Get a Fitter and Healthier Body with these Weight Loss Tools
Our smartphones can do more than connect us with family and peers; it can also aid us in our quest to a healthier body. With the range of smartphone apps today, losing weight is now made easier. Research even supports the use of apps in weight loss. In fact, a study from Northwestern University has shown that using a mobile app in a weight loss program can help you drop up to 15 pounds, and even keep it off for at least a year. Read on and discover a few of today’s best.
Endomondo
Available in a free version and a Pro version (costing less than $3), this app can be used for various sports like running, cycling and walking. It shows a GPS tracking route, distance, duration and calories burned. The app can also support integration with built-in music players and Bluetooth heart rate monitors like Polar and Zephyr.
Fitocracy
With more than 1 million registered “Fitocrats,” this app will let you play against one another to enhance your fitness, all the while swapping advice, inspiration and workouts. In the game, users start at level one and earn points as they go up the next level, depending on their workout duration, frequency and difficulty level.
Fooducate
This app allows you to scan the barcode of food products to get a quick health grade, rated from A to F. Along with weight tracking; it also clues you in on the nutritional quality of the food you are buying, helping you create healthy grocery lists.
iTrackBites
Assigning food scores and points to food items, this app is similar to Weight Watchers. You can keep a food diary and pick food items with an assigned point value from the food database, or enter food items that are not in the database. Doing the latter gives you point values for them.
Lose It!
One of today’s best weight loss apps, this app offers a barcode scanner, recipe builder, and an extensive database of food and activities. You can also add food to the database, and monitor your intake of essential nutrients such as fat, protein and carbohydrates.
MyFitnessPal Calorie Counter and Fitness Tracker
With more than 300,000 reviews on iTunes and almost as many by Android users, this app has a barcode scanner so you can see what makes up your favorite packaged foods. This should help you tally up the calories that you consume on a daily basis. It also has a database with over 750,000 food items.
There are still so many fitness tracker and calorie counter apps today, and they are currently growing in number as more and more people are coming to realize the importance of health and fitness in their lives. Make sure that you first consult a weight loss doctor before you try to execute the activities in your chosen calorie tracker for iPhones and Android devices. If you can, ask guidance from your doctor on which of these apps would best be suited to your health needs and goals.
