With the brilliant development of technology over the years, the health&fitness community has seen a rise in apps and fitness gadgets which help us to keep up with our fitness goals.

Recently, I was introduced to a new tech-based health insurance company that inspired me to share a bit about some tools that have helped me stay on track with my health&fitness goals, and apps that I would like to try!

So I thought I’d list one app that I recommend, one that I don’t recommend and one that I’d love to try 😀

The app I DO recommend: 8tracks This app has loads of playlists uploaded by other users, and you can even create your own playlist. I was too lazy to create my own playlist, but listening to the awesome mixes by other users really helped me stay motivated when I was running. Listening to music as you run definitely makes it more fun 😀 I wish I could have a waterproof casing for my iPhone or my iPod along with waterproof headphones so that I could even listen to music as I swim! Now that would be fun.

The app I DON’T recommend: MyFitnesspal

I know loads of people like to count calories and what not. But after trying this app out for about a month, I deleted it from my phone. I felt using a calorie counter made my goals of living a healthy lifestyle too rigid. Everything was defined by a number. To a certain extent, it makes you feel pressured to eat as little as possible as it posts updates about whether your were under/over your calorie goal (aka pass or fail for the day). I personally don’t think this is a good way to keep to your goals as it may lead to an unhealthy obsession with calories instead of wholesome nutrition. The app creators may argue that is not so, but subconsciously, when you see a red column (when you exceed your calorie goal), it’s like getting a red mark on your exam paper. Almost saying: YOU FAILED. So take my advice, steer clear from calorie counting. It’s obsessive and rigid, and not worth the amount of time keying in what you ate, and feeling guilty if you ate too much. The app I would like to try: The PhotoCookbook This looks like so much fun! I love the user-friendly interface (at least it appears user-friendly, I haven’t used it unfortunately) and the beautiful pictures, especially the layout of the dishes in the photos. This seems like an awesome way to start cooking healthy food for yourself rather than relying on takeout all the time!

New Year, New You! – Only in New York and New Jersey
Haha, maybe I overdid it on the ‘New’ bits 😛

Now that I’ve shared about what worked, and what didn’t for me… I thought I’d end off sharing a bit about Oscar Insurance, the company that I mentioned earlier 🙂

Basically Oscar Insurance is a provider of health insurance in New Jersey and New York and they’ve recently started providing their members with Misfit bands to get them moving in the right direction. I think it’s pretty cool that they are taking such an active role in their members health&fitness journeys! They have an app as well, and a website which I’ve linked up here (New Jersey) and here (New York).

Each Oscar member will get a free Misfit Flash tracker and the opportunity to earn one dollar per day that they meet their personalized fitness goals. The Misfit Flash bands track it all from calories burned, distance traveled, steps taken and sleep quality and duration during all activities rather than just walking or running! Sounds like they are really committed to helping you stay on track with your health 😀

So why not say ‘Hi Oscar’, and give it ago. Sadly, they don’t have it in Singapore… if not I would love to try out their Misfit Flash Tracker and try out their app. It sounds really cool!