I sometimes ask my patients what they think they need to do to become healthier. The answers I receive range from: eat right, watch calories, get regular exercise, manage my blood pressure, managing my blood sugar, or get enough sleep. At the office we give our patient the knowledge they need to become healthier and teach them how to incorporate it into their everyday lives. One of the first things we do is encourage our patients to start keeping a journal. Weather it be of their food intake, exercise, blood pressure, blood sugar or even their heart rate it’s important to write it down. Patients are sometimes reluctant to do so because they feel it’s a pain to write everything down. That’s where technology comes into play. If a client happens to have an iPhone, iPad, or iTouch, we encourage them to use it to their benefit. The APP store gives you access to over 300,000 apps that can help you track anything from weight to reading labels. I want to share with you a few of the Apps I find worth while. Though my list is short, it’s not exclusive.  There are many more Apps available that do very similar functions. Just do a little research and find one with the features that work best for you. Here are a couple that I suggest:

Track Your Diet and Exercise: TRY My Fitness Pal (free)

This APP offers the ability to track your food and exercise choices, calculate the calorie load of your favorite recipes, and get support from community members. It claims to have the largest food database of all food diary apps, with over 648,000 items.  It also has an extensive list of exercises, so you can find out how many calories you burn. The bonus with this APP is that it is compatible with both the iPhone and Googles’ Android.

Track Your Steps: iStep ($0.99)

This APP not only counts your steps, but calculates your distance, average speed and the calories you’ve burned.

Track Your Weight: Weightbot ($1.99)

This APP lets you track your weight and see your progress over time on a series of graphs.  A neat feature is that you can set a weight loss goal and based on your current weight loss trend; Weightbot will tell you how many days left until you reach your goal.

Track Your Blood Pressure: BP Buddy ($.99)

This APP allows you to track your blood pressure and write down any notes you may have about the day such as: “job interview today- yikes!” or “relaxing by the pool with friends”. By seeing what sends your blood pressure through the roof and what keeps it in check, you can do a better job of taking care of yourself.

Track Your Diabetes: Diabetes App Lite:  (free)

This APP allows you to track your daily glucose readings, water consumption, carbohydrates eaten and weight on a daily calendar.  You can log your insulin injections and oral medication.  It also tracks calories, protein, sodium, fiber, cholesterol, and fat.  One of the unique features is that it allows you to email your daily food intake right to your providers’ inbox. I have several patients that email me their intake log for review.

Track Your Heart Rate: Heartbeat (free)

This App allows you to track your heart rate during your workout.  

Track your food choices: GoMeals (free)

This App is intended for diabetics, but I recommend it for my weight loss clients as well. You can monitor each day’s caloric intake as well as distribution of carbs, protein and fats. It’s also very helpful when going out to eat. It has a restaurant locator that will find nearby restaurants and allow you to browse their menu items with nutritional information which allows you to make better choices.

Tracking seems tedious, but it works.  In order for you to change a negative habit you have to become of aware of it first, and tracking does just that!

Lisa Eisele Can be reached at (706) 473-5801. If you have a nutrition question you’d like answered send it to: oconeenutrition@yahoo.com.