Weddingbee Blog

I realize this is mostly a wedding blog—however, I think most brides will attest that they want to look their absolute best on their wedding day. I know I do. Like some brides, I have tried to be more diligent about what I’ve been eating lately and how often I make it to the gym or exercise.

I’m content with my weight right now—but I’m not happy with it. A couple years ago I switched jobs (only to come back to my previous employer a year and a half later). During that time I put on about 15 pounds—blame it on working too many hours, not enough sleep, lack of willpower with respect to all the food in the office, sheer laziness, no time for fitness, and a lot of stress.

With the wedding right around the corner, I know I could be a little more diligent about getting back to the weight I used to be at. Not only is it a healthier weight for me, but working out and watching what I eat just makes me feel better. And I know that will be very helpful to my morale the last couple months before the wedding!

With that said, I’ve turned to my iPhone for an extra boost to eat right and work out. There are so many great wellness apps out there, and I’ve included a few of my favorites.

RunKeeper

Image via RunKeeper

This app is great for all the runners (or wannabe runners) out there. The app will track your distance, pace, and overall time. I love that while I’m listening to my iPod I will also get updates on my progress every five minutes during my run. It also tracks all of your runs, so you can go back and see how often you run, any improvements, and notes about your run. It’s a much cheaper alternative to a Garmin (which I would love someday).

Nike Training Club

Image via iTunes Nike Training Club

This is a great app that gives you full-body workouts on the go. Simply select what kind of workout you want or what body area you want to focus on. There are also workouts based on how much time you have. The app includes demonstrations so you know how to do the move correctly, and it will keep track of how much time you have left in the workout. If you work out enough you get reward points to unlock new workouts. Perfect for someone who travels or can’t always make it to the gym.

Lose It!

Image via Lose It!

This is a great app to track your food intake. You can enter in your weight and height and goal weight and then how soon you want to hit your goal weight. It will provide you with the number of calories you should eat each day to make your goal. When I did this it gave me a small amount of calories (I had an ambitious goal); however, when you add in physical activity, it gives you extra food calories to consume. I don’t use this app religiously, but it’s a great indicator of where you are at, and helps track how many calories are in the different meals you eat. You can also set up reminders throughout the day to log in your meals.

GymPact

Image via GymPact

This app keeps you accountable for going to the gym. You sign up (with a credit card number) and make a pact to work out at the gym x amount of days per week. You then set a penalty for how much money per day you will lose if you don’t make it to the gym x amount of days per week. To give you an example of how it works, I have set my pact for three days a week with $5 at stake per workout. Each time I go to the gym I “check in” on the app and work out. As long as I work out for at least 30 minutes, it counts. Once I’m done I “check out.” (If you drive away without doing so, the app will automatically log you out of your workout, but it still counts if you worked out long enough.) At the end of every week you earn money based off of other people’s pacts. Translation: I made it to the gym for at least 30 minutes three times a week (because that was my pact). I don’t owe anything and I make money (usually $2 a week) based off of others not making their pacts. If I work out less than three times during the week I don’t make any money and my credit card is charged $5 per day I didn’t make it. (After it happened once I didn’t let it happen again.) I’ve had this app now for about three months and have only been penalized once. One thing to keep in mind—you can only count a workout at a gym (running outside doesn’t count). It will verify the address based on location. But good news—yoga studios and other fitness studios count.

Pandora

Image via Pandora

And lastly, I had to add in Pandora. While not a fitness app, it always provides me great music to get through my workouts.

Have you used any fitness/wellness apps to get in shape? If so, which ones?