Latest / Glovisor Podcast / Ep. 39: Scan Any Food & Instantly Know If It's Healthy | The Junk Food App | Christopher Gonzales
Transcript
- Joe: Scan any food and see what's in it instantly. No guessing, no confusing labels. This app exposes the truth behind your everyday meals one scan at a time. Welcome to the Glowvisor podcast where we explore business growth, communication and personal development through real conversations with people that make an impact. Our guest is a fitness professional, author, entrepreneur, and founder of the Junk Food app. He's passionate about helping everyday people build healthier relationships with food, through education, accountability, and sustainable habits. father of an autistic son, he's learned the importance of patience, structure, and community, values that have shaped both his life and the mission behind the Junk Food app. Glowvisor welcomes Christopher Gonzalez. Christopher: Thank you so much, Joe. it's such a honor to be on your on your show. I love anytime I get a opportunity to talk about the junk food app, don't let the name fool you. It's it's a very practical, you could call it the nutrition buddy in your pocket. anybody can use it. and like I said, I'm I'm just so grateful to have the opportunity to go ahead and and talk to you about it. Joe: Looking forward to it. So let's start off. Tell us more about what you do. Christopher: So I am the creator of the Junk Food app. Right now I am growing the app. The app is finally out on the market. For about five years, we've been building the app. We've been on the market about two months, and so far we've been I've been focusing on just constantly improving the functionality of the app, getting all the things lined up that have to go with putting a new app into the app store. When the app is first released, and this goes for any app that you put out into the store, you're you're gonna have things that you have to adjust. And and as you adjust them, the app updates in versions. So you'll see different apps on the app store that might be version like 2.4, version 3. And and this is the apps adapting to the to the user interface within the the internet. So right now, my main focus is is letting people know what the junk food app is. I'm I'm starting locally. I work in a boxing gym. so I work there with a bunch of people and we have member appreciation days where I have the opportunity to talk to people. I also do online marketing, podcasts, different avenues. like I said, anytime I get a chance to come out and talk about the app, I'm really, really passionate about it. because I understand how powerful it is. So I I right now my main focus is is building. promoting and creating a movement, not just around this app, because the app is only a tool. But but around the movement of of creating better health for people, you know, who who might not know what to do and and really want to to live better but just just, are confused. And the Junk Food app i is like, you know, it is so many cool things about it. I could talk forever about it. But it it's just it's a really cool tool that I'm that I'm really I'm trying to just build awareness around so we can really get people healthy so the trips to the doctor can can can be less and less and and the more time spent with your family. Joe: it is so difficult to eat healthy nowadays. It doesn't matter where you go. So can you tell us a little bit more about how it works? What am I scanning and what are we finding out once we scan Christopher: this is the beauty of it. For for years I worked as a personal trainer and every time I would talk about nutrition to a to a client, I don't want to say every time, but a good majority of times a a wall comes up, right? And this wall i is because people are very hesitant to change things that they like. You know, some some food is very culturally important to people while other food is emotionally attachment. There's different levels of people ha with food. So I understood that. the reason I call it the junk food app, not because it's about junk food, but because it's about freedom. And I'll give you an example. You know, fast food all around the country, the lands are full. It doesn't matter where you go. They're full of Starbucks, I mean anywhere. You know, and and they're they're full for a reason because this is the life that we live. Right. So but when when we have knowledge and we learn to apply that knowledge, we can adjust how we live. So, like let's say I like coffee in the morning and I want my Starbucks. So I go, I get my Starbucks, and I simply scan my Starbucks, or I take a picture of it, or I type in the name Starbucks. I find the food that is closest to my food. I got some pictures back here that kind of show it. You know, right here is the search one. So when you find something, the app actually pulls it up and it tells you all the information about it, but it also tells you. healthier alternatives, which is this one over here. the the healthier alternatives. So just in the instance that you don't want to, it might say green tea or or some other alternative to to the coffee. But in the instance that you want to drink the coffee, you go ahead and you