Lolo

Lolo is a chat-based food and calorie tracker for iPhone from Mikhail Vanyashev. Instead of drop-down lists and food databases, the user tells Lolo what they ate in plain text and the app records the food and keeps a running count of calories. It is for people trying to get in shape or manage their intake, including those on a fitness plan or living with diabetes, pregnancy or another condition.

When setting up a profile, the user gives Lolo body metrics, gender, lifestyle factors and any special dietary requirements. From these, Lolo estimates daily calorie and nutrient needs using the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation for calories and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture dietary guidelines for macronutrient, vitamin and mineral targets. Meals are then logged through the chat, and the app keeps calories in check against those targets.

Lolo's main capabilities are plain-text meal logging, calorie counting and a macro calculator, with unlimited tracking on the subscription. The app adapts to a special diet declared in the profile, such as fitness, diabetes or pregnancy. Lolo states that its calculations are estimations and do not replace advice from healthcare providers or certified nutritionists. The app is available in English and 16 more languages, including Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Hindi.

Access to Lolo is subscription-only, with a free trial; any unused trial period is forfeited when a subscription is bought. Listed prices include one-week plans at $3.99 and $6.99, 3-month plans at $29.99, 12-month plans at $69.99 and a lifetime purchase at $159.99. Subscriptions renew through the iTunes account within 24 hours before the period ends. Lolo requires iOS 16.6 or later and runs on Macs with an Apple M1 chip under macOS 13.5.

Use cases

• Counting calories to get in shape
• Tracking food on a diabetes or pregnancy diet
• Hitting macronutrient, vitamin and mineral targets