Three months ago, you cornered your failings and decided to bully them into submission. No more finger-dipping into the crisps packet while watching telly. You will huff and puff for a daily 30-minute walk. You will exercise more, eat less and nurture a relationship with food that is not complicated.
And yet we know how it is with resolutions. Like new year’s eve fireworks, they start with a bang but fizzle out in a whimper. What you need is someone or something to push you on and keep you strong in your, admittedly fading, resolve.
Your smartphone can be your perfect fitness buddy. Like a personal trainer, it will bark orders from your pocket and will not protest if you wake it up at five in the morning for a jog around the block. Moreover, thanks to geo-tracking, smartphones can follow you anywhere while tracking the distance covered, speed and calories burned. It’s all a matter of downloading the right app.
MyFitnessPal
This free app is an all-rounder. Not only does it help you monitor your weight but it also sets new goals for your activities thanks to its exercise tracker: just enter what you eat and what activity you’ve done – anything from swimming and yoga to a gym workout – and it will adjust your goals accordingly.
7 Minute Superhero Workout
Developed by Six to Start, the 7 Minute Superhero Workout app gives you plenty of motivation by gamifying your workouts. The games are pretty simple: for instance, you defend Earth against invading aliens. But while you’re punching and kicking aliens, you are working out, burning calories and training to become a superhero. The app uses your smartphone’s front-facing camera to track your movements and calculate how many calories you’ve burned.
Sleep better
It’s not just running, jogging and working out that help you stay fit. Key to your fitness regime is a good night’s sleep. Sleep Better, developed by Runtastic, runs like a dream: it tracks your sleep cycles and wakes you up at the right point to help you avoid morning grumpiness.
Endomondo
There are various running apps and basically they all do the same things: they help you plan your route, track your movements, and monitor your pace. What Endomondo adds to the mix is a bit of gloating, which admittedly, we all love to do: go on a good run and then tell everyone all about it on your social accounts. It’s a form of encouragement. There is a free version of this app but also a premium version with additional features.
Fitocracy
This app is all about motivation. Enter the details of your workout and Fitocracy will award you points accordingly. As you bulk up your points, you will reach various milestones and you will level up. A bit of competition never hurt anyone and by comparing your performance to that of other Fitocracy community members, you will always have the motivation to do better.
Moves
This app does exactly what it says on the label: it tracks your daily movements, whether you run, jog, walk, cycle or don’t move at all. You just carry your smartphone in your pocket and the app will do the rest. This simplicity is what has made Moves so successful. In fact, last April, Facebook bought the app, which marked the social media giant’s entry into the fitness and activity arena.
Calorie Counter Pro
This app should definitely be on your menu: it does the work of a food scanner, nutrient log and exercise tracker. Calorie Counter Pro scans barcodes for a product’s nutritional information and tracks up to 45 different nutrients. You can also monitor your activity as well as plan your meals according to your target weight.
Yoga Studio
If your activity of choice is yoga, then this app will enhance your experience. Yoga Studio offers 35 different classes, depending on your level and interest. The app also has a comprehensive explanation of all yoga poses. You can also choose your class according to your specific needs, such as suffering from back problems.
Primal Paleo
The Paleolithic Diet is based on what our early human ancestors used to eat. The idea is to eat a primitive diet while avoiding foods that were not available to hunter-gatherers, including refined sugar, dairy products and grains. If this sounds like a tall order, the Primal Paleo app provides you with a list of primal foods and ingredients as well as more than 400 recipes.