Hello and a very Happy New Year. I hope you’ve all had a wonderful festive period.
My main resolution for 2018 is to look after my wellbeing and fitness; I am specifically aiming to maintain a healthy BMI for better long-term health benefits. For me, as a Mum-of-two in my late thirties, my health is now more imperative than ever before. Controlling my stress level is also important, as I can get quite tense in daily life. Exercise relieves that stress and makes me feel a much happier person, able to deal with pressure and problem solving.
To help me achieve these health and wellbeing goals, I know technology is going to play a huge part; tech supports my life in so many other areas (ordering food, clothes, school admin, work, weather, social etc.) that there’s no reason my health should be an exception.
I tend to use apps on my phone and tablets. Using fitness and health applications helps me to monitor my progress and - more importantly - keep me motivated and on track. EE has the best 4G coverage in our local area so I can access my favourite health and fitness apps whether I’m at home or out and about.
From January onwards, I am making changes to my day-to-day routine in order to make time for regular gym sessions. To ensure I stick to my allotted days I have recorded my schedule in my Outlook diary so I can access it anywhere, anytime.
For keeping a record of my calories and diet (to support with my BMI and weight loss) I have downloaded 'My Fitness Pal'. On this app, I can log what I’ve eaten and drunk that day by manually selecting the exact foods and drinks from the menu – or by quickly scanning a barcode, which I love! It knows the health information of the products, which is helping me to make better food decisions – I now actively choose foods with lower salt and sugar levels. This app acts as a great incentive for eating healthier and knowing what’s in my food.
I can also log my daily activities into the app - when I’m doing the likes of cleaning or taking the children to school for example, I can now track how many calories I’m burning. I have also linked my FitBit to My Fitness Pal, which is perfect as it uploads all my gym work and running data for me. I receive weekly progress reports via email so I can see how I am tracking in comparison to the week before - this really helps me to keep on top of my goals and I can make the changes necessary to ensure I remain on target. You can also compare month on month fitness data, which is extremely useful as I can see how much exercise I did in December, when I wasn’t as focused on my fitness. My FitBit is a great timesaving piece of technology that makes staying on top of my fitness goals that bit easier for me!
For healthy recipes, I often use the Internet for finding new things for the family to try; I can see ingredient information, cooking instructions and calorie information all at once, which is a great time saver! I like websites such as ‘BBC Good Food’ and ‘Delicious Magazine’ because the recipes are easy to find and easy-to-follow.
I also use the 'Hello Fresh’ app, which is great because I can order weekly meals for the family straight from the app to my door. I order the family box and we get the exact ingredients needed for the meal, plus the step-by-step recipe cards. I have tried some lovely new dishes recently such as ‘Stir Fry Steak’ and ‘Lemon and Garlic Pork’.
In-between my weekly gym sessions I also do quick YouTube workouts in my living room. These are great for when the children are at home or for straight after the morning school run – I just stream them straight from our Sony Bravia smart TV. In addition to this I also like to use apps to do some quick home workouts. 'Sweat: Kayla Itsines Fitness' is my current favourite for working out because it’s intensive and focuses on cardio; helping me to achieve that healthy BMI. This app is also another good place for getting nutritious recipe ideas.
So, have you got any New Year’s resolutions this year? Is health and fitness one of yours?
