If all those gentle and feel-good encouragements urging you to lose weight do not seem to work, you might want to settle for something "insulting" so you can better motivate yourself to lose all those unnecessary flabs and pounds.
A new weigh loss app called Carrot Fit might just be the answer to your weight woes if all other apps have failed to help you get in better shape. The app, which costs $1.99 on iTunes, uses a not-so-conventional way of prodding you to lose weight as it hurls either insults or compliments at you after you type in your weight.
Carrot Fit is so named because it employs the "Carrot and Stick" method of training. You either get a reward or a punishment to induce good behavior. Carrot Fit measures your body mass index (BMI) and your weight fluctuations and give you encouraging words if you get closer to your goal e.g. "You could be a part-time model". If you slack and pack more pounds though, be prepared to hear insults such as "Greetings, chubby human," and "Smile, meat bag".
Carrot Fit developer Brian Mueller said the app's snarky and humorous approach can motivate people to lose weight. "I think having more of a tough love approach that's sort of sarcastic and sassy, I think people really respond to that and it motivates them more than that traditional feel-good approach," he said.
The app is clearly aimed at people with a stomach for sarcasm over their body weight but this did not free Carrot Fit from criticisms since its release. The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), for instance, has said that the app is an example of body shaming. Celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak has also described the app as annoying.
Still, there are people who loved the app's concept. One of Carrot Fit's reviewers on iTunes said it was awesome. "I bought this app as soon as I saw it was out because I need someone to yell at me to drop some pounds," the reviewer wrote. "All I've done so far is weigh in and kill my avatar a million times and I am already in love with this app."
Carrot Fit has already been downloaded thousands of times since its release Jan. 30.
