Fitness comes in many forms. To ensure you keep on track of your diet and exercise plan, you occasionally need an extra nudge from some outside help. For some, this means tracking down a personal trainer or spending time with a nutritionist to find the proper nutrition regimen for their needs.
Others may find more success in a self-guided approach, but going in without a plan and convenient means of sticking to that plan may not pay off with the desired results. That’s where technology comes in.
With health-focused apps ranging from exercise buddies to nutrient trackers overwhelming every app store known to man, weeding through the chaff to get to the wheat is almost as complicated as sticking to a diet in the first place. That’s really a shame, considering how important tracking one’s progress can be in terms of providing motivation to stick to a self-betterment course.
Keeping on top of your routine means balancing multiple factors that combine to create a healthy lifestyle. With that in mind, here’s a handful of helpful apps to help you keep track of your fitness and lifestyle goals without spending all night weeding through self-help apps.
The Best Fitness And Nutrition Apps Of 2017
1. MyPlate Calorie Tracker
One of the most common caveats when trying to lose or maintain weight is a having a lack of understanding of how to keep track of calories.
Caloric intake directly affects your weight, however, if you only pay attention to your calories and not your macronutrients you will not be maintaining a balanced, nutritious diet. MyPlate Calorie Tracker allows you to create custom macronutrient goals and it identifies which foods you eat has the most calories.
MyPlate contains tools to scan in pre-packaged foods or create your own food entries to allow you to track and record everything you eat for future reference.
2. Couch to 5k
If counting calories doesn’t inspire you to better yourself, taking a run or two just might do the trick.
Couch to 5k inspires its users to pursue a marathon within nine weeks of beginning their training even if they’ve never run a step in their lives before starting up the app. It may seem daunting but it’s entirely possible to exercise three times a week and reach a level where an extended run doesn’t knock you off your feet. You might just inspire yourself to keep it up after learning how you can expand your body’s limits with dedication and practice, too.
3. Charity Miles
Losing weight and giving to charity both feel great. Fun fact: You can actually combine the two in one fell swoop! Your exercise habits can be used to fund worthy charities with a variety of goals and causes.
Sometimes the motivation that it takes to get off of the couch comes in strange and unexpected ways, but nothing helps quite like knowing a cycling trip you just took translated to real, tangible money for an organization that desperately needs it.
4. PlateJoy
Plotting what to eat is another component that needs to be added to the challenge of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It can be an experimental period with new and unexpected food combinations (while also lamenting over the loss of a weekly pizza).
You can help ease the sting of such a loss with PlateJoy, a service in which a personality quiz is all you need to complete to be paired up with a meal planner. The meal planner will help you settle on a meal plan to meet exercise requirements, diets, weight loss or any special concerns you might have in mind.
5. Sweatcoin
Despite the name sounding like something you’d want to avoid, Sweatcoin is actually a motivation booster that turns your hard work into a currency that you can spend on fitness gear.
Combined with other apps, you can turn your nutrition tracking and exercise habits into funds that you can then re-invest in your ongoing quest for better health. The prizes change frequently but you can win Misfit Wearables, Fitbits and even iPhones. If that’s not your bag, you can always turn around and donate the Sweatcoins you make to any number of charities, making it a promising double-dip for those who like to exercise their way to a cleaner conscience.
We have actually featured Sweatcoin in more depth as one of our fit-tech features. Check it out!
6. HealthyOut
Chances are you’re going to have to eat out every now and again. Hectic days lead to time shortages where you may not be able to work in your carefully-crafted dieting plan.
Instead of settling for the first food option that pops into your head, HealthyOut is a nutrition app that assists you in making smart eating choices by helping you weed out foodstuffs that aren’t suitable for your diet.
Search by diet criteria, calorie needs or even diet types. You might just be able to work a burger into your week after all!
Conclusion
If you’re starting a new diet or just need a nudge in the right direction when it comes to keeping your hand out of the cookie jar, your phone could be the key to a better you. These nutrition apps have so many great reviews, they really could help you keep on track.
Remember to keep your guilty pleasure foods in moderation and try to fit in a jog every now and then and you might come out feeling better in no time.
