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Having diabetes means you spend a lot of time tracking a lot of things. From A1C to blood sugar to daily carbs, you need to keep track of these numbers to stay healthy. It’s also important to keep all the tracking from destroying your sanity.
Thankfully, we live in a world full of helpful tracking apps, so you won’t have to resort to keeping tabs of everything on a system of loose-leaf, bar napkins, and the backs of receipts.
These amazing apps will help you track your food and blood sugar numbers while also motivating you to move more, sleep better, and stay relaxed throughout the whole process.
A note on our methodology:
We asked a number of questions to determine if each app we tested should appear on our list. Is it highly rated? Does it offer something unique? Is it user-friendly? Is it reliable and not buggy? Does it drain a smartphone’s battery? Can it continue to grow and innovate? Apps that scored well on all criteria ended up on the final list. They’re in no particular order.
iPhone or Android | $59.99 a year / $8.99 a month
At first glance, MyNetDiary Calorie Counter Pro is a run-of-the-mill calorie counter, but it has extra features that are extremely helpful for people with diabetes.
You can track A1C results (change term), blood glucose levels, the types and amount of medication you’re taking, and keep general notes about your day. The diary entries are completely customizable, so you can track literally anything all while getting weekly reports and analysis to see how you’re doing.
So, if you want to track your blood glucose alongside the amount of times you listened to Lizzo in a day, this app can make it happen.
iPhone or Android | $27.99 a year / $2.99 a month
“We make diabetes suck less,” proclaims the mySugr app — and from the reviews, it appears to do just that. Track all your necessary numbers and get an instant analysis of how you’re doing.
The customizable reminders make it hard to forget to log your specs, while the in-app health challenges help you focus on your goals.
If you’re headed to a healthcare appointment, just download a complete report of all your activity. The easy-to-use dashboard and streamlined features really cut down on the potential suckitude of dealing with diabetes.
Staying hydrated is incredibly important for people with diabetes. Since your body sometimes needs to pee out extra sugar, you need to make sure there’s something to make pee with!
Also, getting enough water helps lower your blood sugar or reduce a spike, so having a little help with your daily H2O isn’t a bad idea.
Daily Water Tracker is quite simple. It tracks your water. Daily. With one tap, you can log a drink, with a couple more taps you can set goals, and when you hit your daily hydration, you get a bunch of fun digital streamers! With 4.8 stars and almost 6,000 reviews, this app is a hit with all the hydrators.
iPhone or Android | From $18.99 a month
For people with diabetes, exercise is especially important. Working out helps lower blood sugar and aids in managing weight, both key for anyone with diabetes. That doesn’t mean you have to become a CrossFit fanatic, but moving a little more will help a great deal.
If you’re not ready to take on the gym life, try Freeletics. The app uses AI coaching to give you a customized fitness journey. Plus, every exercise is bodyweight only, so you don’t need any extra equipment and you can do all the workouts from home.
iPhone or Android | Free / $3.99 with no ads
A typical calorie tracker doesn’t tell you if a certain food is good or not, it just gives you a number. Fooducate lets you track your nutrition and learn which foods are best for you.
The app grades each meal based on the quality of the nutrients, so you can find out which carbs are your friends, and which should be infrequent guest stars on your menu. You’ll also get to track calories and macros and see a cute smiling fruit in a workout headband every time you log in.
iPhone or Android | Free / $9.99 a month for premium
Laying on the ground and clearing your mind may not seem like a great way to deal with diabetes, but it’s actually a very effective technique. One study found that regular meditation significantly lowered blood glucose levels. To reduce your stress and your blood sugar, try the Happy Not Perfect app.
The guided breathing exercises and meditations give you a moment of peace while your body relaxes. The app also includes a space to send kind words to loved ones, write gratitude statements, and burn bad thoughts so you can #ManifestAndChill.
If you ever wanted to see your limiting beliefs go up in CGI flames, this app is for you.
iPhone or Android | Free / $1.99 a month for premium
Sometimes, you don’t need an app that does a thousand things. With Diabetes Connect, you get diabetes data tracking and that’s it. All your numbers are easy to log, and the interface has a sleek, simple design to make the data extra readable.
Will you get four kinds of coaching and a place to buy a T-shirt? No. But you will get an excellent tracker made specifically with diabetes in mind.
iPhone or Android | $9.99 a month
Since exercise and meditation can be great for people with diabetes, yoga may be the most perfect workout of all. Yoga helps relax your mind, strengthen your body, and keep your blood sugar in check. One of the best yoga apps of 2019 is Find What Feels Good.
Adriene Mishler (of Yoga with Adriene fame) guides you through hundreds of yoga videos. Whether you want to start a yoga ritual or desire “Yoga for Fomo,” this app’s got you covered.
Adriene always makes you feel at ease, whatever your level or experience with yoga, and each workout is easy to do at home, on the front lawn, or in the office break room (for the days you really need yoga).
iPhone or Android | Free / $4.99 a month for premium
Diabetes:M sounds like a Law & Order spin-off, but it’s actually an excellent tracking app. It’s easy to log your food and blood glucose numbers and share a variety of reports with healthcare providers, family members, or friends who want to help you manage your diabetes. You also get a bolus calculator that can help determine the correct insulin dosage for the day.
iPhone or Android | Free / In-app purchases starting at $0.99
If you want to work out more, but are overwhelmed by options, give PEAR a try. PEAR has hundreds of workouts for all levels. If you want some guidance for a long walk or a hardcore HIIT workout, it’s all on the app.
It connects to almost any wearable fitness device and uses your heart rate to customize the workouts. It’s like having a trainer right in your ear, except it’s not as weird as literally having a trainer shout into your eardrums.
Know your steps and your numbers with Sugar Sense Diabetes. This simple app helps you track food and glucose numbers and gives you an estimated HbA1C number to stay on top of your health.
Plus, it works as a step counter and syncs with other fitness apps to present a clearer picture of how you’re handling your diabetes day-to-day. If you were just diagnosed, this is a great starter app to get used to tracking your numbers for the wonderful price of $0.
iPhone or Android | Free / $49.99 a year for premium
The OG calorie tracker is still a gem. MyFitnessPal has a database of 11 million foods! That means everything from a Trader Joe’s frozen meal to a Del Taco queso is there in the app, ready to be tracked.
This huge database makes it really easy to keep count of calories and macros. The regular version is still free, though the premium edition lets you customize tracking and avoid ads.
iPhone or Android | $59.99 a year
Everyone wants more sleep, but it’s even more important when you have diabetes. Getting an appropriate amount of snooze time helps lower blood sugar and the Calm app can help you get to dreamland in record time.
The app has sleep meditations and soothing sounds to help you relax, but the real jewel in the crown is the sleep stories. Let Jerome Flynn from Game of Thrones, Bob Ross, or Matthew McConaughey read you a bedtime tale in one of Calm’s many amazing sleep stories. Who doesn’t want to think of “happy little trees” as they doze off?
Everything you need to monitor blood glucose is in the Health2Sync app. You can connect with your family or healthcare providers, so they can see your numbers and cheer you on as you continue to manage diabetes like a pro. The app is very simple, easy to use, and free!
iPhone or Android | Free with in-app purchases
Whether you get an unusual reading or have a question about diabetes, it’s always best to meet with your healthcare provider. But, that’s not always an easy option.
With HealthTap, you can ask a doctor anything at any time. You can even get consultations and prescription renewals — all online. One-on-one consultations cost around $50 a session, but the app’s database of info is free.