log it. And this little circle right here, as you're eating, whatever it is that you're eating, the circle starts to fill. Now, if it's heavy in carbs, fat, or protein, well, these are your macronutrients, and these are the ones that are also gonna fill. So this gives a person the freedom to eat guilt-free, right? Because, like, let's say I I I want my Starbucks and I know it's 700 calories, but maybe I have 2,000 calories from a whole day. I know it's gonna put my sugars and my carbs high, but I want it. And I can have it and understand that I can adjust. As long as I'm not over consuming, my body is gonna be calorie deficit. The app also attaches to the health app on your phone. Or if you have a smartwatch, so good account for the calories that you're burning because two people might might need a different amount of calories depending on their level of activity. So it is really cool. and and there's so much more about it, but that is one of the main things to answer your question. You can take a picture, you can it it is powered by Google Gemini. So whatever Google Gemini can recognize that that it's it's still in its infancy, but I do see the AI growing and becoming better. You can type it in manually and and it'll connect to thousands of different foods. And you can build a library. So like let's say you're you're constantly logging your food, you're gonna have a whole library of saved foods history that you can just go on, click, boom, loads. Takes more than none more than ten seconds. I always say i if I ask a person to do 30 blurpees, Or to take, you know, one minute to log their food in, they would probably do the 30 blurpees. Because it's just Joe: You Christopher: not something that culturally we have been really taught to understand the importance and value of of knowing those those numbers. And and everybody, the beauty of this is everybody has a specific number. And and AI is is is very very intelligent and and it can break down that number for you. So when you start logging your food. and you start making progress, you can readjust in the app your new weight and it'll adjust and kinda adapt to the to the user. Joe: So it monitors everything based on my weight and my height. Christopher: Yes, it a few factors. Your age, your level of activity, your height, and your weight. So upon intake, when you enter your information when you first download the app, it's gonna acquire some information about you so that AI can make a profile of calories based on what you enter. You're gonna have you gotta enter your weight as is, and then you have to enter your your desired weight. So the the app is gonna put you in a in what we call in the fitness world calorie deficit state. So this this way you're burning more calories than than you're consuming on a daily basis, which will get rid of any unwanted body fat. It usually happens in very hard or stubborn to to burn areas like the midsection. people's face will change, areas that you you know would have a hard time working out that because it lowers the the visceral fat. Which is the internal fat, the fat that's inside our body or around our our organs. it lowers the subcutaneous fat, which is the fat that's above the skin. So this gives more muscle density. and and and it gives the body more just overall conditioning. And this could be done just literally by somebody doing exactly what they're doing now. They don't have to change anything other than just becoming accountable for it. And I haven't said this part yet, but this is really the best part of the app in in my opinion is you can you don't have to do this alone. You know, what I found that accountability is huge in the fitness world and when when somebody has somebody that they're looking up to or that they're they're wanting to, you know, be accountable to as a partner or a friend, they they try harder, you know, and and they help each other. So in the app you can actually pair with each other and like me and you in the app you know, I think it's his page over here somewhere. I got it here, but it's me and my son and so we can watch each other's calories every day. So if I have to be working for a few hours and I you know, I want to make sure my son's eating, you know, I'll leave his food out and I'll give him instructions and stuff and what to do. And then I just check my phone and I can see that his number's changed. I can't see what he's eating, but I can see the numbers. And and so I know his number at the day and where he needs to get to. And as long as you know he gets there, when you get there at the end of the day with the app, the app will say full and happy. it's kind of a fun game too, you know. So you can you can take what could be looked at as a tedious task and and make it into a family affair where everybody can benefit, you know, not only health wise, but the connectivity of of of being there for each other, and and accomplishing something, that will last for for years. Joe: you brought up having a buddy and accountability buddy and then also family members. Is there an age that it's guided towards? Christopher: It is not particularly guided towards any age. with parental supervision, obviously, younger