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Healthi (the app formerly known as iTrackBites) is gaining attention for its striking similarities to Weight Watchers—a tried-and-true weight loss plan that has been around for decades. Naturally, we had to try it ourselves to see if it really can help you “Lose weight the Healthi way!”
GGR Editor Frieda Johnson, NASM-CNC, ISSA-SET, tested the app over several weeks, rating it on several factors, including:
- Overall app experience
- Food tracking
- Progress tracking
- Coaching
- Community
- Pricing
We also compared the features to our favorite weight loss apps to determine if Healthi is worth it or if you should skip it. Read on for our full assessment.
We’ve Tested Many Weight Loss Apps
At GGR, we live and breathe healthy living. We’ve tested over a dozen weight loss apps and used our collective education and expert experience to rate and compare these apps objectively. Our team of GGR testers includes certified personal trainers, nutrition coaches, professional athletes, and CrossFit coaches. When uncertain about a claim or the scientific validity of weight loss advice, we also consult with registered dietitians and other qualified nutrition professionals.
Additionally, this review was written by a certified functional nutritionist and reviewed by a certified nutrition coach.
Editor’s Note and Medical Disclaimer: This article is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Weight loss programs are not recommended for people with a history of disordered eating. For health advice, contact a licensed healthcare provider. If you need help with disordered eating, contact NEDA.
Healthi App
Healthi App
Product Highlights
- Weight loss app that uses point system “bites” to track calories intake
- Community section to connect with others
- Pro version features: Premium plans, macros tracking, community posting, meal plans, Fitbit step tracking, recipe builder, and voice tracking
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 6 different weight loss plans to pick from
- Free and paid versions available
- Connects and syncs with fitness devices
- More affordable than competitors
Cons
- Customers found the app glitchy
- No monthly subscription option
Bottom Line
Healthi is a lower cost weight loss app with 6 different diet plans. It uses ‘bites', a point based system to track food intake. Customers liked that it's a more affordable app for tracking calories and macros. However, they were also frustrated with the buggy updates the app provided.
A Quick Look at Healthi App
As mentioned, Healthi is very similar to Weight Watchers. In fact, if we didn’t know any better, we’d say Healthi took a lot of inspiration from the WW app.
Healthi is largely a food-tracking app that focuses on weight loss goals. Different foods are assigned a value, called Bites, and you’re given a daily and weekly Bite allotment. This helps you track your calories in a way that’s not actually tracking calories, which can seem easier for beginners. If weight loss is indeed your goal, tracking adherence can make or break your results1, so getting over that initial intimidation is important.
RELATED: Best Calorie-Counter Apps
You can design your own meal plan within your Bite allotment, or choose from six Healthi plans (with the Healthi Pro version) already put together for you:
- Carb Conscious: A low-carb program designed for those who often crave carbs like pasta and bread.
- Conquer Cravings: A nutrient-dense meal plan designed for those who crave snacks often and feel unsatisfied after a meal.
- Sugar Smart: A low-carb plan designed for those who eat sweets and fast food a lot, and/or rely on processed foods.
- Better Balance: Designed for those who often eat processed foods and are looking to eat more whole foods.
- Calorie Command: Designed for those who already eat healthy but want to get stricter with their calorie counting. It requires standard calorie counting, so you’ll track calories instead of “Bites.”
- Keeping Keto: A low-carb plan with plentiful protein and healthy fats. This plan is tracked with net carbs instead of “Bites.”
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There are two versions of the app: free and paid. In addition to food tracking, you can also track workouts, weight, and water consumption using the free version. A paid subscription gives you access to additional features (more on that later).
Before You Subscribe
- You can do basic food tracking with the free version, but will have to upgrade to the paid version for advanced tracking (macros and calories).
- There’s no monthly subscription option—you have to sign up for a full year if you want to get the Pro version.
- This app doesn’t sync with Apple Watch (yet), and users say Fitbit syncing is glitchy. If you want an app with seamless syncing, this probably isn’t it.
Is the Healthi App Worth It?
Whether or not the Healthi app is worth it depends on your goals and where you currently are on your wellness or weight loss journey.
If you’re new to food tracking, the Healthi app can be a great introduction to the concept. There’s a free version that you can use without a financial commitment. If you do like it, we think $45 a year is reasonable for what you get.
If you’re more experienced with food tracking and looking for a more comprehensive app that tracks other health metrics, like steps, exercise, micronutrients, and more, you’ll probably want to skip Healthi.
Great for:
- People who are new to food tracking
- Those who don’t need one-on-one support
- Anyone looking for peer support and/or a weight loss community
Not recommended for:
- Those who want more advanced food tracking
- Anyone who wants to sync with smartwatches for health-metrics tracking
- People looking for one-on-one support from a registered dietitian or other health professional
Healthi App Specs
| Pricing | Free or $44.99 per year |
| Trial period | None |
| Subscription options | Yearly |
| Diet types supported | Low-carb, low-calorie, keto, low-sugar, whole foods |
| Access to professionals | Community coaches with no professional credentials |
| Custom meal plans | Free version has general meal plans, can build your own meal plan with the paid version, or choose from six pre-made meal plans |
| Available on | iOS and Android |
Getting Started With the Healthi App
Getting started with the app is easy. You create an account and give some basic information like your birth date, weight, height, current activity level, and goal weight. Then, you choose a preferred menu plan.
