I’m so often writing about what’s wrong in health and healthcare on this blog that I’m delighted to share something positive: a success story!

Back in January, I’d set myself a New Year’s resolution of getting down to 140 lbs. by June so as to start intense marathon training in a better place physically. I tried unofficially going on Weight Watchers, which lost me about three pounds and then I stalled. I simply wasn’t being honest with myself about how many points were in the foods I was eating, and when you evade like that, you just don’t get results. Surprise, surprise.

That’s where the shameless plug comes in. Two months ago I got an iPhone. My fiance at first discouraged me from getting one — he thought I couldn’t possibly make use of it fully enough to justify the increased cost of the monthly phone plan over my previous plan, not to mention the cost of the iPhone itself. He’s now in full agreement with me that my iPhone is worth every penny I am paying for it, in large part because of the free app Lose It!

Lose It! is a weight loss app — you tell it your age, sex, current weight, goal weight, and how fast you want to lose the pounds, and it produces a daily calorie budget. It also has a database of calorie counts for lots of foods, and calorie burn rates for many different types of exercise. You can also enter calorie counts for other foods and exercises if you need to. Finally, you chart your progress toward your goal by entering your weight periodically, and the program shows you how you’re doing on a neat little graph.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, in the two months since downloading Lose It!, I have gone from 154 pounds to 144. Looks like I am going to make my goal, and perhaps even lose a little more!

The reason Lose It! has worked so well for me is that my phone is always with me — or, at least, always with me when I’m eating. I used to fool myself about how many calories were in a food I was eating, and then discover my error at the end of the day, if I did at all. Now, as soon as I finish a meal (or before I start eating, if what I’m about to have is calorically dense enough that I need to think hard about portion sizes), I enter the info into the app, and I know instantly how many calories I have left that day. Plus, before I decide on something to eat, I can look up nutritional values, so there aren’t any surprises. It’s much harder to evade the knowledge of what I am really eating, and it is much easier to make good choices.

I am stoked that it’s working so well. Yesterday I tried on some size 8 dresses and pants, and they fit! I haven’t been single digits since I was 17 years old. (Yes, I do know about vanity sizing, but I’m talking about places where, just this past winter, I was struggling to fit into the 10.) I even tried on a bikini for the first time in years, and I didn’t look half bad. Yes, I started this process wanting to weigh less for the marathon, but I’d be lying if I said I weren’t ecstatic that my success also means I will look hot on my honeymoon.

So, if you have an iPhone and want to drop some pounds, I wholeheartedly recommend Lose It! It’s the best zero dollars you will ever spend on your phone.

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