Skip to Content

VA mobile apps for a healthy new year

Try a VA mobile app to stay on track with your new year’s goals

The start of a new year is a great time to build healthier habits. But we all need a little help to stay on track. VA has tools to help you make a plan and stay motivated. Check out these mobile apps to find the tool that can support your goals.

Goal: Be more consistent with healthy habits

Annie for Veterans is a VA text messaging service that provides regular self-care tips and reminders. You can choose what kind of messages you want to receive. Here are a few of the many options you can subscribe to:

  • Healthy cooking: Educational messages to help with meal planning, prepping, and cooking

  • Medication use: Reminders to take your medications

  • Stress management: Tips and techniques to help better manage stress, set boundaries, and be more mindful

  • Pain management: Techniques to self-manage pain through gentle movement, improved sleep, and calming the mind

  • Quitting tobacco: Motivational messages and help creating a quit plan

  • Weight management: Daily tips and reminders for exercise and calorie intake

Learn more about Annie for Veterans on the VA app store

Goal: Reduce stress and anxiety

Mindfulness means noticing and paying attention to the present moment, without passing judgment on it. Mindfulness has been shown to help reduce stress, improve emotional balance, increase self-awareness, reduce anxiety and depression, and cope more effectively with chronic pain.

VA’s Mindfulness Coach app provides a gradual, self-guided training program to help you get started with a simple mindfulness practice. The app also offers a library of mindfulness exercises, tracking tools, and access to other support for mental wellness.

Learn more about Mindfulness Coach on the VA app store

Goal: Manage a healthy weight

MOVE!® Coach is an app for anyone who wants to manage their weight. With the MOVE!® Coach app, you’ll complete a 16-week nutrition and exercise program for weight management. The app will help you identify your goals and stay on track with achievable steps. You can also share your goals with your friends via social media for support and accountability.

Learn more about MOVE!® Coach on the VA mobile website

Goal: Cut down or quit smoking

Stay Quit Coach is designed to help anyone who would like to quit or reduce use of cigarettes and other nicotine and tobacco products. The app helps you identify your personal reasons for quitting, set goals, and track your progress over time. You’ll also learn more about tobacco use and nicotine withdrawal. Interactive tools and motivational messages can help you cope with urges and stay tobacco-free.

Learn more about Stay Quit Coach on the VA mobile website

Goal: Cut down or quit drinking

VetChange is an app for anyone interested in developing healthier drinking habits. It can be especially helpful if you have post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Here are a few things you can do with VetChange to form healthier habits and improve your overall wellbeing:  

  • Track your progress and stay motivated with customized tools

  • Learn about how alcohol use relates to PTSD symptoms

  • Practice self-help tools to cope with your emotions without drinking

  • Find resources to connect with people who can help in a crisis or when you need support

Learn more about VetChange on the VA mobile website

Please vote in our unscientific poll. All responses are anonymous.

Poll: VA mobile apps for a healthy new year