AI-Powered Weight Loss with Intermittent Fasting

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/03/19 (Unpublished)

Simple, founded by Mike Prytkov, emerged from his personal health journey, leading to a 45-pound weight loss through intermittent fasting and whole-food nutrition. Recognizing a need for sustainable weight management, Simple launched in 2019, culminating in Coach Avo™—an AI-driven health coach supporting over 1.5 million users. Avo™ personalizes nutrition, detects eating patterns, and provides real-time coaching without calorie counting. Future advancements include AI voice coaching and customized workout plans. Ro Huntriss, Chief Nutrition Officer at Simple, is a UK-based Consultant Dietitian with expertise in fertility nutrition, gut health, and weight management, contributing her evidence-based approach to the app’s success.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What was the inspiration behind the app, Simple?

Ro Huntriss: Simple was founded on CEO Mike Prytkov’s personal health transformation. While Mike is now exceptionally fit, several years ago, he weighed 210 pounds, struggling with fatigue and stress. Between running a business and raising a family, traditional dieting—such as calorie counting and restrictive meal plans—felt impractical and unsustainable.

Determined to find a simpler, more effective approach, his journey took a lot of trial and error and filtering out misinformation. Ultimately, he discovered intermittent fasting, combined with eating more high-protein, high-fiber, whole food – this helped him lose 45 pounds effortlessly, without any stress. 

Recognizing that millions of people faced similar struggles, he saw an opportunity to redefine weight loss by making it science-backed, sustainable, and easy to follow. His vision extended beyond weight loss—he wanted to create a credible health coach accessible to everyone, providing actionable insights and support anytime, anywhere. While Simple launched as a fasting-focused app in 2019, his vision was fulfilled in 2023 when Simple launched Coach Avo™—an AI-powered coach designed to provide personalized, real-time guidance to help users develop lasting habits. Since its launch, Avo™ has supported over 1.5 million clients, keeping them motivated, accountable, and on track toward their goals.

Jacobsen: How does the smart coaching technology work?

Huntriss: Launched in June 2023, Avo™ is one of the world’s first AI-powered weight loss coaches, built into the Simple App to deliver hyper-personalized, evidence-based coaching 24/7. Unlike static meal plans or generic advice, Avo™ adapts to each user’s unique lifestyle, habits, and goals — providing real-time guidance, motivation, and accountability.

How Avo™ Works:

1. Scientific Personalization – Using evidence-based nutrition and behavioral science, Avo™ fine-tunes recommendations based on user behavior, progress, preferences 
2. Proactive Support – Avo™ detects patterns, such as stress eating or plateaus, and provides tailored strategies to overcome obstacles.
3. Check-Ins and Chat Support – Avo™ monitors progress, asks about challenges, and adjusts recommendations based on real-life behaviors.
4. Smart Habit Coaching –  Avo™ assigns small, achievable tasks to help users improve their eating habits, activity levels, and mindset — one step at a time.

By combining empathetic coaching, scientific rigor, and AI-driven insights, Avo™ makes sustainable weight loss easier, more accessible, and more effective than ever before.

Jacobsen: How do you make sure this app differentiates from others with some science-based strategies?

Huntriss: Simple differentiates itself from other health and weight loss apps through a science-based, user-friendly approach that removes common barriers to success while leveraging cutting-edge AI technology. Some of our differentiating features include:

• No Calorie Counting or Food Weighing – Unlike many traditional weight loss programs, Simple program does not require calorie tracking or food weighing to work. Our users see results following the Simple rules of the program
• Simple Yet Effective Rules – Instead of using complex methods, users are encouraged to engage with our core strategies, including intermittent fasting – simple eating within an eating window, logging foods with a Good or Optimal nutrition score and reaching the activity and hydration targets set out each day. 
• Technology-Driven Simplicity – The app harnesses AI to simplify and augment the user experience, providing personalized recommendations and nudges to support habit formation with ease. Our tech allows users to log a food simply by taking a picture, it doesn’t get much easier than that! 
• AI Health Coaching – Our AI-powered coach, Avo™, offers real-time guidance, motivation, and support tailored to each user’s unique needs, making sustainable health changes more accessible than ever. Avo™ is also available 24/7 which is beyond what is experienced with Human coaching. 
• Holistic Approach – Simple integrates multiple pillars of health, including nutrition, activity, and hydration, ensuring a well-rounded and comprehensive program.  
• Focus on Inclusion Over Restriction – Instead of fixating on what to cut out (like calories), the program emphasizes what to add, such as protein and fiber, to naturally support satiety, metabolic health and weight loss.  
• User-Led Development – We prioritize user feedback and behavioral insights, continuously refining and improving the app’s features to ensure they align with real-world needs and preferences based on what the users want, not the developers.  

Jacobsen: Why do people tend to fail at building sustainable habits?

Huntriss: People struggle with habits when they set unrealistic goals. Extreme changes, like daily workouts or cutting entire food groups, lead to burnout. Smaller, sustainable goals work better long term.  

