MEAL PLANS
Have you ever been to a gym or a nutritionist who asked you a lot of questions about your health so they could get to know you better? The app Lose It does just that. It took us about ten minutes to set up the app, during which we answered questions about our eating habits and other health needs. This is why it’s our favourite iPhone app for counting calories.
Take a look at the picture below. A meal plan is made based on seven factors. Then, it tells you how many calories you need to eat to meet the requirements of your plan.
Besides that, we also like how the calories and nutrients are shown. Along with Lifesum, we recommend this because of how well it works and how easy it is to use. The way your meals are broken down is easy to see and understand. Even on the free version, there aren’t that many ads. The meal planner is free, which is different from other apps.
Also, the professional team behind Lose It! has made sure that all of the popular restaurants, grocery stores, and brand-name foods are in the app’s food database. This makes it pretty easy to keep track of calories. You can also chat with other people and take part in a number of challenges.
With the pro version, you get more features, like advanced tracking, rewards, and celebrations when you reach your goals, and you can plan your diet and workouts in more detail.
Pros
- Best app for meal plans.
- Impressive user interface and performance.
- Verified information in the food catalog.
- Active chat community and meal plans.
Cons
- Does not track micronutrients.
- Difficult to add custom meals.
- The number of questions asked might be a lot for users while setting up a meal plan – a few users in reviews complain of impractical meal plans.
Price: Free, Premium: $39.99 per year
Download Lose It! for iPhone
COUNT CALORIES ON IPHONE WITH EASE
These are some of the best iPhone apps for counting calories. But we always suggest talking to a professional about a healthy diet and using these apps to supplement healthy diet plans instead of using them on their own. Apps and services can only help you reach your goals. So, we hope you have the best time on your diet journey.