children, kids could use it. because it's just nutrition. just a a matter of tracking the food that you eat. The the app is is gonna make the profile based on the information that that you put in it. I I don't know about very young children, maybe more like teens and adolescents and and above, but You know, special cases. If you got a a young kid and and maybe he's obese and and he needs or she needs to lose weight, you know, they can definitely use the app as a tool to to monitor their carbs, their protein and their fat. If they were to go to a dietitian, they're gonna put you on a certain way of eating and and it's gonna be based on your macronutrients and your micronutrients. Macronutrients if it's for weight control. That would be the the protein, the carbs and the fat. Well, the app does the same thing. It is gonna take the information that you give it, it's gonna populate the data that is required for you, and then your job is just to eat like you normally eat and and log your water because we we also have a spot for our water so we make sure that we stay hydrated. and and that's it. And let's say that the kid and the parent could be on it together. You know, if if the parents busy and and they, you know, make sure their kids eat and there's hey guys we need to make sure you're eating and they try to get limit the amount of foods that the kids are eating maybe. They can they can watch them on the app and they can work together. And they can notify them. So like let's say you're you're not eating your food, there's a button on there that I can push and you'll get a notification Joe: Well, so what inspired you to pursue to build this app? Christopher: funny thing is is I kind of fell into fitness by accident. I've always been a fitness guy. I I started in fitness since I was a little kid. But it wasn't something that I was actively teaching other people. I I worked in the medical research field. And I worked in the medical research field for over a decade. and I I I learned a lot of things. And and to long story short, I I wanted to help people in a way that was pre drugs. that that was pre-doctor visits because I learned that we were just treating things to treat other things. And and I wanted to give people a solution. my uncle he he got cancer. He passed away a couple of years ago. My mom got cancer. she's she made it through. she's a soldier. people struggle with health issues all over. And some of them could be preventable. A lot of them could be preventable if if people took the accountability for their health. You know, and and what I found is is that's one of the hardest things for people to do. I would see people almost just walking around, eating, you know, not not necessarily I think thinking about their health. And and I'm like, man, you know, like I'm sure they have family who who wants them around, who loves them. And and and I'm sure they love people and I'm like, no, somebody's gotta do something. And I knew about macronutrients since I was a kid. I used to study I used to do it on paper. I've always been intrigued with this stuff. So I I would say, let me see your phone. Let me see how you've been tracking, because it's literally impossible for you not to have, be where we're where we should be. And they're like, about that. well, you haven't been tracking. And I would get that response over and over. And then there were the people that would track and they would do it legitimately. And they they couldn't be more static about their results. They they were losing inches. They were putting on clothes they had worse since high school. I mean it was it was just the most amazing thing. And and so that feeling, I know those other people were looking for it, but they didn't they didn't quite know how. I don't have a way of looking at them every day in their in their lives as their trainer to see if they're actually eating their food. I can only ask when I see Right. So you're putting a lot of trust in as a trainer into them to to do what they should, but sometimes it's not that easy. Actually, most of the time it's not that easy. So either the trainer pairs with them in the jump fruit app and now they got to log their food because he's watching them. Or they pair with the family or a friend who they feel comfortable with or they want to go on a journey with and they do it together. And guess what happens after a month? After a month, I always tell people this after a month, your clothes start feeling different. It's kind of like you go to the gym. The first day, nothing. Second day, nothing. Three weeks later, nothing. Two months later, you're like, whoa, I got a little bit of muscle. You know, so the way it works is when you start tracking, after the month, you'll build a habit. You'll completely change your life forever because you'll never see food the same. You'll, you know, you can put a plate in front of now and I'll tell you carb, protein, fat. I can even probably tell you how many grams of protein, fat, and carbs are in whatever is in front of me because I've been doing this for so long. And and it is such a freedom to have this knowledge. And then be able to apply it to your daily life. Because in the busy world