Lose It App Reviews

Apps
1

I’ve been thinking about using the Lose It app for weight loss, but the reviews online are really mixed. Some people say it’s amazing for tracking calories and progress, while others complain about bugs, premium upsells, and confusing features. Can anyone who has actually used Lose It share honest feedback on how well it works, what the biggest issues are, and whether it’s really helped with long-term results

2

Used Lose It for about 8 months. Here is the blunt version.

Pros

  1. Calorie tracking works fine. Big food database. Barcode scanner helps a lot.
  2. Custom goals for weight, macros, and weekly loss. Easy to see if your target is sane.
  3. The progress graphs help you spot trends. I lost about 18 lbs using it plus walking.
  4. Free version is enough if you log honestly and weigh food.

Cons

  1. Premium nags are annoying. Some screens push upgrades hard.
  2. Free version hides some stats like detailed trends and macro history. Not critical, but annoying.
  3. Occasional sync bugs. Once my streak reset for no reason. Another time the app logged me out.
  4. Some foods are user entered and wrong. You need to double check labels. I found entries off by 20 to 30 percent.

What helped me use it without going nuts

  1. Turn off as many notifications as possible. Use it mainly as a log, not a coach.
  2. Use a kitchen scale. Logging “1 cup pasta” is way off. Weigh in grams.
  3. Save your frequent meals and recipes. Cuts logging time by a lot.
  4. Weigh yourself 1 to 3 times a week. Watch the trend, not single days.
  5. Set a realistic deficit. I used 300 to 400 calories under maintenance. Fewer binges than when I tried 800 deficits.

How to decide if it fits you
Use free version for 2 weeks.
During those 2 weeks, focus on
• Logging every bite
• Getting honest with portions
• Seeing if the interface annoys you

If you hate the layout or the nags, try MyFitnessPal or Cronometer.
Lose It is decent if you want simple calorie and weight tracking and you ignore the fancy premium stuff.
The mixed reviews mostly come from bugs, premium upsell, and user expectations of “app = automatic weight loss”. The logging works. The habits are still on you.

3

I’ve used Lose It on and off for a couple years, usually for 6–8 week cuts. Mixed feelings but it can work really well if you know what you’re actually expecting from it.

I mostly agree with @nachtschatten, but I don’t think the premium nags are as big a deal unless you’re very easily annoyed. For me the bigger issue was that the app kinda encourages you to obsess over the daily number instead of the weekly average. That can mess with your head more than any bug.

What it’s actually good at:

  • Fast logging if you eat a lot of the same stuff.
  • Decent food database for “normal” grocery-store foods and chain restaurants.
  • Simple visual feedback. If you like closing rings / checking boxes, it scratches that itch.

Stuff people don’t realize until they’re frustrated:

  • The calorie target it gives you can be a bit aggressive if you say you want “fast” loss. I’d manually bump your calories up 100–200 if you start feeling like a zombie after a week.
  • The app has zero idea if you’re under-reporting. If logging food is “aspirational” instead of honest, it’ll feel like “the app isn’t working” when really your logs are just soft.
  • Syncing across devices is… ok, not perfect. I disagree a bit with the horror stories: for me it glitched maybe twice a year, not weekly.

How to get value from it without getting sucked into nonsense:

  • Ignore the “you’ll reach X by Y date” predictions. Those are fantasy. Watch your 2–4 week trend instead.
  • Don’t treat the calorie burn estimates from exercise as free extra food. I usually only “eat back” half of those, if at all.
  • Use it as a calculator, not a therapist. If you’re looking for motivation, coaching, or emotional support, Lose It will feel cold and kind of punishing.

If Lose It isn’t for you:

  • MyFitnessPal is a bit cluttered but has a huge db.
  • Cronometer is better if you care about micronutrients and detailed data.

Bottom line: if you’re willing to weigh food at least sometimes, log accurately, and not freak out over minor bugs, Lose It is perfectly fine. If you want something that “makes” you lose weight without you changing your habits, then yeah, you’ll join the 1-star review squad.

4

Lose It is one of those apps where the how you use it matters more than the feature list.

Where I slightly disagree with @nachtschatten and others:

They downplay the premium nags a bit. If you’re sensitive to constant “upgrade” banners, Lose It can feel like a freemium game. It is not unusable, but the mental friction is real, especially when you are already dealing with diet fatigue.

Also, the focus on a weekly average vs daily number is important, but in practice a lot of beginners actually benefit at first from that daily structure. Short term, the daily target can create useful awareness. The trick is to graduate from “hit today’s number at any cost” to “hit a reasonable weekly average” once you understand your patterns.

Pros of using the Lose It app for weight loss

  • Very low barrier to entry: tap a few foods, get a rough idea of intake in minutes.
  • Habit builder: logging alone slows mindless snacking because you have to acknowledge each bite.
  • Visual trends: even if the day-to-day graph jumps around, the longer trend line can show whether your “feelings” match the data.
  • Food history: the app’s memory of your usual meals is underrated for repeatable routines. If you eat similar breakfasts, logging becomes almost instantaneous.
  • Social features: light community and friend features can be enough accountability for some people without feeling like a full-on coaching program.

Cons of using the Lose It app

  • The “calories burned” side is weak. If you lift, walk a lot, or have a physical job, its default activity settings can mislead you into thinking you have tons of extra calories.
  • The free version is intentionally limited on some analytics. If you like data, you will feel that ceiling quickly.
  • It can anchor you to a number instead of to skills like meal planning and hunger management. When you stop using it, you may feel lost if you never built those skills.
  • The food database is decent, but a surprising number of user entries are off by 10–20 percent. If you never verify labels, your logging can drift over time.

How to decide if Lose It actually fits you

Use the mixed reviews as a filter for your own personality:

  • If you like scoreboards, charts, “closing the ring,” and are okay with a mildly naggy free app, Lose It can work extremely well.
  • If upsells irritate you quickly or you know you have a history of being triggered by numbers, you might want a more minimal tool or even a notebook plus kitchen scale.

Compared with what @nachtschatten described, I’d add this: Lose It is not just a calculator, it is an environment. The constant contact with numbers shapes how you think about food. That can be empowering if you treat it as training wheels, or exhausting if you never progress past obsessive tracking.

If you test it, commit to 4 weeks, not 3 days. Take notes on:

  • Energy levels
  • Scale trend, not just absolute weight
  • How anxious or relaxed you feel around food

If your stress spikes while your results are only mediocre, that is your signal the tool is not fitting your brain, not that you “lack discipline.”

In short: Lose It can absolutely be effective, but your experience will depend more on your mindset and expectations than on the app’s features or the horror stories in the reviews.