Various Apps for New Year's Resolutions

[drghfx]

I came across this article and thought I would post it for the non-hi-tech running gear owners and to point loved ones in the right direction. The actual article has some pictures of the apps and links to them.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2413653,00.asp


Get Organized: Fitness Resolutions Through Technology
If your New Year's resolutions include getting in shape, find out how to use some smart technology to help you monitor your body, track your progress, and get support from friends anytime, anywhere.
By Jill Duffy December 31, 2012 1

Imagine if every time you looked at your smartphone, it reminded you of some positive change you are trying to make in your life—rather than reminding you of all the emails you haven't answered. Imagine if every time you felt your pocket for your keys, you also touched a gadget that keeps tabs on how many steps you take in a day (10,000 is the minimum goal for healthy people, according to most major health organizations). And what if posts from your social network encouraged you toward your fitness goals and praised you for accomplishments, instead of spamming you with cries of self pity?

Losing weight, exercising more, and eating healthier consistently rank among the top New Year's resolutions in the U.S. And with January 1 right around the corner, many people could use some help turning those goals into actionable steps.

Technology can go a long way toward helping you change your health and lifestyle for the better, but the vast array of gadgets and apps can be confusing. It's hard to know where to start and how to stick with the changes you hope to make.

I've personally tested dozens of fitness apps and gadgets for PCMag—as a software analyst, mind you, and not as a nutritionist or health expert—but couple those experiences with my own lifelong struggle to maintain a healthy weight, and they've given me a lot of insight into how people make real changes that stick.

It's extremely important for me to repeat that I am not a health, diet, or fitness expert. Consult a qualified specialist for advice that is specific to you and your body. Still, I do want to share what I have learned and outline a few things that have worked for me and my family and friends and help others get a sense of what kinds of personal fitness technologies are available and how they work.



Step 1: Quantify Yourself in One Area
If you're starting at the very beginning, you'll first need to sign up for a service that will let you record your personal metrics. Metrics include calories consumed, weight, exercise, and sometimes even sleep and heart rate. These services are almost always online, accessed through either a website or a mobile app. I recommend a few below.

The information you collect about yourself is only valuable if you use it, which I discuss a little more in the video below, but becoming aware of your own habits and patterns is what it's all about at this stage. Cultivating a new awareness of yourself can truly change your life.



If you're new to the personal data tracking or "self-quantifying" movement, don't feel compelled to buy an expensive gadget right away. Start small and plan to grow. I recommend counting calories first. If you've never counted calories before, it can open your eyes to your overall health and wellness patterns. Calorie-counting apps allow you log your food and drink intake very easily. They're ideal to use on a smartphone because you can log what you consume in the moment rather than waiting until you're at home in front of a computer. You can even scan barcodes of packaged food to automatically calculate serving sizes and nutritional data. My personal favorites are Fitbit.com and MyFitnessPal, but here are a few others, too.

Calorie-counting apps:

•MyFitnessPal (free, 4 stars, Editors' Choice)
•Lose It! (free, 3.5 stars)
•Calorie Tracker - Livestrong.com ($2.99 for iPhone, 3.5 stars)
•Fitbit.com (designed to work with the Fitbit line of products, but free to use on its own)

Calorie counting apps often let you record much more than just the foods you eat, but before you get caught up in trying to record everything about yourself, just try to log food intake accurately for one week. Don't try to take on too much at once. Make just this one small change for a few days and see how it goes.



Step 2: Find Ongoing Motivation
When I'm in a slump and haven't exercised in a while, I might buy myself an accessory for my bicycle or a pair of good quality sneakers for the gym. Why? Investments motivate me. If I have new cross-trainers, I can't justify not getting on the elliptical machine at lunch time.

People have different sources of motivation. Social encouragement is a popular one. Rewards and positive feedback are another. Figure out what keeps you motivated, and make sure you've included it in the technologies you use or otherwise incorporated it into your lifestyle.

Every online fitness service I've seen has a way to connect with friends—and sometimes strangers, too—so that you can share your accomplishments and reach out to a network when you need support. For those who prefer to keep their fitness regimen private, note that social sharing is completely optional.



Step 3: Add a Second Metric
Not everyone likes to get on a bathroom scale every day (I've read plenty of advice that specifically recommends not doing daily weigh-ins), but a lot of people benefit from seeing their weight change. So step two is to add a second metric, and for many people it will be weight.




You may not be emotionally ready to get on the scale January 1, and that's okay! Like I said, try counting calories for a week and see what kind of awareness you develop before adding to your lifestyle changes. (And remember, what worked for me and my friends may not work for you, so use your judgment and the advice of a medical professional if need be.)

Some of the calorie counting services I mentioned only store your weight the same way they store your height, as a sort of fixed metric to estimate how many calories your body burns at rest. You can change it when you lose weight, but that's not ideal for marking your progress. Both Fitbit.com and MyFitnesspal do let you record weight fluctuations, however, and that's one reason I like them more than other services. If the Fitbit line of products catches your fancy, you might also add Fitbit Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale ($129, 4 stars)$120.00 at Amazon Marketplace, a bathroom scale that automatically adds your weight and body fat percent to your Fitbit account whenever you use it.

