3 Simple Tools to Improve Your Health

It’s been a few weeks since those New Year’s Resolutions began, and while I didn’t make any, I thought I’d check in with you. According to one survey about Americans that make New Year’s resolutions, the most common ones are: 

• exercising more (50%), 
• saving money (49%), 
• eating more healthily (43%),
• and losing weight (37%). 

We’ll tackle money talk another time so that we can lay out a 3-step easy plan to help with the others that are related — exercising, healthy eating, and losing weight.

People often try to implement huge changes in these areas or set aggressive goals that are hard to sustain or achieve. The result can be frustration which may lead to failure. My recommendation is to start with simple building blocks, as found below, that are practical ways to hold you accountable.

There are millions of weight loss accountability groups, programs, and products out there – so please take advantage if you need it. I do not sell fitness products, nor do I belong to any fitness groups, but I do recommend these affordable resources for people who want to better manage their health on their own.

As noted below, I participate in Amazon’s affiliate program which can provide a means for our ministry to earn advertising fees on any products that you purchase through links found on our blog. So thanks in advance for your support!

Here are three simple tools to improve your health.

1. FitTrack Pro Scale + App

A true techy, my Hubs researched and found this high-tech scale that we started using at the beginning of the year. It is more like an entire body measurement device. It tracks 17 different body measurements with technology that uses 2 different frequencies to accurately track measurements like body mass index, hydration level, muscle mass, obesity level, and more.

Don’t get nervous by all this tech talk – it’s really as simple as downloading an app (integrated for iOS and Android) and then stepping on the scale when you wake up and before you go to bed.

I had gotten away from weighing myself, as I don’t like to get caught up in that “number.” However, it’s been a game-changer. It makes me much more aware of how my diet and lifestyle are impacting my overall health. And it has been motivating me to hop back on the treadmill, especially when I see I’m “trending upwards” on my numbers.

There are a lot of benefits of the FitTrack Dara Smart BMI Digital Scale, which gets an average 4.4-star rating on Amazon – so go check it out!

2. My Fitness Pal Website and/or App

I used to work for a fitness company, and they were huge on having participants keep a food diary. It not only keeps you accountable about what kind of food choices you are making, but it provides necessary data to see why or why you’re not losing weight. At that time, we used little composition books to write everything down, which is cumbersome.

My Fitness Pal produces the same results but in a much simpler digital format. It’s basically a free calorie counter and food diary. You can access it by the website – https://www.myfitnesspal.com/ – but I use the app on my iPhone and love it. Men’s Health has also named it one of the 15 best weight loss apps.

First, it lets you set goals, and then creates a plan for you. Let’s say you want to lose 10-lbs, you’d fill in your info and it gives you 3 ways to achieve the goal — the fast, medium, or regular paced routes based on a daily caloric intake that it provides you.

The beauty of the app is that it has a database of 1 Million+ foods; so, if you put in “apple” or Quarter Pounder with Cheese, it will bring up the calories associated with that food. EASY! It will keep track of your “input” so you can see if you’re overindulging or moving to the other extreme of undereating. Because weight loss really boils down to calories in versus calories out.

Second, it allows you to track food for meals and snacks, water consumption and exercise altogether and then compute your calories based on everything.

Third, there are healthy recipes that you can access through the website and app. Fourth, it has a lot of other benefits – plans, reports, workout routines, challenges, other apps that integrate with it, a community for support, and more.

This app has helped me lose weight more than once. It takes a little effort, but once you get into the habit, it’s just another part of the daily routine. Simply set a goal, follow the daily caloric intake, and track your food and activity in the app.

3) Map My Walk App

Map My Walk is a handy app to track indoor run/jog, running, walking, hiking and using the treadmill. If you’re a runner, don’t be fooled by the name – it even offers training plans for running, from learning the basics to race plans for 5K to Marathon Coaching. As for me, whether I’m taking a hike or doing a treadmill walk, I pull up this app to basically keep an ongoing exercise log.

Very Well Fit lists this as one of the “8 Best Free Walking Apps for Fitness Walkers.”

The app measures distance, average pace, number of steps, calories and the date. It will keep a map of the route that you’ve walked. You can add notes and photos for your walks. Invite friends and see their activity or join a challenge, so it’s a handy accountability tool as well.

When you start a walk, simply open the app and hit “start workout”. If you need to take a break you can pause it. Otherwise, it runs in the background and then at the end you just push the “hold to finish” button and log the workout.

It makes a difference when you track activity versus just keeping “mental” tabs on it. I can think I’ve been doing a pretty good job with activity, but the data is there to either support or deny that.

If you want to get healthier, I can say from personal experience that these 3 tools are easy and effective. We are often quick to make excuses when it comes to exercise, so if you haven’t yet, try these tools to help you get healthier this year!

What tools have been helpful on your health journey?

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Lisa Martinez is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.