Online Stopwatch Help With Healthy Living - Whether you are an athlete, trying to lose weight, or simply nutrition-conscious -- there's probably an app for you.
Technology tools can be found in every facet of wellness. Heart-rate monitors, workout logs, calorie counters, all can be used on devices ranging from watches to smartphones. The digital advancements have grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years.
When Lora Erickson, a certified running coach from Bountiful, started coaching in '96, the most technical the equipment got was a stopwatch built into a wristwatch.
Now you can get GPS technology, routes and heart-rate monitors on your watch.
"The athletes now -- their times are faster and faster and faster," Erickson said. "So I think that kind of feedback really helps people stay on track."
All of the devices, regardless of what they do specifically, are intended to give the user feedback.
"It seems like in the last five years it has really gotten big," said Julie Hansen, nutrition professor at Weber State University. "I think the more ways you can monitor and measure, the better. You have got, like, an automatic training log."
The cost of digital tools increases with the number of added features, such as if you want to monitor your heart rate and map your route with elevation gains.
Some online tools and phone apps can be found for free. Calorie counters can be downloaded for no charge at websites like Livestrong and Calorie King.
And simple is still an option.
"Pedometers will probably be the simplest, easiest one that people would benefit from," said Julie Knighton, an Ogden physical therapist and weight-loss coach.
Too many jobs are sedentary, she said, and pedometers can give people feedback to be more active during the day.
"If someone is trying to lose weight, they should get between 10,000 and 15,000 steps a day," Knighton said. "It gives you good feedback and it's real simple."
No matter what fitness tools you use, Knighton said, you still need the willpower to change.
"Obesity is still a problem. As far as statistically, there are still as many people who are overweight as there was 10 years ago," Knighton said. "A lot of it still comes down to the inertia factor -- a body at rest tends to remain at rest."
There's one tool that she recommends that doesn't come on an iPhone or the Internet, but it can have the biggest impact on your choice to live healthy: a tape measure.
Take a measurement of your waist. Knighton said men should be under 40 inches and women under 35 inches.
"That's predictive for more health problems like¬ diabetes and heart disease, because they are carrying more fat in their bellies," Knighton said.
"That's something that anybody can do."
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