My 10 favorite apps to live your best life
We live in a glorious age where no matter what we’re trying to do, we have technology in the palm of our hand to help us.
Looking for a ride? There’s an app for that.
Need to deposit a check? Do it with an app.
Want to mark all the places you’ve pooped? I wish I was kidding, but there’s an app for that too.
When it comes to our health and happiness, there are thousands of apps out there.
Now on this list, you won’t see popular apps such as MyFitnessPal.
Don’t get me wrong, I used MyFitnessPal for a long time and it works wonders for many people. So if you use it, and it works for you – more power to you. Keep on doing you.
But you won’t see MyFitnessPal on this list because I personally have found that tracking my food and exercise to determine how many calories I’ve burned or over indulged in on a given day, doesn’t work for me.
After many years of crash dieting and trying every quick fix exercise program that came my way, nowadays my approach to eating and moving is much more mindfulness-based.
I eat mainly whole, clean, nourishing foods that support my body. And when I indulge I savor every delicious bite. I exercise because it feels good, not because I should. I make it a point to get a bare minimum of 7.5 hours of sleep a night. I drink lots of water.
I do all this and I enjoy using apps to help keep me balanced and on track.
This is my personal list of my favorite health and happiness apps that have supported me on my health and happiness journey, so it is in no way comprehensive.
But, if you’re looking for a way to use technology to elevate your health and happiness, check out the apps I recommend below and let me know what you think!
Goal: Stop waking up feeling like a zombie
iOS 10 Bedtime Alarm
There are several apps out there to track your sleep cycles. They operate on the premise that waking up in a lighter sleep cycle will leave you feeling less groggy and zombie-esque. While this is true, the technology behind those apps is far from accurate (read a great explanation of this here). What will make that morning grogginess disappear is sticking to a regular sleep schedule to help regulate your body’s clock and of course, getting enough sleep. Check out the National Sleep Foundation if you want to learn more about how to get just the right amount of z’s to feel oh so good.
This is why I love the bedtime alarm that came with the most recent iOS update (find it in the regular alarm app). Not only can you set a wake-up alarm, you can also set a bedtime reminder to ensure that you’re going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day. The app also shows just how many hours of sleep you’ll be getting if you stick to your routine. I have to say I also thoroughly appreciate the new wake up sounds, early riser anyone? 😉
Goal: Actually be able to focus on the task at hand
Headspace
Meditation isn’t just a trendy new thing. It’s been practiced by people all over the world for thousands of years. Today, more and more research is documenting the benefits from reduced depression and anxiety to increased concentration, optimism, and even immunity. Giovanni Dienstmann over at Live and Dare put together an awesome summary of some of the research that’s out there if you’re curious.
Headspace is a genius app that walks you through the basics of meditation and mindfulness with short animated videos and daily guided meditations (in my opinion the easiest way to get into meditating). Your first 10-day trial is free, after which you can subscribe. I credit this app to getting me started with my own meditation practice, check it out. You won’t regret it.
Goal: Not have a meltdown every other week
Mood Meter
Emotional intelligence is defined as the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. So for example, someone with high emotional intelligence has the ability to recognize the emotions arising when their boss is yelling at them for no good reason. Maybe they’re feeling embarrassed, vulnerable, disrespected, and even angry. That person can take it a step further however, and instead of lashing out, bursting into tears, or quitting on the spot, can choose whether or not they wish to act on those feelings, and express them in a way that aligns with their deeper desires. Pretty cool, right?
The Mood Meter app uses a super simple interface to help build self-awareness of the emotions you experience in the moment and your emotional trends over time. What I really like about this app, is beside generating an overall awareness of the emotions you’re experiencing, it takes things a step further and prompts you to identify what causes different emotions and helps you to regulate them over time.
Goal: Get yer run on
Couch to 5K
If you’ve ever thought that you’d like to add ‘enjoys long runs’ to your dating profile but haven’t run more than a block in your life, the Couch to 5k Program is a great place to start. The program was designed to get just about anyone up from the couch to running 5k or 30 minutes in a little over 2 months. The training plan starts by alternating jogging and walking and gradually increases to running a full 5k. The best part? You’re only training 3 days/week. You can find more information on the program (they even have a treadmill version) here.
There are different apps for this program, I like the free version as it sets up your daily training plan in a simple, visually pleasing format. Besides tracking your workouts, the app syncs with your playlists, and tracks your distance/pace using GPS.They even have a running support community over on Facebook!
