Using technology to help with weight loss
There is nothing like technology to get me into the swing of things. Whatever that might be! I have been using an application called Noom Coach which I found out about because I have been using the application called Noom which is a pedometer, step counter. This application Noom Coach/ Noom Weight Loss is basically a sort of weight loss program and it has you doing things like recording what you eat and the exercise that you take. It also gives you a number of articles with information designed to help you and encourage you to lose some weight. There Are Android and also iOS applications available. I certainly do need to lose a little bit of weight and I found this out by stepping on some weighing scale while visiting my son in Ireland. This is where the other bit of technology comes in, in the form of analysing weighing scales. These fancy, wonderful and weird weighing scales measure not only your weight, but also your body mass index BMI, your body water percentage and your body fat percentage. Fantastic or what?
Once a week on the scales
Without having any scales and not knowing how much I weigh, it was going to be difficult to get some control over my weight. Now the plan is to use the scales I have bought, once a week and to record the results. I have already set up a Google docs spreadsheet and hopefully after a month or two I will start seeing some evidence of results. As it stands at the moment I am overweight, although not by a huge amount and fortunately I don’t get anywhere near to the category of obese. It must be all of the dog walking that I do every day of the week.
Beating the steep hill
Not only do I expect to be taking more exercise with going out on my electric bike. The electric bike is there for encouragement so that I will use it on a daily basis. It is better than having a bike that sits in the garage not getting used at all, because I can’t face the very steep hill which is the last part of the journey to get back home. I have cycled up this steep hill with the electric bike a couple of times and even with the assistance of the electric bicycle it is still steep enough to require me pedalling a fair bit to get to the top.
Getting some exercise with an electric bike
The other thing about having electric bike is the fact that during the summertime I expect to use this bicycle on a daily basis to get to and from work. I have worked out that it takes me half an hour to use this bicycle to get to work instead of the 15/20 minutes that it takes by car. With the assistance of electric power I will be able to get there and not be all sweaty and still be there on time. After a day working at the campsite being on my feet for most of the time it is not going to be too bad cycling the 15 km back home again. In fact during the summertime when it is the busiest period in the holiday town where I work by the beach, it will be a definite advantage to be on a bicycle. I could even be able to get home quicker if I have to travel back home on a Sunday evening during the peak period.
Dealing with the intake of food
I have already cut by half the number of biscuits that I eat. I could cut them out altogether but you do have to have some fun in your life. Wherever possible I try and cut down the amount I have on my plate with my other meals also. By using the application Noom Coach and recording what I eat, it also works out the calorie intake approximately; this is quite helpful. The application gives me a recommended intake of calories per day and it also gives me some indication of the qualities of the foods I am eatting. So fried foods would be on the calorie indicator in red, some foods will be showing up with an orange marker and the better foods show as green.
Going pro costs money
There is a pro version of this application Noom Coach, but I don’t expect I will be paying the $9.99 as a monthly fee to get it. The free part of the application is more than enough for me at the present time and I have to say that I quite like the application. I might have a look and see if there are other applications which do a similar thing to see if I can make a comparison with regards the features that they offer. Do you have a favourite application that you use for checking up on your health?
