I have been tracking my calories for the past couples of weeks just using a calculator and the notes app on my phone. Today, I decided to try out the YAZIO calorie tracking app and see if I preferred that. After trying it out, I found that there are several things that I really like about the app, but a few other features that make it nearly unusable.
Before I could even begin to track my food upon entering the app, I had to answer about 30 non-skippable questions in order to customize a plan for me. This took a bit of time and mainly of the questions seemed a bit pointless, especially when only using the basic version.
To clarify, I only used the free version of YAZIO and did not upgrade to premium (despite how often it begged me to do so). If it weren’t for all of the annoying pop-ups trying to convince me to pay for a premium subscription, I would have really enjoyed the free version. The free features included calorie tracking, macronutrient tracking, a customized weight-loss plan, and an intermittent fasting feature. This is more than enough for me and I did not find the premium features to be that enticing. The paid features mainly included access to healthy recipes and the ability to track micronutrients.
What I couldn’t stand about the app is the constant rabbit trails of pop-ups and ads that it takes you down every time you enter a new food. As someone who likes to just quickly enter in my calories into my notes app and then go eat, I found the time that this app took from me to be very frustrating.
Something I did appreciate about YAZIO was how easy it was for me to add food to the calorie counter. I was able to scan the barcode to add the exact rye bread that I had. For the avocado, I was able to search it up and then customize it to how many grams I had measured it to be. This took out the guess work of trying to figure out how many calories my food was going to be. I was also able to see my macronutrients throughout the day.
Something else that I appreciated about YAZIO was the intermittent fasting feature. If you are unsure of the term, intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that narrows your eating window. This is something that I was already trying to do without my cut, as it can help with weight loss. I liked seeing the counter and the notifications for when my intermittent fasting period was over.
It it weren’t for the constant pop-ups and ads, I would probably keep using YAZIO to track my calories throughout my diet. However, I was too slowed down by these annoyances. So, I will be going back to tracking calories on my notes app.
I might try out another calorie tracking app or two in the future and see if there’s something better out there. Let me know if there’s a free calorie counting app that you really like and I’ll check it out.
It sounds like a pretty solid app – other than the adds of course. However, someone who doesn’t mind slowing down or simply needs time to reflect on what they’re about to eat could benefit from having to wait for the ads!
I was actually looking for a calorie-tracking app, the ads are a little bit of a steering away for me, though. I wonder if MyFitnessPal is better.
I really enjoyed reading your post and definitely got a giggle out of you saying “To clarify, I only used the free version of YAZIO and did not upgrade to premium (despite how often it begged me to do so”. This is so relatable, anytime I use an app that has a “premium” version they harass me to upgrade.
I totally get your frustration with the pop-ups and ads—it can be such a barrier when you’re trying to build a quick and consistent habit. I admire your commitment to tracking everything manually in Notes too—that takes discipline!