Once you’ve created your account, you’ll go through a quick in-app tutorial to show you how to track food and search the food database, and that’s it. There’s no lengthy quiz or questionnaire before you get started.
Experience With the Healthi App
GGR Editor Frieda Johnson, NASM-CNC, ISSA-SET, tested the Healthi app over the course of several weeks. Here are more details about the app and her experience:
The App Experience
For the overall app experience, Frieda gave Healthi a 4 out of 5.
She found the app pretty easy to use and didn’t have trouble entering her information or tracking her food intake. “I usually make the majority of my food from scratch, which made it more challenging to track, since I had to create recipes for most things I ate. It’s not difficult to create a recipe, though, and you can pull individual ingredients from the database easily,” Frieda adds.
Food Tracking
Healthi got a 3.5 out of 5 for food tracking since the app has a sizable database, and Frieda didn’t have trouble finding the foods she was looking for.
One thing to note, though, it’s much quicker to track your meals if you eat mostly branded or prepared foods. As Frieda explained above, it’s not too difficult to create a recipe—you can easily pull individual ingredients from the database—it’s just more time-consuming.
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Progress and Stat Tracking
Detailed progress tracking is lacking in the free version, so Frieda gave Healthi a 2 out of 5 here. You can track weight, activity, and how many Bites you’re averaging, but you can’t track macros or calories. While this is a good place for beginners, it’s not ideal for those with more experience monitoring their food intake.
That said, if you upgrade to the Paid version, you’ll get access to macro and calorie tracking.
RELATED: How Many Calories Should I Eat Per Day?
Resources/Coaching
Frieda was moderately impressed with the available resources in the app, calling out the ability to “track your activity and do daily ‘health checks’ to input water consumption, fruit and veggies, dairy, etc.” She also liked that there were daily recipes available to try out.
Healthi doesn’t offer one-on-one coaching, but more than a dozen “community coaches” moderate the forums and respond to questions. The coaches are not certified professionals—they’re all real Healthi users who have successfully completed the program.
If you have a question, you can ask in a group forum setting, but you won’t get personalized coaching or meal plans from these coaches, so Frieda gave it a 3 out of 5.
Community
The community on the Healthi app is very robust, so Frieda rates it a 5 out of 5.
“It seems like the community is very engaged, and the ability to join themed groups adds more support and motivation,” she says.
RELATED: Benefits of Fitness Communities
In addition to peer groups, you’ll also get access to blogs written by Healthi coaches and “Member Meetings,” which are put on by coaches about four times a week. Member meetings are live, online get-togethers where you can share your story or listen to others for inspiration.
One item of note is you can still browse the community with the free version, but you’ll have to be a paid subscriber to post in the forums.
Pricing and Subscription Options
We think the pricing for the app is fair as you can get a bare-bones free version or pay $44.95 per year to access all features. Frieda gave it a 4.5 out of 5 after testing.
We do wish there was a weekly option so you didn’t have to commit to the whole year upfront, but $44.95 is a great deal for what you get.
Trial Period
There’s no official trial period, but there’s a free version of the app that you can use for as long as you want. The free version has limited features, but it will give you access to the basic Bite tracking system and some of the general meal plans.
If you upgrade to the Paid version, you’ll also get:
- Access to Keeping Keto and Better Balance plans
- Specific meal plans
- Calorie and macro tracking
- Fitbit step tracking
- Online community posting
- Recipe builders
- Restaurant guides
- Snack and beer guides
- The ability to export data
Healthi App vs Weight Watchers
WeightWatchers
WeightWatchers
Product Highlights
- Designed specifically for weight loss
- Targeted quizzes to find the right plan for you
- Two membership options, starting at $23 per month
- Online-only or hybrid memberships available
- Works on a point budget system—no “off-limit” foods
- 24/7 support chat
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Point system allows you to tailor the plans to your preferences
- Online or hybrid options provide more flexibility
- Can choose a plan that works within your budget
- Includes an app for easier tracking
Cons
- Assigning Points to food is hard to translate to real-world eating when off the plan
- Tracking can be tedious
- Requires weekly weigh-ins, which can be problematic for some
Bottom Line
WeightWatchers is a flexible weight loss program that allows you to tailor your diet and lifestyle to your needs and preferences. There are two membership options: one for those who prefer in-person support, and one for those who are looking for an online program.
The Healthi App and WeightWatchers are very similar. They both rely on a tracking system that assigns a value to different types of food—Healthi calls them Bites, while WeightWatchers has you track points. With a subscription to Healthi, you can also track calories and macros if you want to get more specific.
