How I reversed Type II Diabetes focusing on convenience & affordability
Healthii
context
The 1 lbs veggie + 8500 steps/day magic
This project was inspired by my personal journey of reversing Type II pre-diabetes in six months during the COVID period in Chicago.
By eating one pound of vegetables daily and exercising for 30 minutes, my blood test showed all negative results.
Recognizing the challenges faced by individuals with obesity-related illnesses, I designed this app for busy people who lack the time or budget for traditional fitness solutions like gyms or personal trainers.
define problem
Healthy lifestyle with no gym or organic foods?
How Might We provide convenient, affordable healthy meals & exercise options to busy individuals in low-medium income brackets?
Research shows that maintaining a healthy lifestyle in the U.S. can be expensive and time-consuming.
solution
A guide of smart choices: the Tokyo lifestyle
I envisioned an app that 'nudges' users toward smarter food and exercise choices.
By using the average Tokyo resident's lifestyle as a benchmark, I aimed to empower individuals in Chicago who are traditionally excluded from the organic and healthy foods movement.
Feature - Main page
Daily cooking & exercise videos that takes less than 15 minutes, based on user's protein or exercise choice.
User insights
Users want to feel that they have their virtual personal chef or gym trainer for them to follow along.
Feature - Library
The library serves as a toolbox for users to save their favorite videos and articles, encompassing a variety of topics such as cooking, exercise, and blog posts.
User insights
Users appreciate gentle reminders and progress-tracking tools that help them stay accountable.
Feature - Insurance marketplace
The insurance marketplace goes beyond simply helping users shop for plans—it enables insurers to accurately assess user risk and reward healthier behaviors with more personalized, lower premiums.
Business needs
A one-size-fits-all insurance model is unfair to healthier individuals and discourages people from maintaining healthier lifestyles.
Process
Empathize, define, explore, test
I began by conducting user interviews in Chicago, while emailed a concurrent survey to friends in Tokyo to validate my initial assumptions.
The primary barriers for Chicago users were a lack of a support system, convenience, and affordability.
empathize
Chicago vs. Tokyo
On average, users in Chicago consume 3,600 kcal, while those in Tokyo consume 1,980 kcal daily, roughly twice as much.
However, Chicago users walk only about one-third as many steps as their Tokyo counterparts (3400 vs 8500 steps).
I interviewed 5 persons currently living in Chicago. I also sent survey to my highschool friends who currently live in Tokyo.
Tokyo residents enjoy one of the lowest obesity rates. This is mainly supported by convenient and affordable healthy meals are readily accessible, and their lifestyle of using public transit.
Business opportunities
Convenience & affordability
My secondary research also revealed that people are more likely to pay for services that offer convenience & cost. I have consistently prioritized these two factors in my designs.
Competitive analysis
The Fitness app landscape
Most top-rated health apps focus on just one area—nutrition, exercise, or training—rather than a holistic view. I couldn’t find a single app that combines calorie tracking, activity, long-term cholesterol monitoring, and links healthy habits to lower insurance premiums.
Confined workspace vs. Always on the go
Armed with user insights, I focused on two user personas: the first represents individuals who work in confined spaces, while the second includes those who are constantly on the go.
Lisa, an office admin: Because she is a single mom she lacks the time for home-cooked healthy meals and cannot afford to shop at expensive organic grocery stores.
Marcus, a delivery driver: Always on the go, Marcus finds it challenging to prepare home-cooked meals. He mentioned that he typically has only a short amount of time between deliveries and would prefer to use that time for quick, efficient exercise if possible.
Information architecture
I then developed an information architecture to map the process of finding tips and videos for cooking and exercise. Based on user feedback, I added library feature so users can save their favorite clips.
Business values: from Freemium to Subscription plan
The business model for this app begins with a Freemium plan to attract users. The goal is to gradually build user engagement through convenience and affordability. As users begin to see tangible results, they can be encouraged to upgrade to a Premium plan.
ideation
Slow-forming habits
Because I wanted to gently nudge users into gradually adopting a healthier lifestyle, rather than forcing them into something difficult right away, I decided to make the app visually appealing.
The idea is that even if users don't immediately follow the cooking or exercise routines, they may still find this app appealing just simply browse its contents of healthy individuals cooking.
Low-Fi screens
test
I used mid-fidelity wireframes for initial testing with five users who had varying goals related to healthy eating and exercise. Through this process, I identified several user insights.
Iterations based on early feedback
User Insight
Some users face challenges with limited data plans, which prevent them from smoothly streaming video content.
Design Iteration
To accommodate this segment, I introduced a Blog feature in the exercise section and text-based recipes in the cooking section.
Final Hi-Fi screens
iOS Mobile design system
To achieve a native iOS experience, I developed a custom design system aligned with Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines.
Rather than relying on ad hoc UI decisions, I translated iOS patterns into a structured system—including typography scales, semantic color tokens, SF Symbol–based iconography, and reusable components such as navigation bars, segmented controls, and buttons.
This allowed me to maintain visual consistency, improve design velocity, and ensure the product felt intuitive and familiar to iOS users.
Local components
Because I built my own iOS-native mobile design system, I was able to quickly assemble components using consistent typography and color tokens—ensuring high production quality and scalability.
A life-style app that connects habits to benefits.
I learned that small, incremental changes in user behavior are possible under the right conditions. To further enhance a gradual "healthy lifestyle", the following features could be explored.
Gamification and rewards: healthy eating habits get rewarded with favorite restaurants coupons.
Link healthy lifestyles to lower insurance premium.
AI Vibe coding
My next step is to vibe-code this app and submit it to the App Store—see you there in a month! 🚀