Seven Ways You Can Get Healthy with Technology
For some of us, the only thing harder than staying in shape is getting fit in the first place. Your health and wellness is an ongoing effort, an important one that not enough people make a priority. I’m not one to judge- there are some mornings when absolutely nothing will do except a McGriddle. But I stay healthy by keeping active and eating well… most of the time. And I find that with a little help from technology, my health stays at the forefront of my mind and makes things a bit more fun.
Here are seven of my favorite tech savvy ways to stay healthy:
1. Break Alerts
Did you know that even a daily exercise routine may not be enough to counteract the harm of sitting at your desk all day? Office jobs are terrible for your health! Luckily, you don’t need to quit your job to be healthy. Just a short break every hour can be amazingly beneficial, even if it’s a 30 second stretch or lap around the office. Easier said than done, unless you utilize the Task Scheduler on your PC. Before I discovered this helpful feature, minutes would stretch into hours and before I knew it, it was quitting time! Now I get an alert every hour, remembering to stretch, say hello to my coworker on the other side of the office, refill my water bottle or maybe just fix my hair.
2. Fitness Trackers
Fitbit, Jawbone, Garmin, oh my! Just 10,000 steps a day can be a total life changer and fitness trackers are extremely motivational. While they are geared toward counting steps, these aren’t your grandma’s pedometer, measuring sleep quality, heart rate, distance, calories and more! Get your competitive edge going by connecting with friends and joining groups to see where you stack up. But take my advice and check your steps before getting ready for bed- I promise, you WILL consider getting dressed and walking around the block just to make up those last few steps toward your goal.
3. Create Habits
Since I tend to jump into things full force, I often lose steam and kind of just forget all of my new goals! I find that by logging in the routines I want to achieve daily, I end up with new habits embedded into my life. You can do this by simply drawing X’s on a calendar for every successful day and Jerry Seinfeld credits this method to staying motivated to write every day. After a few days, you’ll have a success chain that grows longer with each day. Slack off and the chain is broken and you’ll have to start all over again… nobody wants that! Personally, I love the HabitStreak App which is ideal for logging multiple habits. I can enter my goals and get alerted every day to log in what I did (or didn’t) do, building up streaks and creating new and healthy habits.
4. Posture Shirts
We all know slouching is bad for your health, but remembering to stand up straight is as hard as it gets. Posture Shirts are functional apparel with elastic panels that press on muscles in your upper back and shoulders, keeping your body aligned upright. Many professional athletes are wearing them and preliminary testing shows a relief in back and neck pain. I work in front of a computer for hours and as the day goes on, I develop what I call chicken head pose, where my head moves closer and closer to the screen, shoulders hunched up by my ears. While very tight at first, you’ll find any discomfort becomes less apparent and much of the pressure you would usually feel throughout the day is eased. Thumbs up to posture shirts, my posture has definitely improved since I started wearing mine!
5. Orange Chef Prep Pad & Counter Top
What if you had a sous chef/ personal trainer/ nutritionist on hand who could track your workouts and recommend optimal post gym snacks while remembering your likes and dislikes. Basically, what if you were Beyonce? The Orange Chef is a sleek, app enabled kitchen scale that syncs with your Vitamix, Jawbone and other devices with more to come. Set up your personal goals, like lose weight or train for a race, and it will customize recommendations based on those goals. My favorite part of the Orange Chef is building meals right there on the countertop and seeing the breakdown of carbs, protein, fat and other nutrients in real time as the ingredients are added. For me, this was a great way to get some insight into the meals I was already making and learning how to make them healthier and more balanced.
6. Tech Savvy Workout Wear
With sensors measuring everything from heart rate to muscle activity, breathing levels and more, your gym clothes just got really smart. Techie workout apparel can really enhance your workout by making you aware of what’s happening in your body and motivating you to keep at it and beat your personal records.
7. Fitness Apps
There is literally an app for everything you can think of these days, and of course your health is no different. Whether you want to count your steps, follow along with workout videos, train for your first 5k or even raise money for charity with for every step you take, fitness apps can be super motivational and a lot of fun!
These are just a few ways technology can help you create a healthier lifestyle. Find what works for you and keep at it! After a while, you’ll find you are craving a salad (believe it!) and will WANT to move your body. Remember, moderation is key, so aim to eat right and exercise most of the time but let yourself live a little once in a while, even if for you, that means pigging out on potato chips and a Netflix marathon.