When it comes to successfully losing and keeping weight off, tracking food intake always hits the top 10 ways to achieve lasting results. There are a multitude of ways to track, including by pen and paper, pre-printed paper forms, phone apps and websites. For as many ways as there are of tracking, there are an equal number of variables that can be tracked, ranging from calories to macros (carbs, protein, fat) to servings per food group. But what you track may not be so important as the simple act of tracking. The primary benefit of tracking is accountability, to yourself and to your plan.
As our last in our trilogy of blogs on health and technology (read the first two in order here, first and second), tonight is dedicated to health tracking apps and ensuring you find the one best suited to your needs.
Food Trackers
The most popular and highly rated food tracking apps are My Fitness Pal, Lose It!, My Net Diary, Fat Secret, Yazio, My Plate, and Fooducate. These apps track a variety of nutrients, including calories, grams of carbohydrate, protein and fat, and often sodium, fiber and a number of vitamins and minerals. Other features include sending messages when you’ve met targets, alerting you if you’re going over targets, and helping you judge whether a food is unhealthy enough that you want to think twice.
Take a look at YouAte and Noom, newer apps on the scene that allow you to take pictures of your food rather than manually enter items. You can then track how you feel and become aware of trends and patterns related to your eating and health goals. They encourage behavior changes to help you achieve sustainable results.
If you’d like to explore further, here’s a link to each of these apps.
Other Trackers
“There’s an app for that” is likely true. Here are a few apps that piqued my interest in the quest for better health and fitness assistance. If you think of something else you’d like assistance with in your quest, just search and you’re likely to find!
- Food Tripping: Gives options for healthier, local alternatives to fast food.
- Shop Well: Helps with healthy choices at the grocery store with a scan of the barcode. Rates food based on your nutrition goals and food sensitivities.
- Sleep Cycle: An ‘intelligent’ alarm clock that tracks sleep patterns and wakes users when they’re in the light sleep phase of a sleep cycle, helping to wake more rested and ready to start the day.
- Charity Miles: Choose a charity and sponsors pay them based on the miles you log.
- Happify: Get happier. Science-based tools that help with emotional health and well-being.
- Amwell: Allows user to see a doctor in minutes, connecting to expert medical providers.
Karen Fisher, MS, RD, LDN, CDE is a dietitian in Reno, Nevada, happily promoting the benefits of healthy foods at her nutrition consulting firm, Nutrition Connection. Find her website at www.NutritionConnectionNV.com
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