Regardless of whether you start recording your weight just yet, you will want to start recording your exercise and physical activity. There are two ways to do so with technology: manually and automatically.



Manual vs. Automatic Activity Logging
The manual solution works much in the same way as counting calories, and in fact all the calorie counting services I mentioned have this feature. Simply choose from a list or type in the activities you do, the duration, and effort level (i.e., easy, medium, strenuous, etc.), and the service will estimate how many calories you burned based on your height, weight, age, and gender.

The automatic way to record activity is to use a tracker. Trackers aren't cheap, running upwards of $60, but they can be highly motivating, and I personally think buying one for yourself would be a great reward for sticking to counting calories and physical activity for a set amount of time (maybe two weeks or a month). If a tracker isn't in your budget, I have a few other technologies to suggest, too, listed toward the end of the article.

Fitness trackers are essentially modern day pedometers. You wear them to measure how much activity you get every day and how many calories you're burning as a result. Some account for stair climbing or the intensity of an activity, and most come with a companion website that have calorie-counting features, or where you can connect to outside apps for enhanced data collection.

Fitness Trackers:
•Fitbit One ($99, 4.5 stars, Editors' Choice): Special features include ability to measure stair climbing, sleep tracking, a silent or vibrating wake-alarm, and excellent connectivity with other apps and devices. The tiny and discreet Fitbit One slips into your pocket or clips onto a waistband or bra strap. It also works with a number of different computers and smartphones.
•Jawbone UP ($129, 3.5 stars)%displayPrice% at %seller%: This fitness tracker is a lightweight, rubbery bracelet worn on the wrist. Its special feature is a silent alarm that vibrates up to 30 minutes before the time you set if it sees an ideal slot during your sleep cycle for you to wake. It only works with iPhone at the moment, with an Android app on the way.
•Fitbit Zip ($59, 3.5 stars)$59.95 at Apple Store: If you're on a budget, Fitbit Zip is an excellent choice, (although I'd rather own the fully loaded Fitbit One for an additional $30). It clips onto your clothes or hides in your pocket and keeps track of your movements through the day.
•Larklife ($149, 3 stars): Similar to Jawbone UP, Larklife is a wristband that comes with some neat features, like recording a workout automatically if it notices increased activity or speed. It also has sleep tracking and waking functions.



Additional Apps, Gadgets, and Motivators
If a fitness tracker isn't in your budget, you can try another class of apps that might motivate you to get into better shape: workout apps. You can look for something that's specific to an activity you enjoy, such as cycling, or a more general workout app. Some of the apps that sound rather specific are in fact quite general, which is the case with MapMyRun+ and other apps from the same developer that all include the option to record a leisurely walk if you aren't a runner




Workout apps:

•GAIN Fitness (free, 4.5 stars): The GAIN Fitness app is like a personal workout buddy who can coach you through a 20-minute at-home workout or a 60-minute weightlifting experience at the gym. Special exercise packs, such as yoga, cost extra.
•MapMyRun (free) and MapMyRide+ ($2.99, 4 stars): The wide array of apps from MapMyFitness are much more general than they may sound, as you can use them to track simple walks as well as food intake and much more.
•Runmeter ($4.99) and Cyclemeter ($4.99, 4 stars): One nice feature of Runmeter and its sister apps are you can use them without ever going to the website. They also include some training features if you are working up to a goal, like running a half marathon. They are for iPhone only, however.

In past columns, I've mentioned the analogy that getting organized is like losing weight. Both are lifestyle changes that require small and consistent actions that add up to greater results. I have personally found technology to be a source of inspiration in both areas. The little reminders you can get from a smartphone, a social network, or a gadget worn on your wrist to stay on course toward a goal can be invaluable.


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[turd ferguson]

Interesting.

In an ongoing attempt to get control over my eating and my weight, I'm using the myfitnesspal app. Day 2, works pretty well so far for logging everything.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/mobile

[babysteps]

My FIL lost a bunch of weight and credits his iphone app for his success. Really though, this kind of bugs me. Unless he's sucking on his phone instead of eating chips it's not his app that worked, it's him. However, whatever works is wonderful. I do worry, though, that having an external motivator is almost always going to fail in the long term. Eventually the novelty wears off. Then you need to find a new external motivator. That being said, I'm a total hypocrite because I haven't done much in ages so apparently I have neither internal nor external motivation. Nor discipline. I'm going to rely on public shaming instead - so feel free to let'er rip!

[drghfx]

My FIL lost a bunch of weight and credits his iphone app for his success. Really though, this kind of bugs me. Unless he's sucking on his phone instead of eating chips it's not his app that worked, it's him. However, whatever works is wonderful. I do worry, though, that having an external motivator is almost always going to fail in the long term. Eventually the novelty wears off. Then you need to find a new external motivator. That being said, I'm a total hypocrite because I haven't done much in ages so apparently I have neither internal nor external motivation. Nor discipline. I'm going to rely on public shaming instead - so feel free to let'er rip!

I think we should get David to post pictures of you with signs like the dog shaming site. How about "Instead of eating the couch, Babysteps lays on it and eats potato chips!"?