Wellos is a wellness app designed to support long-term health, with personal coaching, nutrition lessons, and more. While some features are limited, the app is relatively affordable and thoughtfully designed.

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Wellos is a relatively new wellness app designed by registered dietitians and behavior change experts to support weight health and overall health by redefining your relationship with food and building better habits.

The app offers various resources, including video lessons, nutrition articles, recipes, live health coaching, and more, all at a lower cost than many other comparable weight loss programs.

However, as it hasn’t been around for very long, you may be wondering whether it’s worth subscribing to.

Registered dietitian Rachael Ajmera discusses what you need to know about Wellos, including what it is, how it works, how much it costs, and whether or not it’s worth a try.

Diet Review Scorecard
  • Overall score: 4.7
  • Weight loss: 5
  • Adherence: 4.5
  • Whole body health: 5
  • Nutrition quality: 5
  • Health promotion: 4

BOTTOM LINE: With its bite-size lessons, personalized nutrition tips, and access to health coaching, Wellos is aimed at helping you build better habits and improve your relationship with food. Plus, unlike other programs, Wellos doesn’t focus solely on calories or categorize foods as “good” or “bad.”

Wellos is a subscription-based app focused on improving overall wellness or helping you lose weight by enhancing your relationship with food and empowering you to build better habits.

Some of the key features of the app include:

  • Journeys: Unlike other apps that are focused solely on weight loss, Wellos allows you to choose from two journeys depending on your goals, including Total Wellness and Weight Health.
  • Tracking: Wellos makes it easy to monitor your progress with tools like diet, activity, and weight tracking.
  • Live support: You can easily chat with a team of certified health coaches (some of whom are registered dietitians) for expert guidance throughout your weight loss journey.
  • Resources: The app offers over 200 articles and 100 video lessons from experts. The articles and video lessons focus on topics like emotional eating, cravings, and more.
  • Recipes: Wellos boasts a recipe library with more than 5,000 nutritious recipes, which you can filter based on the type of cuisine and your personal dietary preferences.
  • Gym and studio access: For an additional monthly fee, you can purchase a One Pass Select subscription, which provides access to up to 19,000 gyms and fitness studios across the country.

Pros

  • focused on improving long-term health through diet, lifestyle, and behavior changes
  • includes 200+ articles and 100+ video lessons from experts
  • offers content geared toward total wellness and weight management
  • monthly subscription costs less than some competitors
  • access to up to 19,000 gyms and fitness studios available for an additional fee
  • provides the option to chat with a health coach (including registered dietitians) for guidance and support
  • app includes over 5,000 healthy recipes
  • offers two journeys, one for weight loss and one for general health

Cons

  • currently only available in the United States
  • not suitable for people under 18 years old, those managing an eating disorder, or people who are pregnant or breastfeeding
  • coaches can take up to 1 day to respond
  • activity tracking is only available through Apple Health or Health Connect
  • lacks some features found in similar apps, including peer support and meal planning tools

To get started, you need to first download the app from either the App Store or Google Play.

After downloading the app and creating an account, you’ll be prompted to fill out a simple quiz. This quiz collects data about your body size, activity level, and wellness goals to help determine your tailored nutrition targets.

The app also allows you to choose from two health journeys depending on your goals:

  • Total Wellness, which is focused on improving overall health
  • Weight Health, which is focused on weight loss

You can switch journeys at any time by contacting customer support.

The app also provides a daily calorie goal and a general estimate for the number of grams of carbohydrates, protein, and fat you may want to aim for each day to meet your weight goals.

As with many other weight loss apps, Wellos features diet, activity, and weight logs to monitor your progress and help you stay on track.

Once your profile is created, you can browse through health lessons, view recipe collections, and connect with a health coach for personalized guidance.

Wellos offers a free 14-day trial that allows you to try the app before subscribing.

A subscription costs $24.99 per month. Premium add-ons are available for an additional fee, including One Pass Select, which includes access to up to 19,000 gyms and fitness studios nationwide.

There are three One Pass Select subscription plans to choose from, including:

  • Classic: $30 per month
  • Standard: $66 per month
  • Premium: $102 per month

You can cancel your Wellos and One Pass Select subscriptions at any time on the app by clicking “manage subscriptions” on your profile.

The Wellos app is divided into several sections, including Learning, Tracking, and Coaching. Below is a detailed look at how the app works and what features are included in each section.

Tracking

Using the Wellos app, you can easily log your meals by searching the database, which includes over 1 million foods. You can also use the barcode tool to add common food items by scanning packaged food labels.

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Screengrabs courtesy of Rachael Ajmera

In addition to seeing how many calories you’ve consumed, and how many you have left before reaching your goal, you can also filter to view specific nutrients, such as carbs, protein, fat, and fiber. You can also choose to hide your calorie intake if you’d prefer not to count calories.

To help guide your food choices, the app uses nutrition tags to help identify foods you’ve logged that are high in protein or fiber.

For weight tracking, you can either enter your weight directly into the app or sync your weight information from Apple Health or Health Connect.

Physical activity is currently the most limited tracking tool at the moment, as you can’t add your activities manually into the app. Instead, you have to log your activity with your Apple Health or Health Connect account and then sync it to the Wellos app in order to track it.

Coaching

After tracking your intake and activity for 7 days, you’ll gain access to a weekly insights report, which identifies trends in your habits along with guidance for how to take the next step toward your wellness goals.

To help you along your journey, the app breaks goals down into Supports, which allow you to focus on improving one specific area of your diet or lifestyle at a time.

