Between the physical and mental needs of our bodies, maintaining good health often feels overwhelming. Add to that our normal, hectic, and stressful routine, and our health goals seem further than ever. Fortunately, anyone can achieve their health goals with a little bit of planning and organizing – but that requires using the right tools. The right tools will make your process so much easier, allowing you to integrate all the things you want to achieve in your daily lifestyle. So what better way to do seamless integration than using our own mobile phones for this task? The next time you feel overwhelmed with the number of things you need to remember and do, make sure to use your phone for the following tasks.
Track Hydration
Do you often forget to drink water, only remembering to do so when you feel thirsty? Drinking enough water throughout your day is crucial for multiple reasons. Your body needs water in every single process it does, and trust us, they’re many. Generally speaking, your body needs 8 eight-ounce glasses of water per day to function properly – and that’s without adding activity, exercise, and hot weather needs. Even if you remember to drink water throughout your day, sticking to the 8×8 rule is difficult for most people. That’s where your phone can come to your aid: a simple water tracking app will give you regular reminders to drink that cup of water. Better yet, most applications allow you to log other fluid intakes, so you can make sure your body is properly hydrated.
Pedometers
Pedometers are used to track the number of steps you take throughout your day. The recommended number of steps is 10,000 per day, but do you even know how many steps you usually take? The average number of steps people take ranges from 1,000 to 3,000 steps per day, which is a big gap margin. Don’t worry though; you won’t have to start counting your every step if you can count on an app to do the math for you. Most phones have this feature already, allowing you to check your record whenever you need to through the day. You can take it a step further (pun not intended) and download a pedometer app that allows you to set your step goals and sync it with your wearables to track walking, jogging, running, and other kinds of activities.
Track Your Sleeping Cycle
The recommended average sleep hours range from 7 to 9 hours, with 8 being a perfect number for most adults. However, the quality of your sleep isn’t limited to the number of hours. Sleep cycle apps give you better insights about the quality of sleep you’ve had for the night, alerting you to your sleeping habits and what goes on when you’re semi or unconscious. Additionally, some apps offer the additional feature of inputting your daily habits, such as drinking caffeine and exercise, so you can get a better idea of how your lifestyle affects your sleep quality. Some apps would need to be connected to a wearable, while others will function just fine by being placed on the mattress beside you as you sleep.
Plan Meals and Track Nutrition
Do you feel lost between the number of calories you consume throughout the day? Do you often feel bewildered as to the number of calories found in a sandwich and wonder where you can start? Meal planning and nutrition apps have made creating your meals and tracking your calories easier than ever. A meal planning app will take in your goals and daily caloric expenditure and help you set up meals that are aligned with your fitness goals and activity level. Meanwhile, a nutrition app will allow you to log the food and drinks you’ve ingested and count of the calories you’ve consumed and the ones remaining until you’ve used up your daily needs. Usually, one app will provide you both features of meal planning and nutrition tracking.
Create Exercise Programs
You may have an idea of your fitness goals, but how do you get there? Whether you decide to work out in the gym, at home, or outdoors, using a reliable exercise app will plan your exercise regimens for you. Most apps have been built to guide you throughout the process of choosing exercises that align with your fitness goals, doing the job of a personal trainer perfectly. You’ll be able to lose fat with cardio exercises, improve muscle with resistance training, and live a quality life with flexibility training. Better yet, most of these apps allow you to log in your records, so you can make sure to keep pushing your personal record with every training session. If you don’t want to depend on an app for training, you can also find personal trainers online and work with them virtually, all through your phone.
Track Body Composition
Many people make the mistake of thinking losing weight makes them fitter. The truth is that losing fat makes you fitter, losing muscles make you weak – but how would you know your body composition if you only use a regular scale? That’s where a BIA scale clears the confusion. By downloading the scale’s app and connecting your phone via Bluetooth, you can get in-depth insights to your body composition and track your progress in a healthy, wholesome, manner.
Create Better Mental Health
It’s to focus on the physical aspect of fitness and neglect mental care. Caring for our mental health becomes more crucial the more stressed we feel, as it’s the cornerstone that enables us to optimize our performance in all life aspects. Using your phone, you can download mindfulness apps that remind you to meditate or talk you to sleep. Most of all, to remind you of what really matters in life.
Build and Break Habits
Every one of us has a habit that they want to break out of or adopt. Habit apps make this process mindful and easy by allowing you to set your goals and breaking down the process for you in simple, easy-to-follow tasks. Every day, you can check off the items you’ve accomplished off your list, encouraging you to keep positive progress. These apps can help you quit smoking, walk more, drink better, be more productive, and take control of your life.
You don’t have an excuse for procrastinating on your health goals anymore. There’s nothing easier than downloading an app and doing the task as soon as you get a notification. With good planning and seamlessly fitting your health goals into your daily routine, you can be sure to live your life as you’re supposed to – to its fullest potential.