For my birthday this year I treated myself to a new phone. It was passed its due since my old blackberry was on its last legs. I opted for a change though despite all of the features that my blackberry provided, there were a lot of things that they never followed into development that I wanted to see happen. So, I bought an android based phone. The old apps that I had on my Blackberry are available on my new droid,(and a lot less buggy), as well as many I never thought of. While some apps that I have seen on iphones are not yet available or not quite the same, there are some areas that there are more options.
Let's face it no matter what camp you fall into on the phone wars, it is all impressive from what was offered just a few short years ago. Back to my droid, I have found an app that is free, (although there is a paid version if you want to access advanced features), that tracks cardio fitness, and calorie counting. It is called Noom wieghtloss, by worksmartlabs, and is available on the android market. There are multiple parts that are all available into one app, or separately. There is the cardio trainer, and calorific. If you are hardcore on tracking training intervals, specific pace and the like you may need to buy the advanced version, but for my own general use the free version is more than adequate. For cycling it will go into workout mode play music off of your playlists, measure and display your speed, time, and calorie burning. It will also track an endless amount of other physical activities, including walking and weight training as a few examples. In calorific mode, you enter the types of food and drinks you consume as go throughout the day in approximate portion size. It will log your calorie intake and match to your fitness activities to guide in weight loss or training benefits. Noom also will sync to google health if you wish for an accurate record for medical professional review when you visit your doctor.
The downside of the whole app would have to be the general way they use the calorie counter. Not so much how it integrates, but how you enter it in. There are far better apps that have extensive detailed lists of foods and portions. This has more generic breakdowns by type of food. For me, this isn't a deal breaker. It has helped me to notice what parts of what I eat that I should go without. For instance, if it just entered my salad I had for lunch and totaled its calories automatically, it would never cross my mind beyond the calorie total. With Noom, I have to enter the greens, then the other components. Not all separately, it allows for a certain amount or serving size of various veggies, then you add dressing, and meat. That was caught my attention. The salad was great but the chicken portion doubled the value of my salad's calories. Good to be reminded of that. Once I hit the road on my bike, it displays my calories total for the day and how much of that I am burning as I ride. When your done, you can post results to facebook or share with your friends achievements and goals.
Thats all in the free version. There are many other little features that I have yet to play with in the app (like the pedometer) so in my opinion has earned its space on my phone.
This app is also handy as it displays very similarly to a bike computer. Total miles, speed, time, and a little gps map, etc... with a mount on the handlebars, my phone has become a dashboard. If only I could find a better way to keep it charged on longer rides.
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