WorkSmart Labs' new food tracking app aims to simplify eating healthy. The company has more than 7 million users on Android, but just launched its first iOS App, Calorific Lite [iTunes].

calorific
Unlike other tracking apps, like Lose It! (which I have been using for the past few weeks), Calorific Lite doesn't focus as much on the number of calories, as on the types of food you're eating. It classifies food into a Green/Yellow/Red system to encourage users to eat better, not just to eat less.

For example, vegetables and fruit are green, while french fries and ice cream are red. Lean beef is yellow, as are things like seafood, low-fat yogurt and avocados. Once you choose your color, assign a serving size (tiny, small, medium, large) and you're done. Adding a meal takes just a couple quick clicks.

Lose It! requires you to pick exact products and serving sizes to get a more detailed assessment of what you've eaten, down to individual calories. WorkSmart Labs co-founder Artem Petakov compared Calorific Lite to Twitter, as a quick-and-easy way to track eating. Lose It! is more like full-length blogging, requiring quite a bit more work, but is a totally different style of tracking food:

One funny thing about that "exactly how many calories you had" -- even if you track it really precisely, there is no real way to know how many calories you had. This is because people digest food differently, have different metabolisms from one day to another, and don't weigh their food exactly.

So it's a lot of work that's only giving you an illusion that you are doing things precisely. That's why we wanted to get away from this. The biggest benefit is from the act of logging itself. Even if you just keep a little journal of what you eat with no calories, you will benefit hugely according to research.

Now that I've gotten into the habit of using Lose It!, I don't necessarily need to use an app like Calorific Lite -- but for someone who isn't used to tracking calories its traffic-light system is super-easy to use.

Calorific Lite is a 'light' application -- it doesn't support accessories like the WiThings body scale or posting to Twitter to encourage weight loss through public humiliation -- but it's a strong start for WorkSmart's first iOS application. They have a more full-featured app, Noom, available on Android, but Petakov said they were starting slow on iOS and are working to bring more functionality to the platform.

Get it free from the App Store.

Top Rated Comments

DirtySocks85 Avatar
161 months ago
Meh, I lost 50 lbs w/ Lose It! and RunKeeper in 5 months. I didn't think the logging was that "hard" for the health benefits. I'm not sure I'd estimate well w/ this system. I'll be interested to see how this works for people. My opinion is that if you don't care enough to put in the time and effort, then you don't really care about your health that much.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
holmesf Avatar
161 months ago
It should be kilocalories not calories!

In the US at least we refer to them as calories even though they are in fact kilocalories. So yeah, for much of the world it should be labeled kilocalories but at least for US audiences calling them calories is acceptable.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mitchelino Avatar
161 months ago
The screenshot shows Beef as red or "bad". Since when is protein bad for you?
Counting calories misses the point completely and makes dieting so difficult. Cut out the white stuff and sugars and you won't need an app to help you micromanage your hunger. I lost thirty pounds doing that eating proteins like beef, fish and chicken, lots of beans and lots of vegetables. Simple. No tracking required.
Protein is great, and beef is a great source of protein (as well as vitamin b12 and iron), but there are other things in it, like fat, that are bad. Whereas lean beef is better, therefore yellow in the app. Other sources of protein, such as tofu or beans, should show as green or yellow, as they have the benefits of beef without the high fat and that stuff.

I'm not saying eating beef is bad for you. If you balance your diet, beef can be good. Just explaining why the app sets it as red.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brian82788 Avatar
161 months ago
I wonder how long it will take for someone to accuse Macrumors of taking a sponsorship for this article.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iPhysicist Avatar
161 months ago
It should be kilocalories not calories!
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WorkSmartLabs Avatar
161 months ago
Hey all,

WorkSmart Labs here. We're really excited about the release of Calorific Lite, and we're pumped to be cross platform!

Just to answer a few of the comments, you guys are totally right that protein is not bad for you. We want people to eat protein! We do think, though, that really fatty beef isn't the healthiest way to do so. That's what lead to us categorizing fatty beef as Red and lean beef as Yellow.

Also, our "recommended food ratio" includes 15% red foods, 35% yellow foods and 50% green foods. We're not saying "never eat red", we're just trying to encourage people to put down the doughnuts and very calorie dense foods, and pick up something that keeps them feeling full for longer.

A lot of our users on Android have found they really like the method. We know it's a bit different, and that some folks don't need apps to help them lose weight. That's OK! The Android users we have really like the philosophy, and we're excited to share that with the iOS market.
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
anker new xmas 1

Anker's Cyber Week Sale Enters Final Days With Up to 60% Off Sitewide

Friday December 1, 2023 12:05 pm PST by
Anker's Black Friday/Cyber Week event is entering its final days this weekend, and it's still offering up to 60 percent off sitewide. There are also a few "mystery boxes" that can include hundreds of dollars in savings, if you're willing to risk not knowing what you're buying ahead of time. All of these sales will end on December 3. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Anker. When you...
iOS 17

28 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in December's iOS 17.2 Update

Friday December 1, 2023 2:57 am PST by
Apple made the first beta of iOS 17.2 available to developers in October. Since then we've seen three more betas, and with each iteration Apple continues to add more new features and changes, many of which users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we've listed 28 new things that are coming to your iPhone when the finalized version is publicly released this December. 1. Help...
top stories 2dec2023

Top Stories: iOS 17.1.2 Released, NameDrop Misinformation, and More

Saturday December 2, 2023 6:00 am PST by
Apple employees are back to work following a Thanksgiving break, and that means this week saw a number of new operating system updates for both public release and beta testing. This week also saw some misinformation about Apple's new NameDrop feature making the rounds, while Apple and Goldman Sachs appear to be on the verge of a break-up in their Apple Card and savings account partnership,...
General Apps Messages

Green Bubbles on iPhone to Gain These 7 New Features Next Year

Thursday November 30, 2023 9:00 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple announced that it will finally support RCS in the Messages app on the iPhone starting later next year. This change will result in several improvements to the messaging experience between iPhones and Android devices. RCS will become the new default standard for messaging between iPhones and Android devices, but these conversations will still have green bubbles like...
m2 macbook air green

Get Apple's M2 MacBook Air and M3 MacBook Pro for Record Low Prices

Friday December 1, 2023 6:59 am PST by
Best Buy is discounting a collection of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models to all-time low prices today. We're tracking these deals below in addition to great discounts on the Apple Pencil 2 and Apple Watch Ultra 1. MacBook Air Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the...
iPhone 16 Mock Header Updated 1

iPhone 16 to Include Action Button Across Entire Lineup

Thursday November 30, 2023 4:08 pm PST by
The release of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max saw the introduction of an entirely new user-configurable button known as the Action button, and now, MacRumors has seen extensive evidence confirming Apple is planning to include the Action button on the entire iPhone 16 range. Designs and plans for the Action button date back to at least 2021, as the button was intended for release alongside hapt...