5 free fitness and nutrition apps for getting into shape for spring

My friend Dave just finished an Ironman triathlon, which is something he and I definitely don’t have in common and almost certainly never will.

And fit though he may be, he said something to me once that I’ll never forget: “I know I’m going to gain, like, 15 pounds over the winter. I just accept it and then I work it off in the spring.”

I always thought that was an excellent attitude. Instead of beating yourself up for putting on a few pounds during the winter months, just accept that it might happen and get back to business once the weather starts getting nicer.

And if you’re like me—someone who really likes to gently, slowly, ease into getting back into shape—you should check out these great, free apps. They’ll help you kick-start your springtime slim down and won’t leave you too sore to come back for more.

C25K

If you hate running as much as I do, you’ll not hate the free C25K app.

The idea, if you’ve never done a couch-to-5K program, is that you slowly but surely work your way up to being able to run 5 kilometers (about 3 miles).

Assuming you haven’t been running 5Ks all winter, you’ll be happy to learn that this is an eight-week program that alternates between walking and jogging. You start out with a lot of walking and a little bit of jogging, and the ratio tips more toward jogging each week until you’re eventually jogging the whole time.

Each session lasts about a half hour, give or take, so it’s not a huge time commitment—and if you find a particular week’s challenge too difficult, just do it over again the following week. I’m a big fan of week three myself.

FatSecret

If I had to guess, I’d assume the whole “secret” behind the free and excellent FatSecret app is that a healthy diet is arguably just as important for weight loss as exercise—if not more so.

This is a simple, easy-to-use calorie-counting app that offers plenty of features: a food diary, a barcode scanner for logging packaged foods, a recipe collection, a weight chart, a journal, and a handful of other goodies.

It also integrates with exercise tracking apps to automatically log your workouts. That must be the whole diet and exercise thing people are always talking about.

Darebee

If you can’t find a workout program with the free Darebee site, you’re not trying hard enough.

This is an essential resource whether you want to focus on a particular problem area or you want to follow a 30-day challenge where everything’s laid out for you.

The site features one-off workouts, downloadable PDF programs, and targeted monthlong challenges, each with a filtering system that lets you choose workout type, difficulty, and focus areas.

There are also handy meal plans and recipes. It’s all 100% free and donation-supported: no premium accounts, no upsells, just fitness.

Yoga for Beginners

Like its name implies, the free Yoga for Beginners (iPhone, Android) app is a good way to dip your toe into the yoga pool.

You’ll have access to short-ish (10 minutes or so) workouts that are easy to follow and won’t force you into a one-person game of no-mat Twister.

It’s helpful for figuring out whether or not you’re a yoga person, without much up-front commitment. Even if you’re just kind of stiff after spending the last few months indoors, this is a good, low-impact way to loosen yourself back up.

Zero

If you’ve been wondering what all the intermittent-fasting fuss is about, take the Zero app for a spin.

It’s a simple but effective app that introduces you to intermittent fasting, tracking your fasting sessions while telling you what’s happening inside your body during each phase of a fast.

Aside from the fasting timer, the free version adds a journal, lets you view your personal stats, and sports a helpful library of resources to better understand the science behind fasting.