Goal: Eat well for cheap
Thrive Market
Eating healthy is something that most people value, but it can be expensive. Real expensive. Enter Thrive Market. This online store offers thousands of healthy food products from 25-50% off. They also have a search option that lists foods by “value” or lifestyle, so if you have any food restrictions and are looking for foods that are organic, gluten-free, vegan, dairy free etc you can find them crazy easy. Some of my favorites to pick up here are Lara Bars, flax seed, matcha tea, beef collagen, and jerky. This is a membership site, but they offer the first 30 days totally free. I’ve been a member for 2 years now and don’t envision quitting anytime soon.
The app is a super convenient way to browse, shop, and place orders right from your phone.
Note: If you’re thinking of joining, this is my personal share link. I get $25 and you get 15% off your order, PLUS Thrive donates a membership to a low-income family, teacher, veteran, or student through their Thrive Gives initiative. If you don’t want to use my info, use this one here.
Goal: Dem gains
Bodyweight Fitness
Bodyweight training isn’t what most people typically think of when they picture resistance training. It is however, a phenomenal program with the potential for huge, functional, progress and gains. One of the most appealing parts of bodyweight training is that you train and progress by challenging your body in new ways, which can mean using little to no equipment. You also feel like a badass when you master your first handstand or L-sit. For more details on the routine itself and tons of resources, you can check out fitloop.co.
The bodyweight fitness app has two routines to choose from, allows you to log your workouts, and (my favorite part) provides full videos for each of the different exercises so you know exactly what you’re doing, no matter where you are.
Goal: Stand the f**k up!
Stand Up!
More and more research is emerging on the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle. With technologies that allow us to drive everywhere, order everything we could ever need off Amazon, and most of us working desk jobs, it’s easy to spend 13+ hours a day sitting on our rear ends. Even scarier, we now know that exercising for an hour a day doesn’t cancel out the negative effects of sitting the other 12 hours.
Fortunately, all hope is not lost. The antidote is simple, stand up. By simply standing up and taking a quick sedentary break every hour, you can decrease the potential effects of long-term sitting. The Stand Up app helps you to do this by setting an alarm every hour (or at your preferred interval) to remind you to get up. You can also tailor the reminders to your location so the alarm isn’t going off at a lunch meeting or once you get home and the Cubs are busy winning the World Series so you’re butt isn’t doing anything but intently watching the TV ;).
Goal: Hydrate yo’self
Waterlogged
You’ve heard it before. Water is important. You should drink it. In fact, subtle signs of dehydration that we often overlook or attribute to something else are weakness, confusion or brain fog, and sluggishness. The “Drink 8 glasses a day’ rule works as a general guideline, but don’t forget that those 8 glasses include water from fruits, vegetables, and other liquids. Your water needs also vary depending on your size, sex, physical activity level, environment etc.
Use this app to set your own goals and track them throughout the day. The app makes it easy to record water by adding pictures and sizes of the containers you’re using. I like this approach rather than just saying I’m going to drink more water (not specific enough), or getting to 9pm and realizing I have 5 glasses of water to chug (no check-ins throughout the day to keep me on track).
Goal: Figure out where the hell spin class is
MindBody
One of the most empowering parts of exercising to feel good and not because you have is that you can switch it up! Starting to dread your morning run? Try a spin class! Bros at the gym making you feel uncomfortable? Group fitness might be your thing.
The Mindbody app makes it easy to see all of the health and wellness offerings in your area (this is also great for travel). You can see schedules and rates, read reviews, and even book your spot in the class all through the app.
Goal: Create a lasting habit
Coach.me
Starting and maintaining a new habit long term can be hard. Science has shown that self-monitoring, or paying attention to how often we’re practicing the habit, accountability, and group support are all crucial aspects of successfully adopting a new habit.
The Coach.me app is a totally free space to set any goal you can think of and check in daily. Want to start exercising? It’s there. Improve your productivity? That’s there too. When you check-in to your habit every day, you’ll also get encouragement from a community of other people working on the same goal.
The coolest part about this app though, is if you’re looking for extra support, you can hire a coach who will support you through the chat function in the app. I coach through this app, you can see my profile here and if you use the promo code JULIABALTOWEEK you’ll get a week of free coaching! If you don’t like the habits I coach, there are hundred of other coaches to work with you to reach your goals. I think it’s neato.
Do you use any of the apps above? Are there any awesome ones out there that I’m missing out on?
Let me know in the comments!
to your health and happiness,
Julia