A Certified Nutritionist’s Review of the YAZIO App

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As a certified nutrition coach, I can attest to the fact that following a well-designed nutrition program is one of the best ways to achieve your personal health and fitness goals. Whether you’re looking to prioritize weight loss or build muscle, ensuring that you’re consuming the right amount of calories and the correct ratio of macronutrients is essential for long-term success.

While calorie counting isn’t for everyone, it is a tried and true method that’s helped countless individuals achieve their body composition goals. I truly believe that the most powerful aspect of calorie counting is that it helps individuals understand where their calories are actually coming from. (For example, we suddenly realize that our favorite seasonal latte is equivalent in calories to a bacon egg and cheese sandwich.) 

That being said, if you’ve ever tried calorie counting in the past, then you know that it can be a cumbersome process. That’s where the YAZIO app comes in. This app stands out as a comprehensive and user-friendly program that goes far beyond traditional calorie counting. With its intuitive interface and plethora of key features, YAZIO transforms the process of tracking your daily calorie intake into an engaging and insightful experience. In this article, we discuss everything you need to know about YAZIO and how this app can help propel you towards your goals.

If you have a history of eating disorders, disordered eating or any underlying health conditions it is important to discuss your weight loss goals with a doctor first. Always consult with a medical professional before starting a new diet, exercise routine and/or weight loss program to ensure it’s right for you.

YAZIO At a Glance

• Calorie and macronutrient calculator with barcode scanner feature
• Daily recipe guides catered to your specific diet plan (pro-version only)
• Manual entry daily hydration and activity trackers
• Challenges to keep you motivated
• Intermittent fasting timers

What we like about YAZIO

• YAZIO takes all of the guesswork out of creating your personal nutrition plan and curates specific calorie and macronutrient targets based on your answers to their short quiz
• YAZIO’s barcode scanner feature makes adding foods to your daily logs effortless
• The YAZIO app includes measurement, activity and water intake trackers as well as a notes section to track your daily health and feelings
• New members can purchase YAZIO PRO which unlocks a variety of improved features, including hundreds of delicious recipes, at just $19.99 per year

Things to consider

• The free version of the app does not allow you to track fiber, cholesterol or vitamin and mineral intake
• The free version of the app does not allow you to access any of the recipe guides
• You do have the ability to set your own calorie and macronutrient goals instead of using the app’s suggestions

How YAZIO Works

YAZIO works like most other free calorie counter apps, simply add your meals into the daily food diary and it will calculate how many calories and which macronutrients you will need to reach your nutrition goals. The app also equips you with the tools necessary for a holistic health and wellness approach. It includes a barcode scanner for easy food entry, an activity and water tracker and a log to keep track of your weight.

If you decide to take advantage of the Pro version of the app, you will have access to a number of additional and upgraded features. YAZIO PRO offers personalized meal recommendations and thousands of recipes from a vast food database. It also includes a smart food rating system that provides consumers with a detailed nutritional analysis of their daily food choices. This rating system helps individuals learn more about which foods have higher nutritional values than others, and allows users to better decide which foods they should be incorporating into their diets or those they may want to avoid.

Does YAZIO Require a Subscription?

While there is a free version of the YAZIO app that provides you with all of your calorie and macronutrient tracking needs, a subscription to YAZIO PRO does upgrade the app tremendously. YAZIO PRO, which you can purchase in 3- or 12-month increments, offers a variety of features that will likely help you to stay accountable and reach your goals more easily.

Here are a few of the key advantages of YAZIO PRO:

