Striving for a healthy lifestyle? There’s an app for that
Kristin Coppens
| 3 min read
To stay healthy, it is often recommended to keep a food diary or exercise log when trying to stick to a health and fitness routine. However, it can be hard to manually track everything and tedious to write all entries down. Now, keeping a routine of healthy eating and exercise is becoming harder to excuse away with the immergence of new technology advances and healthier food options.
In fact, we now have one more reason to love our smartphones with a list of the best health, wellness, fitness, and diet apps. You can track your calories and diet, create workouts tailored to your liking, find recipes, look up health information, and interact/share with others. The apps below provide all-encompassing alternatives to the old “food diary” and “exercise log” plans and are some of my personal favorites. Find a larger list of health and fitness apps here.
Lose It! (iOS and Android): The Lose It! app compiles food logging, exercise logging, and a social platform to connect with friends and discuss your struggles and successes. FREE
Pocket Yoga (iOS and Android): Pocket Yoga allows you to place your smartphone or tablet in front of your yoga mat at home while it guides you through different yoga poses and sessions. There are about 27 total sessions within the app. $2.99
Fooducate (iOS and Android): Fooducate combines food and education in a comprehensive app by grading your groceries. The app then explains certain ingredients and offers healthier alternatives. FREE
LIVESTRONG.COM’s MyPlate (iOS and Android): MyPlate has the largest database of food and restaurants to aid in calorie tracking and exercise. You can also easily sync your logs and progress on with the website. $2.99
WebMD (iOS and Android): Much like the website, WebMD’s app offers many features in health information and decision support. The app offers Symptom Checker, drugs and treatment, first aid essentials, and local listings. FREE
Pedometer Step Counter, by runtastic (iOS and Android): This pedometer app works anywhere on your body, as long as you’re walking! All you have to do is press the start button and track if you’re meeting the recommended 10,000 steps a day. FREE
Epicurious (iOS and Android): Epicurious is arguably the most popular recipe app in the marketplace. Included are recipes and the ability to create instant shopping lists. FREE
NikeBOOM (iOS and Android): NikeBOOM syncs the music on your phone or tablet and pairs it with training workouts and your favorite athletes to coach you through the routine. You can choose the workout type, length, and your favorite athlete to act as coach. FREE
Healthy Habits (iOS): Top-rated by the U.S. Surgeon General, Healthy Habits allows you to put your goals into action. Define a habit, set a goal (times per day/week/month), track your actions, and celebrate your success! Earn badges and share your progress socially. FREE
What are your favorite health and fitness apps?
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Photo Credit: Kevin H
