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Now that January is ending, it’s time to check in on your New Year’s resolutions. Are you staying on track with your health and wellness goals for 2020? In case you need some extra motivation or accountability, look no further than your app store.
1. Nutrition and Recipe Apps
Health and fitness apps like MyFitnessPal have been around for years, providing users with the ability to track exercise and food consumption for daily accountability. Many of these apps allow users to search based on food, brand or restaurant, and explain how certain foods contribute to overall daily calories, macronutrients and micronutrients.
In addition to enhancing accountability, many nutrition apps are designed to help users develop healthy eating habits by learning new recipes or creating a meal plan. Apps like Allrecipes Dinner Spinner and Yummly help the user find recipes and develop a shopping list.
2. Exercise Tracking
Along with diet tracking, certain apps also monitor users’ workouts. For example, in the MyFitnessPal app, exercise tracking is typically broken down according to type of workout — cycling, swimming, weight training. However, certain exercise studios like SoulCycle have a designated workout within the app.
New to the exercise world? Apps like Couch to 5K are designed to help even the most novice of runners achieve a 5K in just nine short weeks. Whether you prefer yoga or free weights, barre or cycling, an app exists for every fitness enthusiast — from beginner to expert.
3. Heart Rate Monitors
The ability to track exercise via apps like MyFitnessPal and Runkeeper is further enhanced by devices like heart rate monitors, which allow for a more accurate reading of calories burned. Heart rate monitors like the Fitbit and Apple Watch also promote collaboration and competition by allowing users to share their completed workouts and receive encouragement from approved followers.
4. Wellness and Mental Health
While focusing on diet and exercise, always remember the importance of overall wellness. There are apps for meditation, sleep cycles and tracking potential anxiety triggers. While apps like Headspace and Calm focus on developing meditation techniques and promoting mindful habits, the app Streaks is used to encourage positive repetitive behavior, such as playing the guitar for a number of days in a row.
5. Medical and Mental Health Access with Telehealth Apps
Perhaps the most important use of health and wellness technology is telehealth apps like TimelyCare. TimelyCare is a platform designed to provide instant access to mental and physical healthcare 24/7/365, all within the comfort of the users’ own home. Our phones are always at our fingertips, why not keep health and wellness there as well?
