Health and Fitness Websites and Apps

Experts agree that one of the best ways to achieve your health and fitness goals is to be held accountable for your actions by diligently recording both your eating and lifestyle habits.  This week on Taming Technology we continue our exploration of using technology to achieve our health and fitness goals by taking a look at websites and smart phone apps that you can use to track your habits and goals.

There are literally thousands of apps and websites designed to assist you in living a healthy lifestyle.  The criteria I used to be included on this list were:  1) the base program had to be free 2) the program had to track both food and fitness and 3) the program had to offer motivation and support channels.  I have found three websites that meet those criteria and stand out.

All three websites work in basically the same way.  When you first sign up, you fill out a short questionnaire about your history, lifestyle, and goals and then the system will tailor itself to your needs.  After every meal you record what you have eaten and the systems automatically calculate your caloric intake.   The systems can also track your daily activities and exercise and include those in your daily totals.  You can then use this data to tweak your daily routines to better fit your goals.  All three websites feature large collections of articles to help you as well as supportive community forums that can help motivate you towards your goals.  All three programs also feature mobile apps that allow to your to track your activities on the go.

Livestrong’s My Plate – Originally known as the Daily Plate, this site is one of the original trackers and still one of the best. 

Fitday – The site design is showing its age but the data contained within is top notch.  Fit Day features quite possibly the largest food database and is very easy to use.

Spark People – Spark People is an extensive site that features a large user base of supportive people with shared goals.  You can think of Spark People as Facebook for those wanting to improve their health and fitness.

This time around for my challenge I’ve chosen to use Spark People and to keep things transparent, I’ve made my profile open for all.  You can visit my profile and ask any question you may on how to use the website, keep track of how I’m doing, or join along and we’ll motivate each other to a healthy and happy 2012.

Next week I’ll take a look at the best gadgets for tracking your health and fitness goals.  Do you have a favorite?  Let me know on the Taming Technology  Facebook page, on  indystyle.tv, or  email !

C Robert Dillon  is  the  digital developer at   WISH-TV   in Indianapolis and serves as a technology consultant and on-air contributor to WISH as well as the technology expert and host of the Taming Technology segment on Indy Style. Opinions presented are those of the author and not necessarily of LIN Media, WISH-TV, or Indy Style.   You can keep up with Rob on  Twitter ,  Facebook , or  Google+     .