• Recipe Database: Gain access to YAZIO’s complete recipe database which includes over 2,000 recipes and is constantly growing. You can filter the recipes based on your dietary needs with options such as vegan, vegetarian, low-carb, high-protein, high-fiber, sugar-free, lactose-free, gluten-free and ketogenic. You can also find recipes that are specific to breakfast, lunch and dinner or under helpful categories such as easy to prepare, on-the-go, few-ingredients and casserole. YAZIO even has recipe guides that help you to target specific calorie goals, with meals that range from 50 to 100, 100 to 200, 200 to 300, 300 to 400, 400 to 500 and 500 to 600 calories.
• Improved Nutritional Information: With Pro, you receive far more nutritional information for all foods, meals and recipes. You are able to see nutrients such as cholesterol, fiber and sugar as well as all of the vitamins and minerals.
• Smart Food Rating System: YAZIO Pro provides an analysis of the nutritional value of the foods you are logging. This feature will help you determine if specific foods are better for your health and you can decide which foods you should favor or possibly avoid.
• Automatic Fitness Tracking: Directly connect with fitness trackers like Fitbit, Samsung Health, Huawei Health, Garmin or Polar to automatically log your daily activity into the YAZIO diary.
• Improved Fasting Feature: With YAZIO PRO, you gain access to all of the intermittent fasting trackers, including 4:2, 6:1 and 1:1, in addition to the already available 16:8 fasting protocol.
• Grocery Lists: Create customized grocery lists that allow you to easily plan your next trip to the supermarket. You can add recipes from the app directly to your grocery list and the individual ingredients and amounts needed will automatically populate your list.

Who Should Use YAZIO

The YAZIO calorie counting app is designed for individuals who are interested in tracking their daily calorie and macronutrient intake to achieve their health and fitness goals. While there are plenty of calorie counting apps on the market, YAZIO PRO sets itself apart from the competition by providing users with a robust recipe database. This eliminates the need for individuals to figure out what to eat each day, and instead teaches them to grocery shop and prepare healthy and nutritious meals themselves.

Who Should Not Use YAZIO

In general, YAZIO is a helpful tool for individuals that want to achieve their body composition goals through calorie and macronutrient tracking. That being said, calorie counting isn’t for everyone and some individuals prefer to focus on upgrading their dietary choices with more nutrient dense foods rather than tracking their daily caloric intake.

As a nutrition coach, I usually recommend that anyone under the age of 18 should also avoid using a calorie counting app without the guidance of a certified nutrition coach or registered dietitian. This is because this way of food tracking has been linked to eating disorders when teenagers and young adults become too obsessed with hitting their exact calorie and macronutrient targets.

Our Experience With YAZIO

Prior to my experience with YAZIO, I have been a long time user of a similar calorie counting app (MyFitnessPal). While many of the base components are quite similar, YAZIO’s recipe database really stands out as the hallmark feature. Not only can you search for recipes in their “popular categories” section which include breakfast, lunch and dinner, but also vegan, high-protein and low-carb to name a few, you can also import the recipes directly into your in-app grocery list and it will tell you exactly which ingredients and how much you need to purchase. This feature alone is a phenomenal way for individuals to plan out their week of meals, grocery shop with ease and learn how to cook healthy and delicious food.

Overall, I think this is a top-tier calorie counting app, especially if you take advantage of their first-time user deal and access YAZIO PRO for less than $2.00 per month.

What Customers Are Saying About YAZIO

YAZIO has been downloaded by over 80 million individuals and is available on both Android and iOS devices. In general, customers rate YAZIO favorably, with the app receiving a 4.3 out of 5 star rating on the Google Play Store and 4.7 out of 5 stars on the Apple App Store. Many of the positive consumer reviews focus on the intuitive interface design and the overall ease of use for tracking calories. Additionally, many of the users utilizing the Pro version of the app really enjoy the extensive recipe catalog and the fact that you can find recipes that are specific to your dietary needs such as vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, ketogenic and more.

The one aspect of the app that many users feel needs improvement is the intermittent fasting tracker. If you’re using the free version of the app, you only have access to the 16:8 fasting window and cannot set your own timer. The fasting feature also changes your food diary, meaning that if your fasting window is from noon to 8 p.m. the app won’t allow you to log items in the breakfast or snack category for that day. Many users also comment that they would like more information on how their calorie and macronutrient goals were calculated.

You do need to dig a little bit on the YAZIO website to find the answer, but the app determines your daily calorie needs using the Mifflin-St. Jeor Equation. YAZIO states that this equation is considered the current and most accurate formula for calculating your daily energy needs and this calculation takes into account the individual’s gender, weight, height and age. This number is then multiplied by a scale factor for your physical activity level which YAZIO garners from the answers to your quiz. While this information is available, easier access to these details would provide valuable insight for individuals new to calorie and macronutrient tracking.

