Many people struggle to maintain a healthy weight, and choosing the optimal meals for weight loss can be challenging. A Research Team at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has developed a weight management program . In a study Published in Jmer formative researchThey discuss the app’s features, development, and implementation.

“The overall goal is to develop an online weight loss program that can be used as well as treatment in a clinical setting,” Said co-author manabu nakam, associate profests Cince and human nutrition and the division of Nutritional Sciences, Part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at Illinois.

The program’s first iteration, the individualized Dietary Improvement Program (IDIP), was an in-son Program where participants received education and feedback from registrated education. Subsequently, idip was converted to a full online program, Empower, to increase accessibility. The researchers tested the Program’s Efficiency With Individuals in Rural Illinois,

Empower has Three Components: Educational Materials about Nutrition; An online app where participants can design meals for weight loss and monitor their progress; And personalized support from registered dietitians, who are available for online chats.

“There are alredy many apps available that can help you count calories. IF you have a negative calorie balance, you can lose weight, but it’s not always Otein. You don’t lose fat mass, you are losing muscle and bone mass.

That’s why the research team developed MealplotAn interactive feature that charts protein and fiber content in food.

“Other dieting apps are usually macronutrient calculators. bout finding the foods that will satisfy us and Provide the protein we need to maintain muscle mass as we lose weight. Foods that are high in fiber , “Said Lead Author Ashleigh Oliveira, A Doctoral Student in DNS.

People enter the food they want to eat into a chart that plots fiber and protein content. The goal is to ensure each day’s overall food falls within a specific protein/fiber target range.

“Intuitively, this does result in a calorie deficit for people, because the foods that fit into your target zone on that chart are going to be satiing, such as lean meats, whole grins, and VEGETALES ly, the foods that lead to a calorie surplus are sugary or high fat and they won’t fit in the target zone, “Oliveira Noted.

However, the chart is based on an inclusion strategy, where no foods are off limits. You can eat what you want, as long as the overall Daily Food Intake Fits Into The target.

The mealplot app is freely available and anyone can Register for an account, but to get the full benefits you should work with a dietitian, the resultars said.

“People can follow the program on their own by reading the educational materials and using the meal planning chart. But if you want to lose more than 50 or 100 pounds, it will take at least a year, and you really need an established routine. People may be doing well for a while, but then their weight reaches a plateau, or they start gaining again. To get started on this kind of weight loss, most people need an experienced dietitian’s advice,” Nakamura said.

The program’s weight loss was guideline is one pound per week, but there will be fluctuations, so it’s important to weight even day to monitor the overall trends, he added.

In the paper, the resultars discus steps in the development of the app.

“In the first version, participants got a smart scale that was connected to the app and their weight would automatically be entred in the weight chart, so we cold see the platform was working. And fiber chart Developed So People Cold Plot their Meals, “Oliveira explained.

The mealplot chart was based on the US department of Agriculture’s food database, which is very comprehensive but primarily intended for scientists, and search terms was not interactive for participants. The Researchers worked extended extended with web developers to create a more user-friendly platform that included Common Food Names and Categories.

The app’s final iteration includes a chat feature where participants can interact with dietitians. There is also a platform for dietitians, where they -upon permission –Can log in to monitor their clients’ Weight Charts and Food Records.

The researchers are now fin-tuning the application and plan to launch the full program by spring 2026.