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When my editor assigned me to review the BetterMe Home Workout and Diet course, I thought, ugh, not another diet and fitness class. But BetterMe is more of a personal health and fitness coach, albeit a digital one, than it is a class. And it’s got a ton of helpful eating plans (personalized to your needs); many different fitness courses, ranging from HIIT sessions to quick intervals; and a community of people to help you meet your goals. Right now, BetterMe Home Workout & Diet on sale for $28 for a lifetime subscription with code ANNUAL30. Here’s what it’s like.

How you start: Upon registering, you’re asked a short series of personal questions including your height, weight, goals for the program, how often you exercise and whether or not you’re willing to fast. The program’s algorithm then constructs a personal meal and fitness plan based on your responses. When I did it, I said I wanted to become more lean and have a flatter stomach, noted that I don’t have any dietary restrictions, that I’m open to the idea of fasting and currently workout 2-3 times per week.

Your personalized meal or fasting plan: The dashboard is simple and easy to use with four tabs including Meal, Workout, Fasting and Challenges. Clicking “Meal” takes you to a 28-day menu featuring breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack; the meals are designed to help you meet your health or weight loss goals. Some meals, like baked fish with spinach and salad, sound more appetizing and are easier to make than others, like liver and vegetable stew with toast. That said, the meal options are just suggestions and you can swap out a meal for something you prefer at any time.

Should you decide to opt for the intermittent fasting option, a fasting tab links you to a page with a countdown timer indicating the times you can eat along with useful tips reminding you to drink water if you’re feeling hungry and to move around if you’re feeling tired.

BUY NOW: BetterMe Home Workout & Diet on sale for $28 for a lifetime subscription with code ANNUAL30

Your personalized fitness plan: Depending on what you’re hoping to achieve with the program like weight loss, improved core strength or a flatter stomach, a number of workouts ranging from HIIT sessions to quick intervals and intense sweat sessions are available for viewing. With options ranging from 25 to 42 minutes, the workout videos are easy to follow and feature a countdown timer for each individual exercise in the top left corner of the screen. There are no verbal commands, just music playing, so you can easily listen to your own tunes if you prefer. 

Support for your goals: Lastly, BetterMe has a community of over 140,000 members and there are group challenges ranging from 14 to 30 days that include “Quit Sugar,” “Tight Core,” “Plant Rich Diet,” and more. To unlock these challenges, you make a digital commitment to participate and submit photos before and after the challenge to enter a prize drawing. The “Quit Sugar” challenge, for example, offers personalized nutrition suggestions, daily support in chat form from a real human coach, improved health, better sleep and increased metabolism. 

BUY NOW:BetterMe Home Workout & Diet on sale for $28 for a lifetime subscription with code ANNUAL30

What we like about Better Me: 

• There are a ton of meal suggestions that are very simple to make.
• The workouts are upbeat and move at a quick pace.
• There’s an element of accountability: With the challenges, you submit before and after photos and are in it with a team, which is a great way to incentivize people to keep going.
• BetterMe has garnered more than 98,000 reviews in the Apple app store, and 4.5 stars.

Things to consider:

• You still have to do the work: Though they provide the meals and workouts, you need to find a way to motivate yourself to get it all done. 
• The workouts don’t feature much in the way of verbal guidance, which might be challenging for some to follow.  

The bottom line: Could you do all of this on your own without an app? Sure. But having it all at your fingertips, as well as personalized guidance and hand-holding, makes it a lot easier. And the challenges and community aspect of this app should help people stay engaged. It’s priced right too: $32 for a lifetime subscription.