that we live in, you can pick and choose how you're going to structure your day. And you can build good habits as you're going. So that's a super cool part. After a month, you start feeling different in your clothes. After two months, you start noticing it. After three months, people start looking at you and saying, What did you do different? There's something about you, you know, and and this is where the excitement goes, I've been doing this and that and junk food app. And this is the the the movement. That that I want to create. I don't want to be an app. I want to be a movement. I want to give people freedom to choose and and and to be successful. You know, to have that little win. You know, at the end of the day, those little wins, they stock up. and so so so training your mind is is a big part of of taking accountability and having somebody there to support you is is is game changer. Joe: So I can see your vision, but what were some of the biggest obstacles that you had to go through to get here today? Christopher: Well, all glory and honor to God first. I I couldn't do anything without God. God has truly blessed me. It started as an idea of of of from seeing these things as a trainer. So I met with a business guy one day and he said, Chris, you're so passionate. He said, Why don't you create your own app? And I'm like, My own app? And he's like, Yeah, you're so good at it. He said, you know, and and you could be the one that's you know, out there with it and I'm like, hmm. As a businessman, it would make sense. I'm passionate about it. I love it. Cool. Let me look into it. So no idea how to build an app. None. So I I I look on Fiverr. It's like a website that you can hire freelancers. I got a cool design. I I had to fig my file. I could flip through the pages. Yes, I'm like making progress, you know, I'm real happy. But now I gotta code it. I go back on fiber, can I find coders? I find a couple of guys, guys in India, Africa, this much, that much. I invest with one guy. we go back for about four or five months just for him to tell me, I can't do it. no. I'm like, we we're in all this time and now so now I'm back to square one. I have a Figma file that man you can't do nothing with it. I can show people it doesn't work. It's just a dream in my head. You know. And so I said I need to find an American company. You know, it's it's the only way. So so I I start looking and I happen to find a great American company, Abscateers out of Atlanta. Great company to work with. and at that time, you know, everything just seemed to fall into line to where the time came and and and the money was there. this is you know 2024. And all right, how about nine months to a year? Wait, what? Nine months to a year in coding. No way, nine months to a year. Well, I I I have the ball rolling. I'm gonna create something. I'm talking about it, talking about it. People are like, go, go. But at the end of the day, I'm like, man, you know, I'm I'm still raising my son, my daughter's working full time, just trying to make a living like everyone else. But but blessed to have the opportunity. We failed twenty-eight times in submission to the app store. First app comes out in March, completely doesn't doesn't function as as it should. we have to pull it from the store. It could hurt your reputation, Chris. Leave it up, man. Just leave it up. When the new one comes out, you know, we'll we'll replace it with the new version. Just leave it up. Sure, yeah, okay. They left it up. I said it's not right yet. Couple you know, it took about a month later. comes out again the new version. man, it comes out, it looks beautiful. Search engine issues. No, I say, no, we we're this far, but we fix them fast, you know. It's just when you put an app, it's like, I always tell people, it's like imagine a flowing river with a bunch of fish in it already. And you throw a brand new fish in there. It has to adjust. It has to adjust. And and as it adjusts it, it works the bugs out. It starts to flow with the current. Joe: Wow, failed 28 times, but still you Christopher: Twenty eight times. Joe: continued with the vision and here you Christopher: Mm-hmm. Joe: are today. That's beyond just having a couple of issues and trying to get the app done. Christopher: man, yeah, it was it was you know, you gotta gotta have tough skin, man. When when you're in I learned when you're in the tech world and software development, i you gotta be okay with with different scenarios and not always going your way. But but having a vision, ha having, you know, parameters and and endpoints of of that you wanna make sure that you're connecting. So once everything's connected, you get the right flow. And and so finally, like I said, we finally got a nice flow. It's such it's such a beautiful app. Joe: Now that you're getting all these downloads, do you have a success story that you can share with us? Christopher: I do, I do. so this is a personal a person that I know personally. he's one of my boxers and he's been logging his food rigorously through the app. And he's like, Chris, he's like I've lost one point five pounds a week since he started using it. So this is he's going in his month and a half 'cause