What’s your New Year’s resolution for 2015? To lose weight, quit smoking or have you decided to live an all-round healthier lifestyle? These are all great goals, but the truth is, it’s not as easy as those infomercials on TV make you believe!
Think back over resolutions that have fizzled out in the past: the one thing that gets us every time is a lack of motivation – we start off strong, then real life takes over and our resolve takes a back seat.
So, how can we stay motivated enough to follow through? Short answer: embrace the technology at your fingertips!
How’s technology going to help me stay motivated?
It’s all about the apps! There truly is one for everything these days – anything you want, it’s there.
And, since most of these apps are available on devices that support both Android and iOS operating systems, you can find whatever you need.
Apps to help you stay on track
Calorie Counter – MyFitnessPal
Wow! Talk about an all-in-one weight-loss app! Not only does it count the number of calories you are burning on a daily basis, it also:
- Allows you to set daily calorie burning goals
- Will show you how many calories you’re getting from your daily food intake
- Allows you to create daily diary entries of what you are eating at each meal and tells you how many calories is in each food item
- Show your progress in graph form (exercise and nutrition)
Is quitting smoking your New Year’s resolution? Great! But, as we all know, everyone is different and this extends to everything that you do and this is why this quit-smoking app is the answer! Introducing the LIVESTRONG MyQuit Coach, which is physician approved!
This app allows you to:
- Personalise your quit smoking programme to suit your lifestyle
- Helps you quit ‘cold turkey’, if that’s what you want
- Analyses and tracks nicotine intake
Are you wanting to increase your fitness? Then the Nike+ Training Club is for you! The app boasts:
- Over 100 workouts
- Track your progress of workouts and number of calories burned
- It’s also compatible with Nike+ Running
- You’re able to stream your workouts on your TV and/or tablet directly from your phone, using s HDMI cable
If packing on muscle is your goal this year, look no further than the 30 Days Fitness Challenges app (only available on iPhone)
This muscle-building beauty allows you to set workout challenges for a month at a time!
- Once, you start a challenge, you won’t progress to the next one until you finish your current one!
- The app allows you to set goals for many parts of your body such as: arms, legs, core and a general strength challenge
Apps are all about keeping you accountable, but if you’re not the type to get fiddly tracking your progress, then why not try our Hello Doctor Health tips? For just R1/day, we’ll SMS you expert advice from our doctors twice a day.
It might just be the reminder and motivation you need to keep going!