If you're looking for the best habit tracking apps for weight loss, you've probably already figured out that losing weight isn't really about knowing what to do. It's about actually doing it, day after day, when motivation fades and life gets busy. The right habit tracker can be the difference between a plan that stays in your head and one that actually changes your body.
I've spent the last few months testing habit tracking apps specifically for weight loss. Not just general productivity tools, but apps that help you build the daily routines that lead to real, lasting results. Here are the seven that stood out.
What makes a good habit tracker for weight loss
Before jumping into the list, here's what I looked for. A good weight loss habit tracker needs to do more than let you check boxes. It should make the right behaviors feel automatic. That means simple daily tracking, some form of accountability, and ideally a way to course-correct when things go sideways.
The apps below range from free to around $60/month. Some are pure habit trackers that happen to work well for weight loss. Others are built specifically for it. I've noted which is which.
1. BodyBuddy -- best for accountability through texting
BodyBuddy takes a completely different approach to habit tracking. Instead of opening yet another app, your AI coach texts you directly through iMessage. Every morning you get a check-in. Every evening you get a recap. It feels less like using an app and more like having a friend who's genuinely invested in your progress.
What makes it work for weight loss specifically is the accountability piece. When a real text message lands on your phone asking how your eating went today, it's harder to ignore than a silent notification from an app you haven't opened in three days.
- AI coaching delivered through iMessage -- no separate app to open
- Daily check-ins and personalized habit nudges
- Adapts to your specific goals and eating patterns
- Affordable compared to human coaching (starts at $8.99/month)
The main limitation is it's iOS only right now, and you need to be comfortable with text-based coaching rather than visual dashboards. But if you've tried other apps and found yourself ignoring them after a week, BodyBuddy's approach is worth a serious look.
Cost: $8.99/month or $59.99/year
2. Streaks -- best minimal habit tracker for iPhone
Streaks is an Apple Design Award winner, and it earns that status with an interface that's almost aggressively simple. You pick up to 12 habits, and your only job is to not break the streak. That's it.
For weight loss, you might set up habits like 'drink 8 glasses of water,' 'eat vegetables at lunch,' and 'walk 20 minutes.' The streak mechanic creates a surprisingly strong pull. Nobody wants to see that chain of green circles break.
- Tracks up to 12 habits at once
- Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac integration
- Health app integration for automatic tracking
- One-time purchase, no subscription
The downside: zero coaching or guidance. Streaks doesn't care if your habits make sense for weight loss or not. It just tracks what you tell it to. Good for self-directed people who already have a plan.
Cost: $4.99 one-time purchase
3. Noom -- best for psychology-based habit change
Noom built its entire business around the idea that weight loss is a psychological challenge, not a nutritional one. The app teaches you about cognitive behavioral techniques while tracking your food, weight, and daily habits.
The daily lessons are genuinely interesting for the first few weeks. You'll learn about trigger foods, emotional eating patterns, and how to reframe setbacks. The color-coded food system (green, yellow, red) simplifies calorie tracking without making you count every gram.
- Daily 5-10 minute psychology lessons
- Food logging with color-coded system
- Group coaching and community support
- Structured 16-week program
The catch is the price. Noom runs $60/month if you pay monthly, and the auto-renewal has frustrated a lot of users. The coaching is also group-based, so you're not getting one-on-one attention. After the initial program ends, many people feel like they've gotten what they can from it.
Cost: $60/month or about $199/year
4. Habitica -- best for gamification lovers
Habitica turns your habits into a role-playing game. Complete your daily habits, earn gold, level up your character, buy armor. Skip your habits and your character takes damage. It sounds silly, but for people who respond to game mechanics, it's surprisingly effective.
You can create weight loss-specific habits (meal prep on Sundays, log food, hit step goal) and join parties with other players for group accountability. The social pressure of letting your party down in a boss battle because you skipped your habits is oddly motivating.
- Full RPG system with rewards and consequences
- Party system for group accountability
- Free tier is genuinely usable
- Works on iOS, Android, and web
The game layer won't appeal to everyone. If you find it childish rather than fun, it'll feel like a chore on top of your existing chores. Also, the weight loss features aren't built-in -- you're just building custom habits in a general-purpose tracker.
Cost: Free, or $5/month for premium features
5. MyFitnessPal -- best food database for habit-minded trackers
MyFitnessPal is primarily a food tracker, but its daily logging streak and goal-setting features make it function as a habit tracker too. The food database is massive -- over 14 million items -- which means almost anything you eat is already in there.