One big difference is the Healthi app offers several targeted meal plans (with the paid version), while WeightWatchers is a little less structured. Because the WW points system gives you so much freedom, you can create your own meal plan with the foods you like (and don’t), but the structured meal plans may be a better entry point for beginners.
Another difference is the Healthi app has a functioning free version, while you have to subscribe to WeightWatchers for program access. Granted, the free version of Healthi is limited, but if you don’t care about in-depth tracking, you can follow the basic program without a paid subscription.
If you subscribe to Healthi, you only get one option: a yearly plan. WeightWatchers offers monthly, six-month, and yearly options. If you’re unsure if a weight loss app is for you, this may be a less costly way to check it out. WeightWatchers is a bigger investment overall though, with plans starting at $10 per month. The cheapest WeightWatchers plan will cost you $120 per year, while Healthi is around $45.
All in all, Healthi and the Weight Watchers app are a lot alike, with more similarities than differences.
If you want to know more about WeightWatchers, check out our in-depth WeightWatchers review.
| Healthi App | Weight Watchers | |
| Pricing | Free or $44.95 per year | Starts at $10 per month |
| Trial period | None | 30 days |
| Subscription options | Yearly | Monthly, 6-month, yearly |
| Diet types supported | Low-carb, low-calorie, keto, low-sugar, whole foods | All, you can pick your own foods with the Points system |
| Access to Professionals | Community coaches with no professional credentials | Community coaches with no professional credentials |
| Custom meal plans | Can build your own meal plan with the paid version, or choose from six pre-made meal plans | Can build your own meal plans, or choose from pre-made versions |
| Available on | iOS and Android | iOS, Android, desktop |
Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are sort of mixed. The Healthi app has an average rating of 4.8 stars on Apple from over 90,000 reviews. Android users are a little less impressed: The weight loss app has a 3.9-star rating from just under 9,200 reviews on the Google Play store. This averages out to about 4.35 out of 5 stars.
People who like the app say the Bites system makes it easy to stay on track and that the app interface is user-friendly. The biggest complaints are with the app’s inability to sync with Apple products (and glitchiness with Fitbit). People also agree with Frieda that manually entering recipes is tedious. Some also mention trouble with the barcode scanner.
We think this review sums up the general consensus nicely:
“I love this app, but I am giving it 3 stars because I NEED it to become possible to sync my Galaxy watch with it. I have to download separate apps for FitBit or try and put in my steps myself. I just want to sync my watch to it and quit having so many problems with these apps to try and make sure all my steps are counted since I work so hard on getting them!”
Final Verdict of Our Healthi App Review
The Healthi app can be a great companion for those just starting to monitor their food intake as part of a healthy lifestyle. It makes tracking food really straightforward, and there are many success stories from reviewers. However, if you already have some food-tracking experience and want to dig deeper into other health metrics (especially via a smartwatch), you may want to skip it in favor of a more advanced weight-loss app.
Full Rating
Healthi App Full
Healthi is a lower cost weight loss app with 6 different diet plans. It uses ‘bites', a point based system to track food intake. Customers liked that it's a more affordable app for tracking calories and macros. However, they were also frustrated with the buggy updates the app provided.
Product Currency: $
Product Price: 44.95
Product In-Stock: InStock
3.6
Healthi App: FAQs
Does the Healthi app work for weight loss?
The Healthi app can work for weight loss if followed consistently. Like WeightWatchers, Healthi helps you track calories more easily. If you choose nutrient-dense foods and stay in a calorie deficit—along with incorporating other healthy habits2 like more physical activity and a good sleep routine—you can lose weight (and maintain it) over time.
Is the Healthi app like Weight Watchers?
Yes, the Healthi app is very similar to WeightWatchers. Both programs use a point-based system that helps you track food. They also give you access to an online community where you can seek out peer support.
Does Apple Watch sync with the Healthi app?
Not at the moment, but Healthi says this capability is coming with the next update. At present, you can automatically track your weight through the iPhone Health app on your phone.
What are the prices for Healthi?
The app is free to download, and you’ll get access to basic features. But, if you want to upgrade to the Pro version (and unlock all the plans and tracking features), you’ll have to pay about $45 a year.
Does the Healthi app show macros?
You can track macros with the paid version of the Healthi app. You have to activate secondary metrics in your settings, and the interface will show calories or macros alongside the app’s signature Bites.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases.
References
- Ingels JS, Misra R, Stewart J, Lucke-Wold B, Shawley-Brzoska S. The Effect of Adherence to Dietary Tracking on Weight Loss: Using HLM to Model Weight Loss over Time. J Diabetes Res. 2017;2017:6951495. doi: 10.1155/2017/6951495. Epub 2017 Aug 9. PMID: 28852651; PMCID: PMC5568610.
- Kolasa, Kathryn & Collier, David & Cable, Kathy. (2010). Weight loss strategies that really work. The Journal of family practice. 59. 378-85.
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