There's An App For That!!!

 

 

Calories...To count or not to count? That is the question! Personally, I feel like it's your own preference. I will admit it can be a bit overwhelming and if you have an OCD or addictive personality it can be a bit scary too, so be careful when choosing to do this and take it day by day! I count, but I also listen to my body. If I'm hungry, then I eat, but I don't eat to the point where I need to unbutton the top button of my pants :) Counting calories can be helpful as long as you find that healthy balance of what you are consuming versus what your body is really telling/needing of you. But guess what?!?! There's an app for that!!! Everybody loves apps!! If you don't know what an app is, well, I have lots of questions to ask you!

Two of the apps I've used and feel are pretty simple are myfitnesspal and LoseIt!. These both have websites as well if you do not have a smart phone or don't want to use up your data (myfitnesspal.com and loseit.com). Both of these sites count your macros, which are carbs, fats, and proteins (Bet you learned something new there!!!). They also measure your sugar, sodium, and cholesterol intakes if that is something you are trying to watch more closely. Both sites base your measurements off of the info that you enter, i.e. weight, height, age, etc. I basically used them as a guideline. Eventually, you won't need them at all as you will get the hang of what your body should consume. The only time I go back to them is if I have set new goals or trying to measure something different. Again, use this as a guideline as sometimes counting calories isn't always counting your nutrition value :) 

Other things that are available to you that don't involve a phone necessarily are some of the devices you can buy. The two most popular ones are Fitbit's and FTs (the pink and red pictures above). I'm not totally familiar with the FT4 or FT7 (I think there are others as well), but I am VERY familiar with the Fitbit Force (There is a Flex and I think another one they offer). I live and breathe this thing. It tracks your sleep, calories burned, activity minutes, food intake, weight, steps, floors climbed, distance walked/ran, and your water intake. You can set your own goals to go off of. You wear it on your wrist (non dominate hand) and it monitors everything from there! I prefer the Force only because it has everything on your screen, where as the Flex is based on the amount of stars that light up on your screen. I guess you could say I'm lazy and just want to read my info rather then justify what the stars mean lol I'm all about making my life simple :)

Does anyone out there have another device or site they use to track your health and fitness goals? If so, please post below! I want to learn more! The ones I've mentioned are the most popular, but we all know there are tons more with how technology is today :) Let me know what you think! 

P.S. Remember counting calories is different than watching what nutrients you consume. I could count calories at McDonald's all day, but I'm not getting the nutrition I need. Make sure you are still eating healthy food when you do this. Just because you might be staying under your count, doesn't mean you are being healthy. It's about what AND how much food you are eating, not just HOW much are you eating :)

~Ditty