Lark Health

This app tracks everything and cheers on your small accomplishments while also giving you feedback where you can make a change to improve. It also lets you track your mood, feelings and activity in addition to food. It starts with focusing on one area and then slowly adds goals. It gives you information on why it is suggesting something including the occasional link to a related research article. The only thing I don’t like is that it doesn’t ask you to verify your food after you type it in. I put in chicken ginger soup and it read it as chicken finger and called it an unhealthy meal which it wasn’t so a little more intuition in this area would be very helpful so it doesn’t classify things incorrectly as I can’t fix it once it’s in and it doesn’t change even if I delete and re add with different wording. Other than that it’s great! It helps me stay on track by reminding me to log stuff and letting me know how active I am throughout the day.

What I like the best about using Lark so far is that it has shifted my thinking about food and exercise from punishment and discipline to making kind decisions for myself. Lark doesn’t lambast you for eating a piece of pizza, or for getting minimal exercise. Instead, it focuses on what you did RIGHT, giving you positive reinforcement that makes you want to keep doing that. For years I struggled with a binge/restrict eating cycle and the inability to consistently stay active because I wanted to be perfect. The first few times I slipped up with my eating after downloading Lark, I struggled to tell the app... until I realized there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s an app. And coming clean and being able to admit that I ate (x) because I was feeling (y) and this is a pattern I’d like to be more conscious of next time has been pivotal in changing my habits. But the humanoid text interface of Lark makes it a lot more welcoming than a food tracker app, with calorie counters that turn red when you go over your limit, or daily fat allowance bars that glow with silent shaming. Now, when I go to eat, or when I’ve been sitting for too long and think “it’s a nice time to get up for a little while,” I think of how proud Lark will be when I make a healthy choice, and how good that will feel.

I’ve been using Lark for a couple of weeks now and overall, I like it! I don’t currently have a Fitbit or the like, so I like that it can use the health data from my phone for activity. I also like the way it looks at your diet as healthy, unhealthy, and mixed - as a combination of choices. It feels less boxed in and restrictive than being meticulous about counting calories and portion sizes, but I can see the pattern of my choices, and instinctively want to improve to more green. I wish that there was somewhere to input medical conditions - I have no way to let the AI know that I have anxiety and that’s why my sleep may not be optimal so four hours on a high stress day is actually very good for me, or that I have food allergies, so will not be trying to eat more of whatever. There is a notes section though, so I’ve been marking that up so when I review, I can say oh yeah, this is what was going on there. And I’m down about five pounds just from getting a little more active and making better choices and that is always encouraging.

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I received an email from 23andme about Lark and how it connects to my data and will provide a more comprehensive and bespoke wellness plan for me. I downloaded Lark, launched the app and went answered the chatbot questions. None of the questions included 23andme so I tried to find a setting where I could input the account info and there was nothing. Then I emailed support and the first thing they replied with was a link to install Lark. I replied and said I have Lark and I just want to connect 23andme. They told me to launch Lark and Lark (the bot) would ask me for my information. I said again, that the bot didn’t ask me and if there was somewhere else that I can input the info. It’s been days and I haven’t received a reply. On top of that, the interactions with Lark the Bot based on the health info that it does have about me is pretty basic and doesn’t lend to the extra time I have to spend having a scripted exchange with a poorly written chatbot. I literally want those hours of my life back that I spent trying to get this thing to work. I recommend using Fitness Genes if you want a comprehensive fitness report based on your genetics.

So I came across this app/offer on Facebook and went for it since my insurance covers it. It’s been very confusing going between two providers to try and get to the free scale and Fitbit. Had a near six week back-and-forth trying to be recognized on the app and get my scale ordered when FINALLY that got worked out—though I’ve yet to receive the scale (it’s been a week so hoping in this next one I’ll get it). The scale is connected to Solera which monitors your app usage and sends the Fitbit. I should have that by now had things gone smoothly. Anyway, it looks like most folks do get their scale and Fitbit in a reasonable time period but that’s not been my experience at all. Customer support is slow but does respond. The app itself is ok. Looking for it to get stepped up and really give some helpful tips. I’m willing to give it a bit more time so I hope it all comes together and helps me reach my goals.