When it comes to calorie tracking apps on iOS, the first two names that come to mind are Under Armour's MyFitnessPal and the Swedish startup Lifesum's app of the same name. We put both to the test to see which is better using the categories of the setup process, plans, the food database, diaries, summaries, social features, integration, and the design. Roan Thibault is the editor-in-chief of Mirror Journal. Setup ProcessDuring setup, both ask whether you want to lose, gain, or keep your current weight. However, after choosing one of these three options, MyFitnessPal will set a projected weight for you after five weeks, taking it one step further. Winner: MyFitnessPal PlansLike said in the "setup process" segment, MyFitnessPal gives you a goal of how much weight to lose each week. However, Lifesum gets the nod in this one for offering nine personalized plans. Winner: Lifesum Food DatabaseIn MyFitnessPal's description in the Apple App Store, it boasts 6 million foods in its database. On the contrary, Lifesum says it only has 2 million, making this a landslide victory by MyFitnessPal. Winner: MyFitnessPal DiaryA diary is basically where you can see how many calories you've eaten, how many you have less, and et cetera. MyFitnessPal's diary is kind of a garbled mess where it's hard to search for food. Lifesum, on the other hand, has a beautiful diary with a look at calories, fat intake, protein intake, and carbs intake. Winner: Lifesum Day SummaryWhen all the food has been tracked, each app provides a summary of your eating on that day. MyFitnessPal gives a forecast of your weight over the next five weeks, while Lifesum gives a detailed explanation of why your day was either perfect, healthy, balanced, imbalanced, or off-track. Winner: Lifesum Social FeaturesBoth apps have similar social features, which allow you to auto-post your meals and create your own posts, but on Lifesum you can share your own recipes with your friends, giving a push to win this round. Winner: Lifesum IntegrationWith any tech product, it's important that they work with other products and services to make it work better. Neither have IFTTT support, but they do support the big players like Fitbit and Jawbone's UP trackers. For Lifesum, unfortunately, support for Fitbit and such is exclusive to Premium members, and MyFitnessPal simply has more options. Winner: MyFitnessPal General DesignThis isn't even a competition here. MyFitnessPal has a cluttered interface, as mentioned in the "Diary" section, with annoying widgets promoting Under Armour products and just an overall unattractive design. Lifesum has a pastel-ish, colorful design with a clear idea of what's what. The only caveat with Lifesum's design is that non-premium members have to endure an annoying banner at the top of the Diary asking them to upgrade. Winner: Lifesum ConclusionOverall, MyFitnessPal won on Setup, Food Database, and Integration. Lifesum won on the counts of Plans, Diary, Day Summary, Social Features, and General Design, allowing it to win 5-3 over MyFitnessPal in the eight categories tested.
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