I had really lost faith in losing weight until I found this app. I have lost 1 stone and 8 pounds since last April which sounds like a long time and it is but tracking the food I eat has been the only way to reflect daily on why I have eaten in order to change my eating habits. I am still technically obese but moving in the right direction. I feel like I’m in control and if I don’t reach my target I just start the 12 week programme again. I used to avoid thinking about what I’d really eaten over the day and never weigh myself! Now I do this weekly I can reassure myself that it’s easy to get back on track rather than telling myself it’s all gone wrong after a week of being less careful or over Christmas etc. the app has great advice that if you really reflect on and follow you will do it. I’m on my fourth programme now and I can now get into my some trousers I never thought would be possible again! People have told me I look great. Slow and steady is the best way to relearn how to eat healthily and to reflect on your relationship with food. I put a reminder on my phone every day at 7pm to update what I’ve eaten and it takes 5 minutes once you’ve got all your favourites recorded. Thanks NHS app!

The app is fine if a little on the basic side. I like that is doesn’t ask you to other think weight-loss as a lot of the more complicated apps do. My one issue is that the app has an over simplistic and slightly dangerous mindset of ‘weight loss = good, weight gain = bad’. For the first 3 weeks I was using the app I lost weight through healthy eating and exercise which the app responded well to. However, when I gained muscle, the app merely saw this as a bad thing when really it’s just an indicator that I’ve formed a healthy diet + exercise routine. The app gives you an option each day to input any exercise you’ve done and the time you did it for but it has no bearing on the overall experience whatsoever, as the data is not taken into account at all so the feature might as well not be there. If it took time spent on exercise during the week into account, I think the app would understand that I’m not gaining ‘unhealthy’ weight (fat) but ‘healthy’ weight (muscle), and creating a much healthier lifestyle for myself which is ultimately supposed to be the whole purpose of the app. I think this is especially important as this app is attached to the NHS. No doctor would view a patient gaining muscle as a result of physical exercise and good diet as a bad thing- in fact it would be the exact opposite- so it’s a big flaw in the app that it’s oversimplified design causes it to do exactly that.

This is my 2nd 12 week program. I lost 9 pounds and gained 1 in the week after finishing the 1st. It takes less than 10 seconds to work out what you’ve eaten and add in the calories, so for around 40 seconds of effort per day you can keep track of your intake. I naturally find myself eating smaller portions, eating whole fruit rather or have a smaller fruit juice, a smaller amount of chocolate (family bars are not more economical) or cheese - grated, not sliced, and not with every meal). I can bypass the treats that I’d previously justified quite effortlessly (it’s a bargain, I’ll space them out over the week (yeah right)). I wouldn’t touch a Danish pastry now. You can push the limits at the weekends but compensate during the week. It’s like having a bank account, the weekly data’s there, so you can adjust you intake and expenditure (activity) accordingly, responsibly, without having to think back to how you might have gained another pound. I’m happy with a low and consistent loss through making better choices. Start on the day of the week that you’re at your lightest if you can as that’s more motivating. Good luck!

This app has changed my life! I have been steadily putting weight on over the years (I’m 60) with occasional serious attempts to lose weight. My sons have always said that you have to limit your calories and I’ve tried My Fitness Pal but I don’t think I was really committed to it and it didn’t work for me. I had been feeling miserable and out of control with my eating/weight gain when I came across this app (I don’t remember where I found it) and because it was by the NHS (and free!) I thought I would give it a try. It has totally changed my attitude towards food and I am much more conscious of what and particularly how much I am eating. I think the key to it is to be quite strict with your tracking in the beginning at least so that you learn how many calories there are in different foods, such as margarine and bread. It’s simple to use and I like the articles and motivational aspect of it too. So far I have lost over 3kg and still going but I don’t feel that I’m on a diet, it’s more a way of life for me now. I would definitely recommend it. Good luck!