Kate Freeman2 days ago

It's a fact — people who track their calorie intake and activity level are more likely to lose weight and keep it off.

There are myriad of health and fitness apps available — most are free and some cost a few dollars. At Mashable we've tested numerous diet and fitness apps. The best apps in this category are easy to use, intuitive, contain massive libraries of calorie information for both foods and exercises, and sync with other fitness apps to give you a comprehensive picture of your health. Many of these apps also feature the ability to share to your progress (or lack of) on social networks.

Some people have turned to Twitter and various other social networks to hold themselves accountable. Drew Magary, a columnist for Deadspin and Gawker, lost 60 pounds in five months in 2010 by following what he called the "Public Humiliation Diet" in which he posted his weight and eating habits on Twitter. And who wouldn't want to eat healthy when the punishment is admitting to hundreds of friends and strangers that you ate a sleeve of Oreos after some late night drinking?

Whether Twitterers have thousands or tens of followers, both can be motivated by using Twitter, says Kyle Lacy, principal of marketing research & education for ExactTarget. People with a small number of followers who are mostly friends can find support that way. People with larger followings might find support with a stranger.

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With so many digital tools at our disposal, apps and social media aren't the only way people are finding encouragement and support to lose weight.

Lacy tells Mashable text messaging might be the next mobile tool to keep people on-track with their diets. Imagine receiving a text every afternoon reminding you not to snack.

"The mobile phone is changing the way everyone communicates with each other," Lacy says. "We did see a rise on text messaging for personal communications move from 16-26% from 2008 to 2012. This stat suggests that individuals are more responsive to text messages for all forms of communication. An SMS program could text a reminder to an individual to exercise or update a community website to keep track of exercise or weight loss."

The international non-profit Feeding Your Kids Foundation experienced success with its SMS and email program that improved the eating habits of 9,000 families worldwide. Parents received daily, region-specific messages that contained nutrition information and educational resources. The program resulted in 83% of participants reporting they learned new ways to improve their children's health.

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App-level push messaging could also drive increased engagement and participation with encouraging messaging and tips for success, he says. "It’s a great way to send users reminders on healthy eating and exercise tips," Lacy adds.

Do you use any of these tools in your fight to stay fit, lose weight or eat healthy? Tell us in the comments.

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