While there are some areas for improvement, YAZIO definitely delivers on what it’s supposed to do and more. If you’re willing to spend the money on the Pro version of the app, then I definitely think it can be a helpful tool for achieving your personal body composition goals.

YAZIO vs. MyFitnessPal

Both YAZIO and MyFitnessPal (MFP) are popular calorie counting apps that help users monitor their daily diet and exercise. Both apps have easy to use and intuitive user interfaces, making it simple for users to track their daily meals, calories and nutritional information. In addition to the app’s layout, both YAZIO and MFP allow you to add friends, connect fitness wearables, track your exercise and water intake and have extensive recipe databases.

The initial difference you may notice between the two apps is that MFP creates your plan by taking into account your current weight, target weight, weekly weight gain or weight loss goal and your activity level. YAZIO considers those same factors, but also structures your plan based on your responses to a series of questions you answer when you first download the app. Based on the initial quiz, it is clear that YAZIO follows a similar approach to Noom and believes that psychology and developing healthy habits play a key role in achieving your health and fitness goals.

Another key difference between the two apps is that MyFitnessPal has a vast video library of workout programs including high-intensity interval training (HIIT), yoga, strength training, stretching routines and so much more. While access to these workouts requires MFP’s premium membership ($79.99 for the year), this is a phenomenal resource for individuals that want to incorporate physical activity into their daily routine. While YAZIO doesn’t currently offer any workouts, it does have a significantly cheaper price point than MFP; you can sign up for as little as $19.99 per year using the link below. It also may be the preferred choice if you already have a structured workout routine.

In my opinion both YAZIO and MyFitnessPal are two of the best calorie counting apps on the market and you can’t really go wrong with either. Both offer very comparable features with the standout differences being MFP’s workout catalog and YAZIO’s recipe database that easily converts into an easy to follow grocery list. In order to choose the app that works best for you, consider the features that are most important to you and the price point you are willing to spend on a health and fitness app.

Related Article: The Best Nutrition Tracking Apps

YAZIO FAQs

How accurate Is YAZIO?

YAZIO’s food database is believed to be very accurate. For the best results, YAZIO advises individuals to input verified foods (identified with a small checkmark next to the name), which have been classified by the app as correct and trustworthy. I tested this out by inputting a 200-gram serving size of an apple into the YAZIO app and it reported the apple contained 104 calories, 27.6 grams of carbohydrates, 0.5 grams of protein and 0.3 grams of fat. I then compared these results to the USDA website and the information was identical.

How much does the YAZIO app cost?

The base version of the YAZIO app which allows access to their calorie and macronutrient tracking tools is completely free. However, if you decide to upgrade to YAZIO PRO, then the annual subscription cost (charged as a one-time fee) is $39.99. That being said, first time-users can take advantage of YAZIO’s 50% discount, meaning you can use YAZIO PRO for just $19.99.

Can you create recipes in YAZIO?

Yes, creating recipes in the YAZIO app is easy to do and is an excellent idea if you regularly eat the same meals throughout the week. This will allow you to quickly input the entire meal into your daily food log rather than having to enter each individual ingredient one-by-one. In order to create a recipe you can head to the food diary, click on the plus (+) sign for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks and then click on the “Recipes” icon. From there you can create your recipe by adding the individual ingredients, the amount of servings it makes and even add instructions on how to prepare the meal.

Does YAZIO have a barcode scanner?

Yes, both the free and paid version of YAZIO allow you to use a barcode scanner to input your food. I used the barcode scanner for a variety of items I had around the house, including a protein powder, protein bar and a bag of chia seeds and all of them came up correctly on the app.

Takeaway: Is YAZIO Right For You?

Whether you’re looking to shed some extra pounds, gain muscle, or simply want to make more mindful dietary choices, YAZIO is a useful app that will help guide you towards achieving your health and fitness goals. While the app is similar to most other calorie counting apps on the market, YAZIO PRO and the substantial recipe database can help to increase adherence to your plan and make hitting your daily calorie and macronutrient targets more attainable.

Just remember that YAZIO is just a tool that can help you more easily achieve your goals. You still need to put in the effort of following the nutritional guidance and making healthy dietary choices in order to see the long-term results.

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