January 9, 2012
If you ask just about anyone what the top pick for a New Year’s resolution is, they will probably say, without hesitation, weight loss. Not only is there a serious and growing problem (no pun intended) with obesity amongst both children and adults; there is also the fact that most of us just spent the last month indulging in the fats and sugars that seem to be part and parcel of the season, when treasured family recipes and treats galore crumble the resolve that keeps us on our diet throughout the other eleven months of the year. Luckily, there are more tools than ever to help you get back on track with a regimen that includes fitness, dieting, and overall improvement of health. And using your smart phone is a very smart way to start.
There are a couple of categories of apps that can really help you to reach your weight-loss goals this year, and the first and most important are those that center on diet. You can exercise day and night and never shed a pound (you may even gain) if you don’t begin by changing your eating habits, and that means paying attention to the calories going in and going out, the types of food you choose, and the motivations that keep you eating even when you’re not hungry. And when it comes to apps to help you out, Weight Watchers offers some of the best.
The great thing is that you don’t even have to be a member to download their many free apps (although joining will get you the full version). For example, Weight Watchers mobile offers a new recipe every day, along with the ability to save 10 recipes, a smart food cheat sheet, and success stories to inspire you (as well as a listing of nearby meetings in case you want to join up). But if you’re a member, you’ll also gain mobile access to many of the features on their eTools site, like points tracking and unlimited access to recipes. The company also offers an app for barcode scanning as well as a kitchen companion that will help you craft healthy recipes from the foods in your kitchen.
Of course, you don’t have to go with Weight Watchers; there are plenty of apps to help you track calories, scan barcodes for caloric information, and make healthier choices when it comes to food. Many are even free, including one from famed fitness expert and trainer Jillian Michaels. Her Slim-Down Solutions App not only helps you create a workable diet with slimming recipes (although the free version only nets you 30), she also provides fat-burning exercises, daily tips, a weekly podcast, and access to her real-time message board. If you thought you couldn’t afford a personal trainer, you were wrong — here she is for free.
But there are so many more. You can try Simply Organic HD for healthy organic recipes, MealBoard to plan your diet by the day, MyNetDiary to track diet and exercise, and dozens of cookbook apps for different diets like Atkins, South Beach, and so on. But you may also want to check out exercise apps like Fitness Buddy, Everywhere Exercise, and iMapMyFITNESS+. Since hiring a malpractice attorney Chicago style to sue the makers of their famous deep-dish pizzas is out of the question (ditto on Philly cheesesteaks), you’re simply going to have to take responsibility for what you put in your body and how you work off the extra pounds. And thanks to the iTunes store, there are dozens of apps to help you out.
Editor’s Note
Thanks to Evan Fischer for this quest post. He is a freelance writer and part-time student at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.