we're not quite two months old. and he's like down six pounds or something like that. A mountain a pound and a half a week. But six pounds that One, he needs to get rid of. and two, he's performing way better now because of it. And three, it's not gonna come back. As long as he maintains a healthy lifestyle, it it's it's not gonna come back. When I say healthy lifestyle, that's just within proportion control. Calories in versus calories out. He's burning more calories than he's consuming, therefore he's losing unwanted body fat. and and this is the way to do it. you have to get your body in a state to where it Y you'll you'll wake up feeling hungry. You know, this is a sign that your metabolism is starting to peak up. so it it's great. I'm super excited for him. I have one girl. This was prior to the app. she was thinking a little over four hundred pounds. about five two, five three. Great girl, hard worker. I mean hard worker. This girl would would do things that people half her size couldn't do or wouldn't attempt to do. She would attempt it, she didn't care. She's doing it. So tough, this girl. When when I left, when me and her finally s went separate ways after many years training together, she was at 180 and she looked fabulous. And she kept it off. Joe: now, if listeners remember only one thing from today's conversation, what do you hope that message is? Christopher: It's it's it's never too late to do something great. And and that great thing doesn't have to be like, look, like I did this or I did that. I showed up today. I took accountability for that today. You know, and and and then what will happen is they will build on that in confidence in in how they feel about themselves, about other people. So I would say don't give up. If if if you've been on a nutrition journey before or you've tried diets and they haven't worked for you, get the junk food app. Get on it with some friends, some family members. become your very best and do it at your own pace. But never give up, because anything's possible. Joe: Great advice. Where can our audience connect with you, download the app and continue this conversation? Christopher: Yes, yes. So right over here there's a little QR code. I don't know if the users see visit they they can see it or not. But if not, it's okay. You just go into your phone in the app store and just type in one word, the junk food app. you'll see Mr. Junkie. That's the little hamburger guy right here. There's a QR code right here. That one, you know, if they can see and they can just scan it, it'll take it right to ww dot the junk food app dot app. is the official apps app website for the app that will take you to google or apple www.thejunkfoodapp.com is a website i created to give the users more information about exactly what the junk food app is how it works i got cool little videos in there that explain it better so www the junkfoodapp.com www.thejunkfood dot dot app or just go on your phone search for it Scan the QR code. Christopher Vince Gonzalez is my name on Facebook. literally just type it in. Either you can even type it into Google. I've written a bunch of books on mindset development, nutrition. I have a couple of kids' books as well. I'm always looking for anybody who's interested. in helping me build this mission. You know, investing in in different ways into into the application. You know, I I'm a fairly new we're a month out, a little over a month, and and we're looking to be number one in our space within about two years. Not because not because we're we're a better app or we're this over that, but because we're a movement that brings people together. And and I want to remember that, that that together, you know, we we we definitely can change. And we just can support each other. And you're not in it alone. Joe: Now, are you ready to start talking to investors and angel investors and venture capitalists about possibility growing the app? Christopher: One hundred percent. One hundred percent. I know the product is is is a good product. I know it's a powerful product. It's just people don't know about it. So one hundred percent. I am I'm definitely interested. you can feel free to to reach out to me either through social media, messenger, even through the app like I said, my passion is very strong. my belief is is is is solid because I know that the people need this. You know, and and and somebody had to do something about it, in my opinion. And and so that's why I created the Junk Food app to give people the freedom to eat guilt free and and take take the control of their nutrition. You know, and knock out all those things they don't need. You're gonna start feeling real good. That's the best thing. Joe: Absolutely. Well, Christopher, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate your time and the value that you brought to our audience. Christopher: my pleasure. thank you for having me. I'm I'm always very, very humble and very grateful for the opportunity. Joe: You're welcome. Thanks, everyone, for listening. If this episode inspire you, share it with someone who needs it. And don't forget to follow the Globalizer podcast for more conversations that make an impact. Till the next time.