This weekend, after a very strong 8.5 mile run that was very comfortable; I have declared myself ready for my half marathon scheduled in three weeks. Two years ago when I started my focus on fitness and health, I couldn't run up stairs without breathing hard. Now, I can run a mile in 9-10 minutes and not move my blood pressure.
I have said this before, and I'll say it again, if you want to try something like what I have done....start with what you know historically has worked for you in the past. Not just had some ehhh kind of results but solid, good results. Calorie counting works for me, so I do it.
Then have some fun and take it into the modern world, and use apps! If you have a device of any kind practically (Droid, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Kindle, Samsung Galaxy, etc) you can use all of the apps I am about to tell you about. I am also a big believer that there are so many good, free apps out there, this shouldn't cost you anything.
So what if you are thinking to yourself, "It would be nice if there was a thing that could clock how many times I look at the moon today." I am not kidding, there is some truth to the cliche' "there's an app for that." I found these two apps simply by searching for them in my app store on my device. There are health apps out there for yoga poses and setting up a routine. There are apps for specific workouts and tracking/timing them. Apps for bulk up diets for body builders. I am not kidding, the health apps out there, most being free, are better than any commercial offering a pill to block fat. Blocking fat is easy, don't eat it. Getting it off your body, that is hard! And yet, there is an app for getting fat off your body. Here are the two I use.
January 2011, I have had weight loss success with calorie counting using a pen and paper. This time, I did calorie counting on an app called MyFitnessPal. Don't have a smart device? Login on their website at myfitnesspal.com and start that way. It is a free app. It has an amazing database of restaurants and brand name foods. Just punch in Kraft macaroni, and instantly you know your calories. It also has a scanner on it. I have had the fun of standing at Starbucks, picked up a package of nuts, scanned the bar-code, and instantly those calories are logged for the day. I can honestly say, I could not have achieved what I have achieved without this app.
So I lose a bunch of weight and decide in January 2012 to start running. I find that as I start this little venture into a sport, I want to know information. How far did I just run? Was it a good pace? I found myself taking a walk/run, then taking the car out to find out the distance I had just run. And all I would know at that point, was distance.
Yep, there's an app for this as well. There are lots of apps for this. If you own an Apple product, you might have Nike+ already installed on your device. Since I had a Droid at the time, I just started looking in my app market and found Endomondo. To use these sorts of apps, you need a smart phone plan of some kind. You need the GPS to be able to follow you around as you run/walk your little feet off. I got the free version of Endomondo and later upgraded and paid the $4 for the enhanced version. Both are fine.
One nice feature with Endomondo, it is not running specific. You punch in your are walking, roller skating, biking, skiing, kayaking, tennis, rugby, etc. I kid you not, the list of sports it will track for you is amazing, and not specific to running. You just need to start the app when you're starting your sport, attach your device to you and go play. It will clock your distance and calories burned when you are done and click stop. Because it has such a library of sports, it does a much better job of tracking workouts than MyFitnessPal.
Cool new feature with these apps now? They can now sync. I punch in a run on Endomondo, and it will sync with MyFitnessPal and log in that exercise and calories burned. I play a rugby match (ain't happening, but for an example) and it will log the results on Endomondo AND MyFitnessPal.
Another interesting, albeit expensive, app I just read about today. A personal coach wristband device that clocks everything you do all day and gives you feedback. Click here to read this interesting article. I am not sure I want to plunk down $150 for this device. However, I can see this kind of device coming down in price in the next few years. I also see this as a great thing for those folks who don't have time to pay attention to their health because of their level of job stress or lifestyle. We all know people who say something like, "The day got so hectic I haven't eaten since last night." And they wonder why they are exhausted and strung out on coffee. It might be good for this little electronic personal coach to give them a reminder to eat something, drink water, move around, etc. especially if they have health concerns and want to start taking control of them.
So what kinds of numbers do I track on my two apps? I track my daily calories and I track my distance/calories burned while running. I track calories because if I don't very slowly bad habits creep in. Larger portion sizes, thinking little "snacks" are zero calories, etc. And suddenly I am getting larger and discouraged. For myself, I must keep track of this. Since I am wanting to complete a half marathon, I want to work up my distance and keep track of those numbers.
Why is this a big deal to me? When I see commercials for diet pills, gadgets, plans, and potions, it frustrates me. Weight loss/health shouldn't cost as much as these pills/gadgets and a little pill never fixed an entire problem. Losing weight and getting healthy is about making significant lifestyle changes, and you need to ask yourself if you are willing to do that.
My doctor gave me good words to live by in this little two year journey, "It's all about the numbers. How much is coming into your body and how much is going out. Forget the fat, sugar, proteins, etc. At the end of the day it boils down to have you expended the same amount of fuel you have taken in." Once you have that in line, then start paying attention to eating protein, laying off sugar, avoiding fat, etc.
Plus I will say this. I have heard it from three friends just this week. Counting calories doesn't work for them. Try this. Count your calories, 1200, for a month without weighing yourself. Period. Nothing else. Just focus on the calories for a month. No cheating on two things; food intake or weighing in. If you haven't lost weight, then yes, go see your doctor. You can't count calories for three days and have weight loss that will make you happy. I promise. Count that month as your trial period for the significant lifestyle change I hinted at above. Can you do it for a month? Can you do it for two months? Then yes you can. Plus, bottom line; you can do anything you want. It's your body, your health.
Tell me more about the fun apps you use for your health! Be sure to post your comment telling us the app, its features and what makes it work so well for you.
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