When it comes to losing weight and being healthy, it's not only about decreasing the quantity of food you eat, but increasing the quality of your foods, says Zoe Diana Draelos, MD, PA, board-certified dermatologist in High Point, N.C. While it's easy to figure out what's healthy in the vegetable aisle (uh, everything!), when it comes to packaged foods, things get a bit dicey.
We're smart enough not to believe all "healthy" and "low calorie" claims on packages, but who has time to stand in the canned foods aisle for 20 minutes trying to make sense of the nutrition labels? Enter Fooducate. Simply scan the product's barcode with your phone, and you'll instantly know the healthfulness of the food with Fooducate's letter grade.
Do you decide that you're going to run, yes run, a full three miles -- but end up walking the whole way? That's when a personal trainer yelling at you through a megaphone would come in handy. But if you don't have the funds for a human trainer, why not opt for a digital one? RunKeeper uses the GPS technology in your iPhone to track your fitness activity, giving you comparable results to those expensive GPS watches. The app tracks how far you went, how long it took you, your pace, and how many calories you burned. You can even enter your target pace, and the app will coach you (through your headphones) on whether you're ahead or behind. Genius.
After carefully counting all your meal points and conforming to the gym rat lifestyle, you may have moments when you just need a freaking sugar fix. Instead of running to Mrs. Field's or Krispy Kreme (and binging on a dozen in the shameful darkness of your car), click open the Snack App.
With hundreds of snack options, you can satiate your craving responsibly by choosing a 50-, 100-, or 200-calorie snack in the category of your choosing: salty, sweet, cheesy, or even sinful. Each snack suggestion comes with a nutritional breakdown so that you're aware of how much you're consuming even in your moment of weakness. And the app will also show you exercise options to burn off those calories if you're feeling post-binge guilt.
You know that sage advice about keeping a food journal? And how you never follow it? Logging in your food and exercise regimen is now made easy thanks to this handy dandy app. Aptly named "Lose It!," more than 85 percent of the app's users report that they've lost weight. With this app, you can find foods that you buy at your local grocery store or order at a restaurant and log it into your "journal." It tallies up your calories for you, while keeping track of your nutrient intake, including your protein, fat, and carbs consumption. You can also plug in your exercise routine, and the app will automatically deduct the calories from your overall daily caloric count.
Social networking is a huge part of our lives now, so tap into the support of your online network to keep you on track. Thanks to Nike+ GPS, you can now hear cheers through your earphones when your friends or family "like" your run on Facebook. It's like having the marathon support team on your morning jog. And with the GPS function, Nike+ tracks your route, your pace, and how many calories you burned, keeping a log of the numbers for your record. By looking at your progress, you can learn how to push past your next goal.
For most of us, our phone is an adult-version of a security blanket. Without it we feel isolated, lost, and let's face it, bored. C'mon, admit it: Haven't there been a few times when you almost ran into a pole, a mailbox, or a stranger because you were thoroughly absorbed in a work email (or more likely, a vicious round of Words with Friends)? Thought so.
Despite the hazards that come with being distracted, you can't help but succumb to the smart phone's lure. With just a tap of your finger, you can "like" your friend's Facebook picture, see what Kim Kardashian is having for lunch today, and get up-to-the-minute breaking news. No need for a TV, a computer, or a personal assistant. And now, there's just one more reason why you should tighten your grasp on that little gadget: It'll make you skinny.
That's right. Because of the ingenious entrepreneurship of app creators, there are now apps for every fitness and diet need imaginable. Need some sage advice that'll pry the cookie dough out of your hands at 3 a.m.? There's an app for that. Want a personal trainer to yell at you for slacking on your target pace? There's an app for that, too. Need motivation to get off the couch and start running in the first place? Yeah, you get the drift.
And while there are hundreds of applications out there that promise to offer you the same results as a gym or personal trainer, we sifted through all of them and boiled it down to the best fitness apps that'll help you lose the most weight. These 12 apps have the latest in GPS, motion sensor, and bar scanning technology to give you all the tools you need to get in the best shape of your life -- fast. See the 12 best fitness apps now.
