Get fit with an App?
I love my technology! BUT, we spend so much time on our phones, I Pads, tablets, etc that we literally don't do much else. It's shocking how attached we are to our tech. I am including myself in this statement. I'd like to blame it on the fact that I use my phone for my business but I love having everything right there. When is the sunrise- when can I get out and run and not get run over? I have an app for that. Another Nor'easter? Perfect! How much snow? I have an app for that! Basically between apps and Google my life is run by a little note card sized device and I don't even care. I love it. I want more!!!!
So what are the best apps that I have to help you get fit and eat healthier?
Let's take a tour of my TOP 5 HEALTH and FITNESS APPs!
My Fitness Pal is a great way to track your food, exercise, water, and weight. I love this app as you can customize your goals for weight loss, gain, etc and the app will do all the heavy lifting for you. If you don't really understand macros but want to follow a low carb/keto diet, the app can not only calculate that for you but track it as well. There are loads of challenges you can participate in as well putting you in touch with a virtual community that will keep you on track.
make, plan, and decide on healthy meals this is for you. You can enter all your goals into the app. I weigh 150lbs and I want to weight 130lbs. I want to eat low carb but not no carb. I don't want to eat radishes, fish, nor peanuts. I want to eat 6 times a day. PRESTO CHANGO.....up come meals, recipes, and shopping lists for you all within your caloric limit and without radishes, fish, or peanuts! Its terrific. Those of you who do online grocery shopping- Why haven't you downloaded this already. You can upload you list right to your grocery store.
3. Fooducate
Fooducate is a bar code scanner app that then tells you by grade how healthy that food product you are eating is! Take fooducate to the grocery store, scan your favorite item and up comes a grade and suggestions for healthier items. Many times the healthier items are just as yummy so it is a no brainer to make the change. Fooducate has not in my experience scanned a bag of chips and said a healthier item is kale...well duh! It has come up with healthier versions of my chips! What a deal!
Simply Work It is a fun app that has personal trainer videos demonstrate more than 200 moves and exercises. You can customize EVERYTHING from the length of your workout or targeting muscle groups.
5. Couch to 5K
Go from the Couch to a 5k in 9 weeks for only 30 minutes 3 days a week. This is a great app for the beginner who is afraid that they just can't move or do anything because......................This was my first app to get started so this holds special nostalgia for me. The app works on intervals between walking, jogging, and running so you don't just have to start running which makes the process much more palatable.
Runners Up:
Lose it is a weight loss app that allows you to scan or photograph your foods (literally) and it will upload the calories into your "bank". You have entered all your goals into your profile and Lose It will track it all for you. Lose it will
even keep after you if you don't enter, scan, or open the app so this is good for those of you that like to "forget"
Down Dog is a yoga app that will take you through practice sessions. The sessions are fully narrated and the positions are explained very well. You also have the option to skip a pose if its just not for you or too hard.
Charity Miles is an app that lets you earn money for a variety of charities by running or biking. The app measures your distances and you earn 10 or 25 cents for walking or biking respectively from their
corporate sponsors. This is a great way to make your exercise reach out and help.
Please be careful that you realize an app is just that and has its good and bad qualities. For example, you can close, ignore, and misuse your app. And not using your app will not help you with your fitness plan. Your app also can't help you with issues of form and may not be able to answer your personal questions. As we venture into this less human century, keep in mind that you still need humans for some things like tell you to get off the phone and go workout!
Sources:
https://www.active.com/fitness/articles/18-best-health-and-fitness-apps-of-2018/slide-6
