10 IPhone Apps to Help You Lose Weight ...

1. Couch to 5K

Price: $1.99
I am not, and never will be, a runner, so I do not use this app, but I know a couple of people who do and they swear that it is one of the best iPhone apps to help you lose weight. You turn on the app and put your headphones on when you leave your house for your run and let the training begin! This app not only keeps track of how far and how often you run, it tells you precisely how far you need to run every day. It talks to you as you run, telling you when to walk, when to jog and when to take a break. It also gives you vocal encouragement to help you keep going! If your goal is to get in better shape through running, this app comes highly recommended!

2. GymPact

Price: Free
If you need monetary motivation, and I assure you I certainly do, this app will give you all you need. It will also cost you if you don’t keep your promise to go to the gym, which may actually be even better motivation. Once you download the app, you go to your gym and check in so that the device knows your gym's GPS location. You then choose how many days you are going to workout and state how much you will pay when you fail to meet your own requirements. Along with the negative repercussions (losing money) when you fail to exercise, you also get a nice reward if you accomplish your goals all week. The money paid by the people who failed to go to the gym gets used to pay you when you stick to your word!

3. SparkPeople

Price: Free/$3.99 (look for promo codes)
I use this one all day, every day. I found this app as an alternative to Weight Watchers because I was tired of paying a monthly fee. This app and service is 100% free! You fill in your data such as height, weight and age as well as what your personal goal weight and goal date are and the app tells you how much you need to lose per week and calculates how many calories per day you should eat. You then track your food through their quite extensive food databank, or by scanning the barcode on your food packages; you also track your exercise throughout the day. The app keeps track of everything for you and gives you charts and graphs to keep you informed. SparkPeople also offers support from other users as well as challenges you can sign yourself up for and track daily, such as "Drink 8 glasses of water every day for 1 month." This app provides you recipes and meal plans that you can alter depending on your food preferences. It is amazing, I insist you try it out, you’ll love it!

4. Zombies, Run!

Price: $7.99
Personally, I get tired of boring exercises which is part of my motivation issue. I have no desire to do bland, uninteresting workouts. Zombies, Run! is perhaps the most compelling workout plan ever invented and I’m a total zombie movie freak so this is right up my alley! Plug in your headphones and start the app, you will hear hoards of moaning, groaning zombies running towards you seeking juicy brains! The only way to escape is to RUN! There are several levels which allow for walkers (like me!) or long-time runners. There are different modes which either force you to run faster and faster to avoid the un-dead mob, or go at your own pace, it is a totally personalized, fully-immersive exercising strategy that feels like a game. As you walk or run you will automatically "pick up" different objects and points. When you get home you can log on to the website and build up your home-base. Make sure to make it secure so the zombies don’t invade. You can even use this app while running on a treadmill. The price may seem steep for an app but it is money well spent if it will get you moving!

5. Yoga Studio

Price: $2.99
This is another one of the iPhone apps to help you lose weight that I use. I am a newbie to yoga and this app is perfect for me but it also has advanced modes for those of you who may be more experienced. You choose your difficulty level and what you are aiming for, be it weight loss, relaxation, flexibility or a variety of other goals. You can thumb through the different poses and choose the ones that look right for you (or they can suggest some if you don’t know what you’re doing). You use the settings to create a "class" for yourself. You then set a time that you would like to participate in this class as well as how many days per week you plan on attending, and it sets off a reminder on your phone so you don’t forget to stick to it. The visuals are very informative and really help you to understand the movement and positioning of each pose.

6. ShopWell

Price: Free
If food choice happens to be one of your issues, this app is the key to solving your dilemma. You search for (or barcode scan) the foods that you regularly eat and the app will tell you if this food is good for you, judging by data that you input in the beginning. It gives you a rating 1 (bad) to 100 (ideal). It doesn’t just give you a rating though, it tells you precisely why this food is good or bad for you. It gives you the nutrition breakdown, all of the ingredients and a suggestion of which similar foods would be a better choice for achieving your goals. I love this app! I make my shopping list then I sit for approximately 10 minutes and input each item and choose from the "better alternatives" to get the foods that are healthiest for me.

7. Lift

Price: Free
If you find that you often give up because you set a huge goal for yourself and it seems unattainable, please give this app a try. This program takes your long-term, high-reaching goal and breaks it into smaller, easier to achieve mini-goals. It encourages you to do these mini-projects frequently so that they become everyday habit. After you have completed several of these smaller tasks, the far-reaching goal doesn’t seem so difficult to grasp. This program is not only for weight loss, you can use it to re-train yourself to achieve several goals that will make you healthier and happier.

8. Jillian Michaels Slim-down Solutions

Price: Free
If you are looking for someone to tell you exactly what to do in order to lose the unwanted weight, this is the app for you. You are provided with recipes to set up meal plans to get your nutrition in order. This app also gives you specific work out instructions that are different from day to day to help work different areas of your body in order for you to achieve weight loss and muscle tone. You can talk to other members as well as get encouragement to keep up your good work.

9. Weight Loss by ModiFace

Price: Free with paid upgrade option
If you need visual encouragement, look no further than Weight Loss by ModiFace. You snap a picture of your face and input your current data, then you enter your desired weight and you are shown a side by side comparison of your picture now and what you will look like after you have dropped the weight. Nothing is more encouraging than seeing how great you will look once you reach your goal. You are then provided with your daily nutritional guidelines to achieve the new, slimmer you!

10. Nexercise

Price: Free
This is another one of the iPhone apps to help you lose weight that works based on a rewards system. All of your progress is logged in a social setting so you can get encouragement and advice from others in similar positions as yourself. You have daily goals that help you earn experience points (XP). You are offered rewards based upon your XP level. The rewards range from gift cards to be used at various retailers to sweepstakes entries for larger prizes. You use this app to track your exercise, heart rate, and food consumption and compete with friends and other members to see who can get the highest score. This app provides you with excellent social and reward based motivation to keep you striving for what you want.

All of these iPhone apps to help you lose weight will work with you no matter what level of experience you have. Many of them allow you to carry your own personal nutritionist and personal trainer in your pocket! What apps have you used to help you reach your weight loss goals?