You are certainly not alone. A recent study showed that 54% of people’s New Year’s resolutions was to lose weight, 65% resolved to exercise more, and 71% said they wanted to eat healthier.
These are worthy goals, and the good news is, they’re all attainable...with the right approach. Resolving to work out for three hours a day at the gym when you can barely squeeze a ten-minute job into your day isn’t realistic or even helpful.
Dieting and exercise are both good ways to win your weight-loss battle. It’s important to maintain your health and approach things with safety and longevity in mind, and that’s where a trainer or program comes in handy. Today, there are many fitness apps available to help you lose weight and get in shape in a healthy and sustainable way. Apps like Noom that offer a psychological-based weight-loss program, the South Beach Diet that provides a healthy meal plan for weight-loss, or Nutrisystem that delivers healthy food to your door.
Want to lose weight the smart way? Check out four ways your smartphone can be your best tool for losing weight and sticking to those resolutions.
1. Smartphones make fitness and weight-loss more affordable
Let's face it. You want to lose weight, but you also want to pay the electric bill. And anyone who's ever looked into hiring a personal trainer can tell you; you probably can't do both. Yes, these beefed-up specialists charge an arm and a leg for their services. Prices start at around $150 an hour, and you’re going to need a lot of hours if you really want to see results. Not that they don’t deserve it. But it’s just not a feasible price tag for most people.
Enter your smartphone. There are tens and hundreds of fitness apps out there that can help you lose weight and get fit without breaking the bank. Noom, for example, offers a 14-day trial so you can check to see if it’s for you before committing to one of the more long-term plans, which are also very reasonable considering what’s included.
If you want to really indulge, you can sign up for a personal trainer fitness app. These are still much more affordable than hiring your own personal trainer, but they give you the personalized training you need to get real, visible results.
By the way, the same thing goes for nutritionists and nutrition apps.
2. Your Smartphone is always handy
If you’re anything like me, here’s what probably happens. You sit with a trainer, discuss your issues, and work out a program to stick to. But the minute you walk away, that conversation is out of your head. You’ve forgotten half the details, you come up with fifteen more questions you didn’t get a chance to ask, and you lose the motivation to follow the carefully-drawn out plan altogether.
But when your weight-loss program is on your smartphone, it’s with you all the time. You can look back at the SMS conversation for clarification and reminders. Got a new question? Shoot your trainer an SMS to get an answer. And with your phone always in your pocket, it can be your gentle reminder that you are in this for the long-haul the next time you think about throwing in the towel.
Always being by your side is also the reason smartphone fitness apps are better than a gym membership. If you sign up for a gym and go, you’re already lightyears ahead of most people. More likely, you’ll sign up for that membership card, and then let it collect dust in your wallet until you decide to cancel. Maybe you will use the gym a few times. But how often are you really going to take time out of your schedule to get to the gym, work out, shower down, and get back home?
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3. Your Smartphone won't judge you
Friends and family are great for planning a vacation, getting a game together, or going to the movies. But while they’re well-meaning and care about your health, when it comes to weight-loss, more often than not, friends and family can be real jerks. Without even intending to, family members can be demotivating if you don’t lose the weight as quickly as they think you should. And if you go out for dinner with friends, you can pretty much expect it to be a couple of hours of emotional torture analyzing and undermining your weight-loss efforts.
Weight-loss apps, on the other hand, are totally a no-judgment crowd. They're designed to be positive, encouraging, and motivational. These apps help you measure your progress, celebrate your successes, and show you how your efforts are paying off (even if it's a slow and steady process). Studies have shown that you are more productive in a positive, encouraging environment. So, if you really want to lose that weight, ditch the negative friend talk, and listen to the positive motivation from your weight-loss app.
4. Your smartphone offers oodles of cool tools
Finally, we’ve saved the best for last. Your smartphone is your best friend for helping you lose weight because it is loaded with some of the best tools for achieving your goal. A primarily tech-based society, our world is constantly coming out with newer and better apps to help make weight-loss manageable, enjoyable, and effective. And it’s really working! After all, with the tap of your finger, you can have access to valuable tools like:
Training videos
If I tell you to get down and give me twenty oblique crunches, what would you do? Maybe you know where your obliques are, or maybe you don’t even know what a crunch is! I could explain it to you in words, but as the famous saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. And a video is even more expressive. With your smartphone, you have access to countless training videos from apps to YouTube, and more. Each video clearly shows you what each exercise is, exactly how to do it, and what pitfalls to watch out for.
Meal planners and calorie counters
Between diet and exercise, diet is definitely the more important factor in weight-loss. If you’re serious about losing weight, you’re going to have to watch what you eat. The trouble is, it’s hard! Remembering what you ate, knowing how many calories that meal actually is, and figuring out how many calories you should eat next is an exercise in futility for most. This is why calorie counters and meal planners are golden.
Meal planners help you plan out exactly how many calories you should be eating each day and at each meal. Planners go one step further by telling you how many calories there are in the different foods you’re eating. It removes all of the guessing, remembering, and calculating. For most people, these tools are modern-day wonders and apps like Noom, LoseIt and MyFitnessPal are all great options when it comes to this.
There are multiple apps that help you count your calories, so you know where you're holding, and if you've been pounding too much. What's more, calorie counters can tell you how many calories are in a specific food. So, if you log that you ate an apple, the counter will tell you that you ate 52 calories (depending on the size and type of apple, of course). A lot of these apps even have barcode scanners, so you don’t have to know how many calories are in a certain food. The app will tell you.
Fitness trackers
Lastly, smartphones have apps that can track your fitness progress. If you go for a walk, you can sync your Fitbit or download an app to count your steps. If you do an exercise video, you can log it in your fitness tracker. Then, the app will tell you how many calories you’ve burned and readjust your daily-caloric requirements to fit your activity level. This is helpful for maintaining a healthy, well-balanced daily calorie intake.
Weight-Loss: You’ve Got This in the Bag (or Pocket!)
Losing weight isn't an easy task, but it's a rewarding one. With the right mind frame and your smartphone in hand, it’s also a goal that you can really achieve. Whether it’s the start of beach season, a friend's wedding, or a personal resolution that is spurring you to lose weight, download one of the best weight-loss apps and get results at last.
