With the amount of time we all spend with technology, and specifically our smart phones, we often associate them with hindering our exercise and healthy eating habits. But what if they could actually help? There are thousands of apps out there that look to benefit our health, whether that’s physical health, mental health or general well-being. Here are a few of my favorite apps and suggestions, based on personal use and preferences.
Healthy Recipes
Have you ever searched and searched for just the right healthy recipe, only to find out that it was a lot of work, and not that delicious? A great resource for really delicious meals is the Whole Foods recipe app or visit https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes. Of course, you don’t have to shop at Whole Foods in order to purchase all of the ingredients, but their recipes are pretty trustworthy, and most of the time not too complicated. The app also helps you create shopping lists, find healthy recipes, and see what’s currently on sale in your local store from home, however I use it simply for the delicious recipes. Once your list is set, you can also send it to your Apple Watch for easy shopping.
Calorie Counter Apps
Keeping track of food intake is KEY! And there are many apps and online tools for that. These apps allow you to track exercise too. Some of the most popular online diet logs include myfitnesspal.com and fitday.com. You can enter your daily food, weight and exercise. Both of these food tracker apps have a huge database of foods, which is key for a good food tracker app. An effective calorie counter, it can take you less than 5 minutes a day to track your diet and exercise, meaning it’s a quick habit to get into.
Meditation Studio
Health isn’t just about treadmills and salads. Overall health needs to include exercises for mental health too. Meditation Studio is one app that focuses on guided meditation and these are very helpful. There are so many different types of guided meditation so rather than try a general practice that focuses on relaxation, this app offers meditations catered to your needs, whether it’s anxiety, stress, happiness or gratitude.
Lumosity
Your body isn’t the only part of you that benefits from exercise. Train your brain with Lumosity’s mental workouts. There are more than 30 games you can challenge your memory, attention and reasoning. The app is developed by scientists to ensure the games give you a real boost.
Get Active
One of my favorite exercise apps is Couch to 5K. If you haven’t been active in awhile, it helps start you at a slow pace, and increases intensity when your body is ready for it. The free eight-week program gives users three workouts per week and gets you ready for your local run whether it be a spring shamrock race, fall turkey trot or summertime 4th of July road race.
Have a favorite healthy living app of your own? Also, be sure to check out the Seattle Sutton blog for other tips to help you achieve your weight loss goals!