The habit angle comes from the daily logging itself. Opening the app and recording what you eat creates awareness, and awareness is the first step in any behavior change. The streak counter adds a small but real incentive to keep going.
- Largest food database available (14+ million foods)
- Barcode scanner for packaged foods
- Integrates with most fitness trackers and scales
- Macro and micronutrient breakdowns
The free version now has more limitations than it used to, and the premium subscription feels steep for what's essentially a food diary. There's also no coaching or accountability beyond the numbers. You're on your own to interpret the data and make changes.
Cost: Free with ads, or $19.99/month for premium
6. Way of Life -- best for visual trend tracking
Way of Life is a simple yes/no/skip habit tracker that shines in its visualization. Each habit gets a color-coded chain showing your consistency over time. You can see at a glance whether your healthy eating habit is trending up or down over the past month.
For weight loss, the trend view is more useful than a single day's data. One bad day doesn't matter much. But a visual showing that you've only hit your walking goal 3 out of the last 14 days? That tells you something actionable.
- Clean yes/no/skip tracking
- Color-coded trend charts
- Notes feature for context on each day
- Export data to CSV
It's limited to 3 habits on the free tier, which feels stingy. And like Streaks, there's no coaching or weight-loss-specific guidance. It's a pure tracking tool.
Cost: Free (3 habits), or $4.99/month for unlimited
7. Coach.me -- best for optional human coaching add-on
Coach.me (formerly Lift) combines a free habit tracker with an optional marketplace of real human coaches you can hire. The habit tracking side is basic but functional. The coaching marketplace is where it gets interesting -- you can find weight loss coaches starting around $25/week.
The community features add lightweight accountability. You can follow other people working on similar habits and give each other 'props' for completing daily tasks. It's not deep interaction, but it adds a social layer.
- Free habit tracking with community features
- Optional 1-on-1 coaching marketplace
- Available on iOS, Android, and web
- Props system for social accountability
The coaching quality varies wildly since anyone can list themselves as a coach. And the app itself hasn't seen major updates in a while -- it feels dated compared to newer options. The free tracking works fine, but it's bare-bones.
Cost: Free for tracking, coaching from $25/week
How to pick the right habit tracker for your weight loss goals
The honest answer is that the best app is the one you'll actually use. But here's a quick framework:
- If you need accountability and someone checking in on you: BodyBuddy is the clear pick. The text-based coaching removes the friction that kills most app habits.
- If you're self-disciplined and just want a clean tracker: Streaks or Way of Life will do the job without getting in your way.
- If you want to understand the psychology of your eating: Noom's program is solid, especially for the first round.
- If gamification motivates you: Habitica is free and surprisingly fun.
- If detailed food data matters most: MyFitnessPal has the best database, period.
Why most people quit habit tracking apps (and what to do about it)
Research from the University of Chicago found that habit tracking apps see an average 90% drop-off within the first two weeks. The pattern is always the same: you download the app excited, track religiously for a few days, miss one day, feel guilty, and then never open it again.
The apps that fight this best are the ones that come to you instead of waiting for you to come to them. That's why push notifications evolved into text-based coaching, and why tools like BodyBuddy skip the app entirely and meet you in your text messages. The less friction between you and the habit, the more likely it sticks.
Whatever you pick from this list, commit to a minimum of 30 days before judging whether it works. The first week is always easy. The third week is where the real test happens.
Frequently asked questions
Do habit tracking apps actually help with weight loss?
They can, but only if they address accountability -- not just tracking. A 2023 study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that apps with some form of human or AI coaching led to 2-3x more weight loss than passive tracking apps alone. The act of recording your habits creates awareness, but awareness without follow-through isn't enough.
What habits should I track for weight loss?
Start with three or four max. Good starting habits: daily water intake, eating a vegetable with every meal, walking for 20+ minutes, and getting 7+ hours of sleep. Don't try to overhaul everything at once. Add new habits only after the current ones feel automatic.
Free vs paid habit tracking apps -- is it worth paying?
Free trackers work fine if you just need check boxes. Paid apps earn their price when they add coaching, accountability, or personalization. If you've tried free apps and they haven't worked, the issue probably isn't features -- it's accountability. That's worth paying for.
The bottom line
Losing weight is a daily practice, not a one-time decision. The right habit tracker makes that daily practice a little easier to stick with. I'd recommend starting with BodyBuddy if accountability is your weak spot, Streaks if you're already disciplined, or Noom if you want structured education.
The worst choice is the one you make and never follow through on. Pick one app from this list, give it a real month, and see what happens.