Five Free Weightloss apps

Following on from my post last week about my weightloss binder, today I'm sharing five of my favourite free apps. I'm a pen+paper kind of girl but sometimes technology really is the way to go! 

MyFitnessPal (MFP)

I use this great app to log my food, log my exercise and interact with other members. I usually pre-enter my foods for the day and then edit if anything changes. That way I can see how many calories I'll be eating and how many I need to expend and whether or not I can have that slice of birthday cake. It is incredibly easy to use, you can use the barcode scanner to add foods quickly and easily. The other thing I really love is that it also tracks things like water intake, protein, sugars etc. As a vegetarian this is extremely useful. The only problem is that sometimes foods entered by users only include the calories not the other nutritional information like sugar and protein. You can also use MyFitnessPal from your computer and access the great forums and start a diary. 

RunKeeper

There are a lot of GPS-based running/walking apps but this is the one that I use. Basically you hit start, start to run or walk and it will tell you how far and how fast you went, and how many calories you have burned. It allows you to select a playlist to listen to (although I tend to listen to podcasts instead), and you can also access the website from a computer to set your own route. It also offers goal setting, training plans and a bunch of other stuff I never use. It also (once youve set it up) automatically sends your exercise data over to MFP. 

SlimKicker

This app offers food and exercise logging but I prefer to use MFP for that because I find MFP more user-friendly and detailed in that regard. But the thing that SlimKicker absolutely ROCKS at is keeping you engaged and challenged. Basically, SlimKicker is like a game with challenges and then badges and  points to earn to go up to the next level. There are loads of challenges to choose from or you can create your own. The challenges are divided into categories: Nutrition, Emotional, Willpower, Fitness, Giveaways (actual prizes), User-Created. Some examples of challenges- The replace soda challenge, 10 wall squats a day, a salad a day, jog during commercials, electronics curfew. Best of all, you can add your friends and compete against them! 

C25k

This is the app version of a running program that has been around for years (I remember it from before I had my eldest child). It's really easy and convenient and helps give a bit of focus to your usual jog. 

Skimble Workouts

This is a huge database of workouts- some free, some paid and some created by members. You need to use your discretion with the user-created workouts and the forums can be a bit of a meatmarket but the actual workouts are great with visual instructions and timers. Skimble also lets you find workout buddies nearby.