With the New Year rolling in, many people have undoubtedly promised themselves they will lose weight and start a new fitness regimen after the major pig-out sessions over the recent holidays.
However, losing weight and having a fitter body is also one of the most challenging goals anyone can ever try to achieve. Eating right and exercising may be fun and exciting at the start.
Unfortunately, many people just don't have the right knowledge or motivation, or both, to continue their weight loss efforts well into the year and achieve the resolution they promised themselves at the start.
There are, however, plenty of resources available at everybody's disposal to help them achieve their fitness goals. Among these tools are the numerous dieting and exercise apps that developers have created to help users reach their ideal physique.
There are actually more than 40,000 apps of this kind on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, but a handful are known to be extremely useful.
Dieting Apps
Losing weight may be hard, but there's a simple formula that drives weight loss. The amount of calories consumed should never be more than the amount of calories expended. However, counting calories is so irksome that it puts off many people.
The very popular Calorie Counter by My Fitness Pal, available for Android and iOS, takes that burden off users' shoulders by calculating how many calories each user needs to consume and expend depending on whether he wants to lose weight or maintain it. Users can choose from a database of more than 4 million food items. The Calorie Counter will record the number of calories in their diary.
The app also has an exercise section that offers more than 350 cardio and strength training exercises, including amount of calories burned, to help users create an exercise regimen that suits their goals.
For those who want to lose weight fast, they can use Diet Point, which has amassed an average user rating of 4.3 on the Play Store and 4 on the App Store. Diet Point offers more than 100 lightning-fast 10-day diets: from Mediterranean diets to diets that don't make dieters feel hungry. Once users pick a diet, the app generates detailed meal plans and shopping lists that tell them exactly what to eat for the next 10 days.
Of course, losing weight and staying fit is actually a lifestyle commitment, which is why, after using Diet Point, it helps to download Noom Coach (Android and iOS), which is free for the basic version but requires a $9.99 subscription for the Pro version. Noom Weight helps users establish healthy habits they can learn over time while providing motivation through an online support group of other Noomers.
Exercise Apps
Exercise is an essential part of any successful weight loss program. Experts recommend a combination of cardiovascular and strength training exercises to achieve fitness goals. JEFIT Workout for Android and iOS, which lets users choose among hundreds of routines and track their progress online, is the app for those who are serious about not just losing weight but also getting a fitter body.
For people who don't have much time to exercise, and there are many people out there, the 7-Minute Workout (Android and iOS) provides exactly what it says, a high-intensity workout that takes only seven minutes. The app is based on research published in the American College of Sports Medicine's Health & Fitness Journal, which says seven minutes of intense exercise is an effective way to burn fat and strengthen muscles.
Runners and cardio enthusiasts also have a wide range of apps to choose from to help them track their pace, duration, distance traveled and calories burned while syncing their data online so they can share it with their friends. These apps include Endomondo Sports Tracker (Android and iOS), RunKeeper (Android and iOS) and Nike+ Running (Android and iOS).
Fitness Tracker Apps
For the serious fitness enthusiast who takes his health beyond the smartphone, the FitBit and Jawbone UP are two of the best smartband fitness trackers that monitor more than just eating habits and exercise routines. These smartbands take a more holistic approach by taking into account other factors such as stress and sleep, which both contribute to healthier weight loss.
Both fitness trackers have their own apps that go by the same name (FitBit for Android and iOS and UP for Android and iOS). Both apps can be installed in the user's smartphone and perform a variety of tasks, from charting a user's progress over time, setting reminders for tasks, such as taking medicine, and waking the user up with gentle vibrations on his wrist.
