My name is Miranda. I am an Apple App Store junkie.

I love new apps. I definitely love free apps. I especially love the ones that I use past the 3 day self imposed trial period. You know what I am talking about. Most useful apps capture my attention right away, but some of them get the boot within the first 15 minutes of the initial download. If I continue to go back after 3 days, then it is useful and it gets my vote.

It has to be easy on the eyes, useful, practical, and functional. This brings me to SlimKicker. A diet and fitness app based on a point-based program. I do have other apps like this that I have used. My Fitness Pal is a great one. But unlike My Fitness Pal, SlimKicker makes a level-up game out of it. From their website:

“SlimKicker was formed to solve a huge problem when it comes to losing weight, or living healthier: sustaining motivation. Many people makes resolutions to stop eating junk, or start going to the gym every New Year. But once March or April hits, we forget about our goals, and return back to our old ways.” Read more on the about page.

This is the little icon you see in the app store. Sign up, make some friends, join some challenges.

What did I think of SlimKicker? They have been fully out of Beta since March 2012 and I think that once the word gets out and they get a larger following, it will be a great community for like minded people. Motivation is the name of the game when it comes to sustaining a healthy lifestyle and this is a good motivator.

Things I love: You can add a motivation photo to your profile for what your next milestone reward will be. It is of course up to you if you will get it after you reach your goal, but it is a nice touch. As you can see in my screenshot, I uploaded a Mocha Coconut Frap.

I also love the challenges – and this is a main point of the app/website. Enter challenges and check-in daily to earn points. Join groups or add friends so that your points are stacked against theirs. This turns it into a friendly competition. SlimKicker themselves also do large weekly challenges that sometimes include giveaways. Oh yeah. Some challenge examples: Avoid packaged foods, avoid gluten foods, 20 pushups a day, exercise before Facebook, and many others. You can even make up your own challenges and join groups that interest you.

Things I don’t love: I wish the iPhone version had a barcode scanner for inputting food items. This is one reason I love My Fitness Pal. It just makes me more likely to continue to input. Also, if you decide to give this a go, I would suggest going in with a group of friends that are likely to keep you accountable. Strangers are good for short term, but eventually, they may get disinterested and then forget to motivate themselves, let alone you! Of course this is in no way the fault of SlimKicker…it’s just human nature.

But remember, like most things, it is all on the honor system. You are only cheating yourself if you check-in without doing the work. What is the fun of having points if you didn’t really earn them?

So there’s me, kickin it on SlimKicker. Friend me if you decide to give it a shot (Miranda326). I could always use a little more motivation.

Have you tried SlimKicker or any other diet/fitness apps that you love? Tell me about them. Because I am an app junkie, and I always want more.