Whether you have a Smartphone or tablet, there’s an amazing range of food, fitness and fat loss apps for you to download. After consulting friends, app reviews, practice members and my own mobile phone, I have developed a list of the 10 best free apps that can assist in boosting your health and well being.
1. MapMyFitness (ITunes/Android/Blackberry)
A movement tracking app that allows you to monitor over 600 types of physical activity using a GPS enabled mobile device. Great for runners, walks, cyclists and more. This app keeps track of kilojoules burned, distance covered, duration, speed and route with audio alerts to keep you motivated.
2. 8700 (Itunes/Android)
A weight loss app that allows you to discover the ideal amount of kilojoules you need to consume. It provides information on the energy content of numerous foods, and helps to balance out the kilojoules you consume with the kilojoules you burn off with physical activity.
3. Gymboss Interval Timer (Itunes/Android)
Ideal for cardio workouts to maximise fitness and fat loss, this app allows you to create customised, timed interval training routines and vary your workouts. There are also pre-set workouts of varying duration.
4. MyFitnessPal (Itunes/Android)
An easy-to-use electronic food and exercise diary that calculates your daily kilojoule needs. It has a large database of foods (including Australian brands), and the capacity to add your own menu items. A great tracking tool for weight loss.
5. HealthTap (Itunes/Android)
Get daily health tips delivered to your device. Subscribe to a topic that interests you, including “diet and exercise”, “healthy cooking or “back pain”. Written by doctors, it’s a great way to boost your knowledge and motivation.
6. Fitness builder (Itunes/Android)
Fitness builder has an extensive library of exercise images and videos that can add variety and inspiration to your training routine. There are pre-set workouts to choose from for all fitness levels, along with tracking and sharing tools.
7. GS1 GoScan (Itunes)
Here’s an app you just have to have: the new (free!) GS1 GoScan. It’s been three years in the making, and for good reason – it’s the first of its kind in Australia to be endorsed by the whole food industry – and with just the swipe of a barcode, it can tell you if a product suits your special dietary needs.
Scan the barcode on a food label, and get extensive details on the ingredients list, allergy concerns, nutritional information and storage advice. A great app for dieters or people with food allergies who need to check food labels.
* An android version is in development and is expected to be released by the end of 2013
8. Pepperplate (Itunes/Android)
Pepperplate is a recipe organiser, menu planner and shopping list generator all in one. You can create, edit and import your own recipes, and organise your week by planning menus to help achieve your health and fitness goals. Items can be added to your shopping list, which can be arranged in the way that you shop in store.
9. Daily Yoga (Itunes/Android)
A yoga coaching app that provides yoga sessions with different durations and difficulty levels. It features a yoga pose library, demonstration videos, voice instructions and background music.
10. Quit Advisor (Itunes/Android)
A smoking cessation app that has information about how to stop smoking, and a questionnaire to find your level of nicotine dependency. This app is part of a research project conducted by the University of Sydney, and will anonymously collect data about your use of the app.
Use http://exerciseismedicine.org.au/health-care-providers/interactive-screening-tool to check whether you need to ask your chiropractor for approval before using any of these fitness apps. If you answer “Yes” to any of the questions in the tool, see your chiropractor first.