Habits need to be lifelong, not quick fixes. Many focus on short-term results, but real change comes from consistency over time. Shifting to a long-term mindset makes habits stick.  

Being ready for change matters. Doing something because you “should” won’t last. True commitment comes from personal reasons, not external pressure. Reflection helps build a strong foundation.  

Your environment shapes success. Support from friends, family, or a coach helps, as does making your physical environment work for you too. Keep nutritious foods visible and don’t keep too many tempting, less nutritious foods in the house – it makes things much easier.  

Self-compassion is key. Setbacks happen, but they don’t mean failure. Progress, not perfection, builds lasting habits. Learning from challenges keeps you moving forward.

Jacobsen: How do you build in a personalized approach to effectively adapt individual user needs and preferences?

Huntriss: At Simple, we build a personalized approach by adapting to individual user needs and preferences through several tailored strategies. We start by taking into account demographic information such as age and gender, which can influence nutritional needs and activity levels. This allows us to provide more relevant recommendations and support for each user.  

We also consider the user’s preferences and behaviors. By understanding their daily routines, habits, and engagement with the app, we can suggest tasks and challenges that feel natural and motivating. This helps users stay on track and achieve their goals without feeling overwhelmed.  

Food preferences are another key area we personalize. By factoring in users’ likes and dislikes, we ensure that meal suggestions, fasting protocols, and other recommendations align with what they enjoy eating, making the process more enjoyable and sustainable.  

We believe in setting realistic and agreeable targets. Goals are co-created with the user, ensuring that they feel empowered and motivated to reach them. These targets are customized to fit each individual’s circumstances and preferences, ensuring they are challenging yet achievable.  

Finally, we personalize based on user activity. If a user shows greater competency or adherence to tasks, we offer more challenging activities and goals to further their progress. Our AI coach tailors its approach accordingly, offering a variety of personalized tasks, such as fasting protocols, hydration, and activity targets. The AI coach even has memory, meaning it can tailor its conversations and guidance based on the user’s progress and preferences, providing a truly customized experience every step of the way.

Jacobsen: Any success stories of the app you’d like to share?

Huntriss: Simple has helped countless users not only achieve significant weight loss but also experience meaningful improvements in their health and well-being. Among them is Jessica, who lost 60 pounds in just five months and saw a profound transformation in her overall health.

“I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and fibromyalgia and always felt horrible,” Jessica said. “I knew losing weight would help, but I didn’t realize how much better I would feel. Simple tailored my program specifically for me—my age, my body type—and it’s definitely the easiest, most sustainable weight loss system I’ve ever tried.”

Jessica proclaims that her health markers have improved dramatically. “My A1C levels have dropped, my insulin resistance has decreased, and my hormones have leveled out. I no longer experience fibromyalgia flares, and I feel my absolute best,” she said.

Jessica’s story is just one example of how Simple is helping users achieve lasting, life-changing results.

Jacobsen: What are the common misconceptions about weight loss and healthy weight maintenance?

Huntriss: Nutrition generally plays a bigger role than activity in successful in achieving weight loss over the long-term (ref). Although exercise remains to be very important for health and still supports weight management, for the best long-term results, it’s really important not to just focus on exercise alone. 

Muscle loss can occur with weight loss. When losing weight, some muscle mass is often lost along with fat. Prioritizing protein intake and incorporating strength training helps preserve muscle and maintain metabolism.  

Weight loss is more complex than “eat less, move more”. Factors like metabolism, hormones, stress, sleep, and genetics all play a role, in addition to our mental and emotional health, and the environments around us. 

Weight loss is easier for some people. Genetics, metabolism, medical conditions, and lifestyle factors can make weight loss more challenging for some individuals than others – it’s important to be aware of this and show yourself compassion when things may not be moving as quickly as you’d like. 

Maintaining weight loss can be more challenging than losing weight. Many people regain weight after reaching their goal, so focusing on long-term habits and sustainable changes is essential.  

Weight loss isn’t linear. Progress will include fluctuations, plateaus, and setbacks. This is normal and doesn’t mean failure—it’s part of the journey.

Jacobsen: What are potential evolutions of the app in 2025 to improve services?

Huntriss: In 2025, Simple will continue enhancing personalization within the app, ensuring users receive more tailored support on their weight loss journey. A key development will be the introduction of voice calls from Coach Avo™, allowing the AI-powered coach to provide real-time motivation, accountability, and timely nudges to keep users on track.

As a comprehensive weight-loss platform, Simple is expanding its features to support holistic health. This includes the rollout of customized workout plans designed to be accessible and enjoyable, making it easier for users to incorporate movement into their daily routines.

By continuously evolving its technology and features, Simple remains committed to making sustainable weight loss more effective, engaging, and accessible for all users.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Ro.AI-Powered Weight Loss with Intermittent Fasting

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