This is a guest post by Matt Denos. If you would like to write for YourDigitalSpace, do check our guest posting guidelines.
The iPhone has evolved to be literally an extension of the human arm. In the business world as well as in everyday life, this mobile phone device is like a breath of fresh air. It can locate the place you have parked your car, help you connect to your remote computer, create a shopping list, measure your blood pressure and body fat, track your weight and calories you burn, analyze the food you eat and 300,000 more things!
Problems with Obesity? iPhone to the Rescue!
One of the most difficult aspects of adhering to a weight loss program is accurately monitoring food consumption. Whether it’s fast food or slow food, there are lots of factors to consider: nutrition, calories, the food pyramid, age, metabolic rate, and body mass index, not to mention activity levels.
Also read : Now You Can Check Your Blood Pressure using iPhone
iPhone app developers have come to the rescue with tools to help you realistically assess your current situation, log your nutritional intake, set goals and calorie budgets, and chart your progress on the road to good health. Here are the top fifteen apps to help you stay on track with your weight loss plan.
1. 2Fat
Are you too fat? Find out with this simple iPhone app, which features two scroll wheels. One is used to select your weight and the other is used to select your waist size. At that point, your body fat percentage is determined. There is also a BMI setting, which determines your body mass index. Once you have entered your height and weight, your BMI will be calculated, and you will find out whether it’s time to get serious about shedding extra pounds.
2. Advanced BMR Calculator
Once you’ve entered your weight and height, this app calculates your BMR – or Basal Metabolic Rate, your BMI – or Body Mass Index, and your ideal weight. Women and men have different caloric needs, which are taken into consideration. Caloric intake is multiplied by an activity factor in order to determine the minimum number of calories required each day to sustain basic physical functions while adhering to a weight loss program.
3. Absolute Fitness
This fitness diary tracks your food and nutritional intake, as well as exercise patterns on a daily basis. It contains an extensive database of standard foods and their nutrient content along with the caloric expenditures for a variety of exercises. It’s even possible to customize database entries so that the specific foods you eat each day are calculated correctly. You also have the ability to list favorite food items and group them into standard meals so that if you eat certain dishes on a regular basis, they’re already in your database. Exercises include popular activities such as jogging and aerobics, as well as more unique recreational sports. Data can be exported for further analysis.
4. Body Values Light
This app allows you to get a snapshot of your general health from a single source. It analyzes weight, height, body fat percentage, BMI (Body Mass Index,) blood pressure, and pulse in order to deliver a recommendation for optimal values in each category. The details are visible in a daily or monthly graph. You may enter historical data and accurately track changes in your weight over time. Once daily weight is entered, the user has access to immediate analysis of the data in relationship to BMI, body fat percentage, and desired targets.
5. Dietician
This iPhone app actually creates a meal plan for you. After entering data – age, weight, and target weight – you choose a diet plan from five options: Low-Carb, Athletic, Splurge, Balanced Diet, or Extreme Weight Loss. Each diet plan is described briefly to help you choose. The next option is the degree of variety you want in your meals, from small, to reasonable, to lots of variety. If there are any foods that you do not want incorporated into your meal plan, you can exclude them. These might include meat, dairy, eggs, or frozen meals. Finally, you determine the amount of effort you want to put into meal preparation, from ultra-low to high. Each day, a plan is listed which includes three meals and two snacks, as well as preparation instructions, nutritional information and – very conveniently – a grocery shopping list.
6. EatRight
If you have trouble keeping track of the foods you eat, EatRight serves as a daily diary.
The USDA food pyramid recommendations form this app’s database. You simply tap a food group after each serving is consumed. A chart helps you determine serving sizes. It’s also possible to track water consumption, as well as sugar and fats. In case you’re on a special diet, the food groups can be customized. A summary log of your food consumption over the past week is a useful feature.
7. Edibles
Edibles is a food journal that allows the user to monitor their consumption of calories by tracking various types of foods and the quantity consumed. It tracks the values associated with diet regimens on a daily and weekly basis. The values might be calories, WeightWatchers points, or even carbs for people trying to maintain a low-carbohydrate diet. At the outset, you enter a database of the foods you eat, and then decide on a budget. Deductions are made for foods consumed, and credits are applied for exercise.
8. Fast Food Calorie Counter
For dieters who cannot give up fast food, this handy nutrition guide can keep you on track with your weight loss program. The menu consists of over 9,000 items from the top 73 fast food restaurants. For each search term typed, nutritional information is given, which includes total calories, protein, carbs, fat, and fiber. A daily summary is available and the information is saved for up to a year. Customized tracking is available for unusual foods. Users can specify targets for nutritional values to help adherence to a diet plan.
9. Good Food Near You
This app offers GPS tracking to locate nearby restaurants, which can be very helpful when traveling through an unknown area. The menus of fast food establishments and chain restaurants are in a database, and the healthiest items on the menu are analyzed for their contents: calories, fats, cholesterol, sodium, and trans fats. If you decide you’d rather buy groceries and cook a meal, GPS locations of grocery stores and convenience stores are provided. Includes ads for nearby non–food establishments as well.
10. The Foodscanner
Use your iPhone’s camera to scan UPC codes on packaged food. In a flash, the nutritional values have been logged. If you consume the item, you can tap ‘I ate this!’ to add it to your daily calorie tracker. A database consisting of over 200,000 food items can be accessed to count calories on fresh foods, restaurant meals, and other items that don’t have a UPC code. You can add new foods and even upload a photo, which increase the database. Fresh foods that don’t have UPC codes can be logged by typing in the name.
11. Weight Bot
To begin using this app, you record your current weight and height. Your body mass index (BMI) is then calculated. At that point, you set your weight loss goal. Weight can be input as often as once a day, but weekly input is recommended. Your achievement is added to a graph to track your progress over time and to keep you motivated to stick with your diet plan. Animation and sound effects enhance the experience, or the audio can be disabled. A password feature keeps your private data secure.
12. Weight Watchers Mobile
In order to use this app, you first have to register online at WeightWatchers and pay for the monthly membership. This weight loss program focuses on points assigned to food and activity. Points are calculated using the Tracker Menu, which shows your daily and weekly score. A restaurant guide helps you adhere to your diet even when eating out. Dietary preferences can be entered, such as High Protein, Low Fat, Diabetic, etc. to help with adherence to a specific plan.
This is a guest post by Matt Denos. If you would like to write for YourDigitalSpace, do check our guest posting guidelines.
About Guest Author: Matt is a health scientist and mobile technology addict who specializes in treatments for obesity and weight loss programs. He blogs about using the newest technology gadgets to assist in weight loss, and combines that with offering a Medifast online discount and an eDiets promotional code, two medically and publicly acclaimed diets in the US.