Well, here we are – February 2012. Amazing how fast a month can fly by. It seems like just yesterday we were hashing out our New Year’s resolutions. If you’re like most folks, getting your fitness and nutrition in order was probably on that list and like most folks, those goals are looking pretty lofty now. Before you throw in the towel and sentence yourself to another year of chips and soda, here are some Android apps that can help you get back on track without breaking the bank.
First things first, it all starts with nutrition. There are all different types of diets out there, everything from low carb to vegetarian to the cabbage diet, but the basic rule of thumb is you need to use expend calories than you consume. If you’re not reaching your weight goals, the best place to start is tracking what you eat.
MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal is an all in one food diary. It is very easy to track what you eat by searching its food database that contains over 1 million items. The Android app integrates with barcode scanning software so most of the time tracking your meals is as easy as scanning the package. For those out of the ordinary cuisines or custom meals, MyFitnessPal also allows you to enter your food items and create your own meals. It is also customizable if you want to use it to follow a specific diet such as Atkins, South Beach Diet, or Zone. In addition to Android, MyFitnessPal can be accessed from the web and has apps for iPhone, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone, so no matter what your phone flavor of the future is; you can stick with the same system. The best part is, it is 100% free. No app charges, no subscriptions, no premium upgrades.
We all know we need to drink water, but most of us don’t drink enough. In addition to hydrating your exercise sessions, water can energize you, clear up your skin, and best off all, promotes weight loss. The Drinking Water app allows you to specify how many cups of water a day you would like to drink and allows you to check off the cups as you go. The app spreads them out throughout the day and sets off reminders every time you should have a glass of water. Drinking Water is free with ads or $1.00 ad-free.
Some of you may eat well and exercise, but those liquid dinners (or after dinners) are derailing your weight goals. You could cut alcohol our of your diet altogether, but as the great Benjamin Franklin said, “There cannot be good living where there is no good drinking.” With that being said, the best alternative is to work it off. BeerGut Fitness allows you to input what you drank and tells you the amount of calories and about how much exercise you need to do to work it off. It has entries for beer, wine, and mixed drinks and gives you the option of walking, running, swimming, or cycling to work it off. BeerGut Fitness is $0.99 in the Android Market, but will probably pay for itself the first time you hit the bar and have a few less.
The other half to the equation is exercise. Yes, yes, we know you are an excellent armchair quarterback, but unfortunately that isn’t going to help you get rid of all those buffalo wing and nacho calories from Super Bowl Sunday. So let’s take a look at some apps that can help you in the calorie deficit department.
C25K
The C25K, or Couch-to-5k Running Plan, does that. It is designed to take the beginner runner and get them able to run a 5K (3 miles) in as little as nine weeks. The actual program is just set intervals of jogging and running that increase intensity each week, but there are several Android apps available that can pace everything out for you. C25K by Guy Hoffman has a free and a pro version. The free version offers the entire 9-week plan with audio cues that tell you when to switch pace. The pro version can be had for just $1.99 and offers additional features such as custom sounds and music controls to keep your favorite tunes pumping during your run.
Possible application of the 'Other' option - not recommended
Despite its name, RunKeeper can keep track of more than just runs. It has settings for running, cycling, walking, hiking, downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, skating, swimming, mountain biking, wheelchair, elliptical, and even has an option for “other” in case you have another preferred mode of exercise. The app is able to use the built in GPS to track your progress, generate stats, and even estimate calories burned. RunKeeper is free and also available for the iPhone making it a great choice if you’re taking your exercise routine to the streets. Finally, it has the ability to program custom interval training, so if you want to save 2 bucks, you can manually program in the C25k program schedule and handle all your runs from one app.
If weight lifting is more your thing, take JEFIT for a spin. If paper and pencil isn't already obsolete in your mind, JEFIT will make it a thing of the past, at least when it comes to tracking reps and routines in the gym. The free version is available for both Android and iPhone and offers a plethora of features including the ability to track your workouts, build custom routines, generate body statistics and lifting progress, and keep everything in sync between your mobile apps and your online profile. JEFIT has over 500 exercises complete with instructions, animations and tips so you know you’re getting the most out of your efforts. It also has downloadable routines so you’ll never get bored or hit a plateau. Finally, the Android versions has a Pro version available for $4.99 that ditches the ads and gives you access to some more in depth progress meters and statistics.
When it comes to the SAD, or Standard American Diet (oh, irony), sodium is usually king, mostly because so much of the food consumed is prepackaged. Whether you’re looking to control your intake of certain nutrients, trying to eat more natural, or just plain want to save money on food cost, learning to cook is extremely valuable. Here are a few apps that can help you find new, delicious meal ideas.
Allrecipes.com Dinner Spinner
Cooking: Not as scary as it is on TV
Allrecipes.com is great site. It has a ton of recipes, with a plethora of user feedback on most, and is very easy to use. The Dinner Spinner app not only gives you access to all that great content; it also allows you to either select or spin a type of dish, main ingredient, and a “ready in” time to generate a list of dishes that meet that criteria. The app is completely free and makes a great kitchen companion.
If you find yourself on AllRecipes just looking at desserts and bacon, or even worse, bacon desserts, give Healthy Recipes a try. It offers exactly what its name implies. This free app has access to thousands of healthy recipes complete with calorie, fat and other nutritional information.
Healthy Recipes [Android Market Link]
Recipe Convert Free
You might be thinking, “Hey! This isn’t going to help me cook healthier!” If that is the case, we must ask, did you know there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon? If a recipe calls for 100 grams of all-purpose flour, did you know that is the same as 1 cup? Probably not. Recipe Convert Free enables you to keep handy cooking conversions at your fingertips. If you're halving a recipe, doubling it, or just come across a unit of measurement you’re unfamiliar with, having a conversion app on hand will keep your masterpiece moving along with all the correct proportions.
So there you have it. A handful of Android apps that can help you track what you eat, track your exercise, and help you cook healthier meals, all without breaking the bank. Do you think you have the perfect Android health kit? Let us know in the comments below which of these, or other, Android apps have helped you reach your health and fitness goals.
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