Examples of Supports include:

  • Sweet Relief: decrease added sugar intake
  • Sip Smart: drink more water and fewer sugary beverages
  • Fiber Fuel: increase intake of fiber-rich foods
  • Calorie Countdown: reduce calorie consumption

After selecting a Support that aligns with your goals and preferences, you’ll receive a challenge each day to help you stay on track. You can also view a list of curated articles, tips, and resources related to your Support.

For one-on-one support, Wellos offers access to a team of health and behavior change coaches, all of whom are certified by the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching and participate in ongoing trainings.

You can message your coach at any time to share your goals, ask questions, or request guidance or support. The typical turnaround time for a response from your Wellos coach is about 1 day.

Learning

Wellos offers a variety of health lessons to help tackle issues related to health and wellness, such as fostering a healthy relationship with food.

Lessons are divided into phases, each of which includes multiple parts with short videos and articles on a specific topic.

Some of the phases include:

  • Weight Health Foundations
  • Quality Nutrition
  • Reframe Your Food
  • Cravings
  • Emotional Eating

During your 14-day free trial, you’ll have access to the foundations lessons. Once your trial concludes, other lessons are unlocked, and you’ll receive access to the full library.

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Screengrabs courtesy of Rachael Ajmera

Meals

Wellos offers a collection of over 5,000 recipes. You can take a short quiz on the app to view a list of curated recipes based on your dietary preferences.

You can also search for specific recipes, filter by category, or browse the full collection.

Each recipe includes a list of ingredients, step-by-step instructions, a detailed nutrition breakdown, and ratings from other users.

While there isn’t a meal planning tool at the moment, the Wellos team reports that this feature is on the horizon.

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Screengrabs courtesy of Rachael Ajmera

One Pass Select

One Pass Select is a premium add-on, which provides access to up to 19,000 gyms and fitness studios for a single subscription.

There are three different tiered subscription plans, each of which varies in price and the specific gyms and fitness studios included.

The subscription plans available include:

  • Classic: includes access to over 10,000 locations, such as LA Fitness, Planet Fitness, and Crunch Fitness
  • Standard: includes access to over 13,000 locations, such as Pure Barre, Row House, and YMCA
  • Premium: includes access to over 15,000 locations, such as Rumble Boxing Gym and Club Pilates

You can view the specific locations included in each plan near you by entering your ZIP code on the app.

While there are no studies on Wellos specifically, research suggests that some of the key features of the app could be beneficial for weight loss.

For example, the app encourages choosing foods that are lower in calories and adding more physical activity to your routine, both of which have been proven effective for weight management.

Increasing your fiber intake and adding more protein to your diet are two other strategies promoted by Wellos. These strategies can help reduce appetite and enhance feelings of fullness between meals to support weight loss.

Other aspects of the app, including food and weight tracking, have also been linked to increased weight loss.

Additionally, some research suggests that health coaching could be effective for promoting weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity.

In fact, a 2023 review of 14 studies concluded that combining health coaching with self-monitoring apps used to track your food intake or weight could increase weight loss, reduce belly fat, and decrease the calories consumed per day, compared with a control group.

Wellos also provides detailed lessons designed to address other issues that may affect weight management, including emotional eating, food cravings, and sugar consumption.

Here is a closer look at how Wellos compares with two of its main competitors, Noom and WeightWatchers:

-
Basics
Meal plan
Price
Support
Resources
encourages healthy habits and dietary changes with bite-size nutrition lessons
calorie and nutrient tracking with tips and nutrition tags
$24.99 per month
access to live chats with health coach
• article and video lesson plans
• recipe library
• mini health challenges
• weekly insights
emphasizes foods with lower calorie density
color-coded system based on nutrient density
$70 per month
access to Noom Coaches and Noom Circle
• daily lessons
• recipe database
• interest-based communities
assigns points-based value to foods based on nutritional value
Points system
$23 per month plus $20 starter fee
coach-led workshops available for additional fee
• recipe library
• members-only community
• meal planning tool
• workout videos and routines

If you’re looking for a simple and effective way to brush up on your nutrition knowledge, improve your relationship with food, or reach a specific health-related goal, like losing weight, then Wellos is worth trying.

Unlike other popular health apps, it doesn’t restrict or eliminate any foods from your diet or categorize foods as “good” versus “bad.”

Instead, it teaches you to make smarter food choices and promotes healthy habits to help you reach your goals, such as intuitive eating and reading ingredient labels.

Plus, at $24.99 per month, which includes access to a health coach, it’s also more affordable than many other weight loss programs.

Who it might not be a good fit for

Still, keep in mind that Wellos is not currently recommended for certain groups, including:

  • people under 18 years old
  • those recovering from or managing an eating disorder
  • individuals who are pregnant or breastfeeding

Wellos is currently only available in the United States and requires the use of a smartphone, which may be an issue for those who aren’t as tech savvy or who prefer in-person support.

It might also not be suitable for people with more advanced nutrition knowledge, as many of the lessons are focused on basic concepts related to nutrition and wellness.

Additionally, it’s currently lacking some of the features found in other apps, such as community support, meal planning tools, and manual activity tracking.

Whether you’re looking to improve your health or manage your weight, Wellos can be an effective and sustainable option.

Instead of setting strict guidelines on which foods you should eat or focusing solely on the amount of calories you consume, Wellos aims to help you reach your goals by empowering you to make smarter choices and develop healthier habits.

While it might not be a good fit for everyone, it may be worth a try if you’re interested in ditching diet culture, redefining your relationship with food, and reaching your health- or weight-related goals.