The story of JYL Balance
My name is Jean-Yves. I'm 63. In January 2025, I weighed 106 kg (234 lb) at 1.79 m (5 ft 10).
The wake-up call
I had known for a long time, of course. Stairs getting harder, mobility shrinking, high blood pressure, cholesterol, treatments piling up. And then came that appointment with the cardiologist, a disastrous one, where everything was said to me bluntly. That day, I understood I no longer had a choice.
Anything but a straight line
What nobody tells you often enough is that losing weight is not a straight line. I went through plateaus that lasted for weeks while I was doing « everything right ». The slip-ups, followed by guilt. The kilos coming back, morale at zero, the urge to give it all up, and I came close, more than once.
What saved me was finally understanding one simple thing: the number on the scale on any given day means almost nothing. What matters is the trend over weeks. A plateau is not a failure, and one slip does not erase a month of effort. But to see that, you need data, a little distance… and a tool that shows it to you instead of judging you.
The tools that slowed me down
I tried the apps on the market. Almost all of them met me with the same things: a mandatory account before I could even start, ads everywhere, my health data shipped who-knows-where, basic features suddenly becoming paid, cluttered interfaces. I was spending more time fighting the app than taking care of my plate.
Today
I weigh 77 kg (170 lb). I no longer take any medication. I feel good, I move, and my spirits are high, those who have been through this know what those words mean.
Why JYL Balance exists
I am a retired IT engineer. Once I reached the end of this journey, I decided to spend my time helping those who are starting theirs, by building the tool I wish I had had, focused on everything that slowed me down, held me back or wore down my morale:
- see the trend, not the daily number, so you can ride out fluctuations without panicking;
- detect plateaus and understand what is happening instead of feeling guilty;
- track calories, macros and hydration simply, with no bloat;
- start in ten seconds: no account, no ads, your data staying on your device.
That is how JYL Balance was born. JYL is simply my initials. The app is now available in 38 languages, on Android, iPhone and the web, free, with a few optional advanced features (Pro) that fund the project without advertising.
What will not change
Your health data stays on your device. No account required. No ads. And honest communication about what is free and what is not. These are the reasons I built this app; they are not going to change.
