After 30 my body started feeling the pain of exercise or nights out, and after I had my baby I really had trouble losing weight and feeling like ‘my old self’ again, I get aches and pains in places I wasn’t even aware were there.
Every little bit helps and these wellness apps have made taking care of myself a tad easier, and fun!
Plant Nanny – this is my favorite so far, this little app reminds me to drink water; sounds dull? It’s not, Plant Nanny makes it into a game, you type in your weight, tell the app what type of glass you are using, choose ounces or milliliters, and whether you are sedentary or active, then the fun begins...You pick a seedling, a pot, and can choose the background. The app shows a happy little plant, so long as you drink the daily-allotted amount of water your plant stays healthy and grows. If you do not drink enough water, your virtual plant with the little smiley face starts to wilt. If you continue not to drink your water, your little plant dies. There is incentive because healthy plants grow, and once full grown they move to the ‘garden’ where you can collect seeds each day; seeds buy other plants or decorative pots for the game. If you like games rather than regular tracking apps this one is for you because it’s a fun way to make a positive change. So I say is a KEEPER.
UVLens – I found this helpful, although it’s a given I almost always wear sunblock, this app gives detailed information about the UV index for the day based on your location. It has two simple tabs, Home and Skin. Home tells you what the UV meter is for the day, the time range you should be most careful in, and temperature. Skin tells you the amount of time when you may begin to burn, lets you input the type of sunscreen protection and recommends if you need a hat, sunglasses, this is all based on questions the app lets your customize, such as whether you burn or tan easily, your skin tone, hair and eye color. KEEPER.
Sidekick – All-in one app that could use a little improvement but overall is the best I have seen so far. This is set up as an overall health monitor; it has four main categories, Food, Move, Mind, and Clinic. You can log what you eaten or done for the day, how much water, veggies, meditation, and exercise. There is a daily quote, and challenges. You can even get your friends to sign up and set up a group challenge. Challenges can be anything related to exercise, or eating a certain amount of fruits over a few days, you login your progress based on servings for food or time for exercise and it tracks this for you. The only thing is that Sidekick does not seem to do is guide you on your specific needs, for example in the Clinic tab it has a section where you can input your weight, blood pressure, and blood test information.Where you input your weight, it tells you your BMI but does not give any information if that is where you are supposed to be.I do really like this app, most of us love a challenge and the little reminders the app sends are helpful in keeping up my motivation, so for me Sidekicks a KEEPER!
Habitica – this app tried a similar road as Sidekick but without the focus on health. It falls short in graphics, ease of use, and organization. It does let you use it as an agenda where you can input reminders for yourself but it has a Habit, Tasks, and a To-Do list. You get points for checking off each item on your list however, sorry but I have to Kick it off my phone.
Breathe – guided meditations that focus on improving your daily outlook. All you need is a quiet moment to sit and listen to the app (easier said than done for some). For this app you tell it how you are feeling physically and mentally, simply through smiley faces. For example if you tap the happy face you get a list of words like glad, grateful, peaceful, you select up to five and it brings you to a guided meditation. You choose the length of the meditation, anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes. I haven’t tried the premium version of this app but there are more options for the meditations if you buy the premium version. I think I’ll Keep it but Sidekick also has guided meditations so if they up theirs a little I may Kick this down the road.