Many people utilize the tantalizing weight-loss apps that promise progress easily at your fingertips and usually at no cost to the consumer. Apps can be educational and used as a helpful tool but with full disclosure of the following first. The problem is what we are consuming and being told to consume isn’t always the correct advice for the individual. It’s been said over and over again and yet here we still are… download after download…failed weight-loss attempt after failed weight-loss attempt but i’ll still say it again — there’s so much more to weight loss than calories and macros, fad-diets and “super-foods”, supplements and protein powders.
If that isn’t enough, here are a few more simple reasons why you shouldn’t solely rely on weight-loss apps.
Apps aren’t able to make the specific or evidence-based recommendations that a dietitian would or does. They also don’t take medical conditions into consideration that may contraindicate what would be recommended to the general healthy population (i.e. therapeutic diets for conditions such as CKD, DM, CAD, PCOS, GI dysfunction/disorder, and many more). These apps don’t consider nor do they offer solutions for conditions that hinder weight-loss such as insulin resistance, hormonal imbalances, thyroid dysfunction, etc. which could leave the individual feeling frustrated with their lack of progress and discouraged.
If you have a history of disordered eating or an active eating disorder these apps can trigger obsession and relapse. They can curate a negative relationship with food through labeling them as good and bad. They could trigger an eating disorder or disordered eating if not used with supervision in a high-risk individual.
Weight-loss apps often don’t have a dietitian on staff or involved in the creation process. Due to how easily recommendations are made they often are not truly individualized in the appropriate manner nor explained in depth. Lastly, they often lack in the imperative component of inspiring and guiding lifestyle behavior modification change and as far as the very few apps that do provide psychological intervention it’s again not individualized, personal, and they may not use the most effective forms of psychological intervention for nutrition and weight-loss nor do they encompass motivational interviewing techniques to aid in guiding people who may not be ready for change that a dietitian may.
Please feel free to contact me with questions or to set-up a consultation to see if working with a dietitian is right for you!
