So, during my rainy night run, I toasted my Nike+. . . thus, we have a new Tech Tuesday post! Now, to say up front, I am not promoting the use of Smartphones, I think they are a waste of money. BUT! If you so happen to own one, like myself, I highly recommend trying out CardioTrainer and Noom.
Noom first:
Noom simply keeps track of how much you eat. It lets you just approximate what you eat and lets you break down what you eat into its components. For instance, I had a veggie burger last night, I broke it down into condiments, burger, and bun. This app is awesome because you don't need to put specifics, just generalizations. It removes the tediousness of a spreadsheet, and because it is easy to access in my pocket, I just update it as I eat. Totally simplistic, and almost fun . . . ?
It is just that easy
Simplistic, and effective. Thats all I need from an APP. I like it because you can enter your weight, and it will keep track and project future weight based on how much you are losing and how fast. So I know that by my birthday next year, I can hit my target weight if I keep on at it. Now that's motivation.
CardioTrainer:
CardioTrainer came highly recommended by many online blogs and reviewers, so as I am looking for a replacement to my Nike+ until I either get a new set up or get a new iPod with built-in integration, I'll be using this. It is awesome.
It uses GPS tracking to keep track of pace and route, and so far it is highly accurate. It perfectly mapped out my 5k last night, down to me even criss-crossing the streets. I am pretty happy with it. The updates are very frequent, coming every minute. It alternates between pace and distance/time. It really pushed me through my run last night.
The other cool thing is that I was able to stream Pandora while using it (gotta love unlimited data plans). It mixed up the music so that I forgot how many songs I listened to, so I couldn't be predictable. If you have a smart phone, try it out. I think its pretty worth it.
My Monday night run
Take home message of the day: tracking calories is as tedious as you make it. Guesstimating at what you eat is far less depressing then trying to methodically write down everything exactly. You are more likely to succeed by rounding up and down, and you are more likely to do it if it's easy. CardioTrainer is a lot of fun and seems to be pretty accurate. I will keep using it for the time being. Also, running with a phone isn't a bad thing. Ellie was able to call me mid-run to make sure I was still alive! Added security and randomized music.
Smartphones are a big monetary investment, so I dont recommend it just for this. But if you have one already, give it a shot!
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