The other day I came across a picture of me taken last July, and I almost didn’t recognize myself. You see, a steady diet of pizza and other comfort foods–plus a neglect of any sort of exercise habit–had helped me pack on several extra pounds. Since that time, however, I’ve returned to my middle-aged cruising weight through the simple, common-sense strategy of incorporating exercise back into my routine and being more attentive to what (and how much) I eat. Doing both of these things was made easier, in part, by a couple of online tools that help me track my actions. In short, I can track my input (calories consumed), my output (calories burned), and my weight.
There is no shortage of such tools, hardware as well as software: there are pocket-sized gadgets such as the FitBit and the DirectLife, social-media enabled sites such as MapMyRun/MapMyRide and RunKeeper, various smartphone apps, and the gadget that perhaps kicked off the digital fitness tool trend, the Nike+.
Mark McClusky has dubbed this trend “Living by Numbers”; McClusky’s 2009 Wired cover story described a
legion of people, from Olympic-level athletes to ordinary folks just hoping to lower their blood pressure, who are plugging into a data-driven revolution. And it goes way beyond Nike+. Using a flood of new tools and technologies, each of us now has the ability to easily collect granular information about our lives—what we eat, how much we sleep, when our mood changes.
And not only can we collect that data, we can analyze it as well, looking for patterns, information that might help us change both the quality and the length of our lives. We can live longer and better by applying, on a personal scale, the same quantitative mindset that powers Google and medical research. Call it Living by Numbers—the ability to gather and analyze data about yourself, setting up a feedback loop that we can use to upgrade our lives, from better health to better habits to better performance.
How about you?
What are your favorite tools and methods for keeping track of health and fitness? Are they digital and web-enabled? Are they analog, pen-and-paper strategies? In what ways do they help you reach your goals, whether those goals are simply weight loss or something more ambitious, like training for a marathon?
Let us hear from you in the comments section! In a couple of weeks I’ll post a roundup of reader input.
[Creative Commons-licensed flickr photo by John Rees]
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10 Responses to Reader Input: Favorite Health and Fitness Tracking Tools?
kcfeminist - November 8, 2010 at 3:09 pm
I love the Nike+ GPS app. My only gripe is that it records everything as a “run” even if you’re a walker as I am. But it works inside and outside and you no longer need the special shoes.
csdanforth - November 8, 2010 at 3:35 pm
I use (don’t love, but use) MyNetDiary (tracks nutrition and exercise), RunKeeper, HeartPace (pulse counting tool), and Daily Deeds (not health specific, but a nice little habit changing app that I use for some fitnessy undertakings).
kevingannon - November 8, 2010 at 3:45 pm
I use a Schwinn “bike computer” for my rides–keeps track of time, distance, current, average, and max speeds.
I tried mapmyride.com, but it drove me crazy with all the bugs–dropped routes, no visibility for the routes I’d just entered, etc. Bikely.com is MUCH better–easier and more intuitive, and you can use either street or google map interfaces to map your routes.
nicoler - November 8, 2010 at 4:05 pm
I absolutely adore MyDailyPlate, which lets me track the foods I eat (not just calories, but all nutritional information) quite easily, and also lets me keep track of exercise.
I’ve noticed a distinct trend – when I use it, I lose weight. When I do not, I don’t. There is really something to forcing yourself to be /aware/ of what you are putting into your body.
I love that it lets me choose from almost any food produced (someone else has already put the info in) /or/ lets me create recipes of things I cook. It also lets me create meals so that I don’t have to add individual bits and pieces every time I have a salad.
brockter - November 8, 2010 at 4:08 pm
I use Runkeeper on my iphone. I also have really enjoyed DailyBurn, a socially oriented website that lets you track nutrition, exercise, and body measurements (weight, body fat, etc). Daily Burn also has an iphone app that lets you track workouts in real-time, as well as an app that scans barcodes on foods you eat so you can input the nutritional data.
Runkeeper: http://runkeeper.com/
DailyBurn: http://dailyburn.com
williams_way - November 8, 2010 at 4:10 pm
I go to NutriMirror.com to log daily food and exercise information. It provides free lifetime weight + nutrition + exercise management tools. This habit makes me stay healthy by keeping a watch on daily nutrition intake. It has helped me reduce my weight by 35 lbs and stay flat for the past 2 years.
eetempleton - November 8, 2010 at 4:31 pm
I use Livestrong’s MyPlate too. I like all the same reasons that nicoler has already mentioned, but I also like that they have a BlackBerry app, so I can track when I travel, which can be a challenge otherwise.
brianborchers - November 8, 2010 at 5:35 pm
I use a Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS/heart rate monitor to track my runs, and then upload data to the http://www.mapmyrun.com web site to create maps that I can share with friends. I typically post a link to each run on Facebook. Separately, I maintain a Google Docs spreadsheet with weight, blood pressure, resting heart rate, etc. recorded on a daily basis.
toddstanfield - November 8, 2010 at 10:03 pm
I have used DailyBurn, DailyPlate, and MyNetDiary. The iPad version of MyNetDiary was why I tried it out, and I now actually prefer their web interface and iPhone app to the other two as well. It offers real time search results as you type the name of the food you are trying to enter. It also pushes you food history to the top as you type.
frontrunnercentury - December 25, 2010 at 1:16 am
Thinking about using Mapmyride at the FrontRunner Century Ride Cycing event. While I have used mapmyride many times I have had it suggested by many to use it at the FrontRunner Century in Salt Lake City Utah. They offer both a metric and full century ride. It is a really cool century ride in Utah and they do a amazing job of sag support. They do have the Mapmyride.com profile on the website of the route. http://www.frontrunnercentury.com