Sunday, May 6, 2012

Dialing Back the Calories: Ten Ways to Lose Weight With Your iPhone

Zits, May 5, 2012
I was slow to embrace cell phones, but I'm catching up. I've had my iPhone for a while now and am just starting to tap into some of the amazing apps that are changing my life. Yes, changing my life. Today, I'll tell you about some that are helping me get healthier.


10 Ways to Lose Weight With Your iPhone

1. Use free apps like myfitnesspal, a calorie burn calculator, and a pedometer to keep you on task and measure your progress

2. In myfitnesspal, enter your height, weight, activity level, and goal weight to get the number of calories you should be eating daily

3. Keep a food diary by entering the name of the food you are eating; the app will provide choices and let you adjust serving sizes. Once you've entered some favorite foods, you can easily add them from a personalized list

4. Use the built-in barcode reader for a quick calorie total of grocery products

5. Watch your vitamin and nutrient intake throughout the day just by checking your iPhone, and make sure you're getting enough healthy foods. I always have to be careful that I'm getting enough calcium and potassium, and the ongoing daily summary helps with that. I can even enter my brand of daily vitamin by scanning the barcode, and those additional vitamins and minerals are tallied

6. Keep an eye on your accrued calorie total and check your numbers before eating a meal, so you can adjust serving sizes accordingly

7. Log your exercise activities

8. Using the calorie burn calculator, check the number of calories you are burning throughout the day. Although myfitnesspal gives calorie totals for plenty of exercise activities to choose from, I like to have a more extensive list of activities. The calculator I use has all kinds of workouts, plus things like yard work, housework, and even reading!

9. Using the pedometer, go for lots of walks, measuring your speed and distance so you can log your benefits

10. Enjoy instant feedback, non-judgmental reminders, and graphs showing your progress

I'm finding that being mindful of what I am eating really helps me to make good choices and lose weight. I hope that you will leave a comment to let me know if you've tried any of these apps or if you've found others that are helpful. 




6 comments:

JC said...

They all sound great but I don't have any of them. When it comes to weight, anything that will help is great.

clairz said...

JC, they always say that keeping a food diary really helps. It can be done on paper, too.

Quiet Paths said...

That is so weird I was just looking for a good counter app this morning! I use My Plate online but I needed an app. Thank you!

Linda said...

I'm an app-free zone! For weight control I use the waist band of my favourite jeans plus the knowledge that I'm not willing to spend money on a bigger size of clothes. (all very Scottish, I know)

Sallie (FullTime-Life.com said...

I need a new phone!!!!

Jean (aka Auntie Bucksnort) said...

Thank you for the inspiration!