Shape: Lose Weight, Fast

UPDATE: Sadly, after using shape for awhile, I am lowering the rating from superior to average. Mainly due to function not content. The content is mostly solid. The app is rigid and clunky. It doesn’t allow users to make corrections. Example is if you don’t start the fast and realize it later, if later occurs after midnight, it cannot be set to start at the right time. So the fast winds up showing it started later than the actual start… which in turn throws off the user’s entire daily timeline. On iOS (this is a nuisance that spans Fabulous) it shows a number for notifications, but opening the app, Does not show users what the notification is referencing. The notification simply disappears when the app is opened even if users don’t interact with any item within the app. The box where a user describes a meal has a highly limited number of characters. So while a user can put literally thousands of characters to describe how they feel about weigh in, describing a meal has to be limited to broad overviews. Weigh in is another weakness. The app asks users to weigh daily. The app claims it as a data point, but human nature is to tack more than a numeric value to weight. So if one a user is prone to be discouraged if a plateau or worse small set back occurs, the app undermines itself in its design. The selections are limited for example protein is simply red meat, poultry, Fish, legumes or combo. It needs at least a pork/ red meat delineation as well as fish and shellfish as not all of these are the same. Also needs a better option than combo for when foods like eggs, yogurt and milk are the protein source for a meal. This is a frustration. For me personally, it does lead to me logging less of the details. High fiber items, also has limited options. Fruits are mostly absent. There is an option for fruits and vegetables, but no details for fruits. It also red flags red meat. Even if the red meat one eats is elk, buffalo, or other much leaner game meat, it is all red flagged. I have not seen a yellow. So it is all either healthy green flags or unhealthy red flag no room for moderation. This is another frustration that leads me to not log details. Being judged by the app that doesn’t judge leaves me more inclined to photograph the meal, list key items and leave it without details. While the app claims to be “awareness not judgement” as a fundamental core of the app, it then turns around and red flags with a thumbs down food choices. Eat six ounces of red meat in a week? Red flag. Eat a hundred eggs, no red flag. Dairy gets a red flag. So say you eat a cup of high protein yogurt for a meal or snack. That meal has lots of dairy. Using the app, that meal would be red flagged because the whole meal is dairy… Now for the good. Logging meals using a photo is great. Being aware of what I put on the plate without weighing every item on the plate is great. Highlighting fermented foods, high fiber foods, IBS triggers, mental state, who the user ate with. Allowing a user to create a bigger picture of the user’s relationship with food. The Journeys, coaching, pledges, and routine are all items that make the weight loss journey engaging. Using photos over weighing portions makes logging meals on the go faster. Overall, I like the app. I use it side by side with another app. Both have positives and negatives. Shape has potential to be a GREAT tool. If the Fabulous team locks down the fit and finish, this app could be the best weight loss app for people who want a different kind of weight loss. ORIGINAL: Shape does not approach weight loss as many weight loss applications due it doesn’t have the calorie counting in the detailed everything. It’s a matter of take a picture of what you ate right down what you ate Journal what you ate, but it’s not it does have macro breakdown so it is a different type of accountability as far as eating and weight loss goes