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- This scale measures weight and body fat and sends updates to your iPhone.
Ever since the Wii Fit exploded onto the scene a few years back, debate has raged over its actual benefits. To Nintendo’s chagrin, people actually wondered if it did what they claimed – make you healthier.
The debate’s probably still out, though research released this week says the Wii Fit won’t offer any long term health benefits. And get this, the researchers actually suggested we all play Wii Sports instead. Turns out it burns more calories than anything you can do standing on an $80 plastic board.
But, don’t fret. There is some tech out there that can help you lose weight and trim your waist line. The big catch? You still just have to get some regular exercise and eat less.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Lose It!
I’ve written about this before, back when I did a list of my top 10 iPhone apps. Lose It! is a daily calorie tracker that you might actually like using, considering it’s super simple. It had a built-in database of tons of foods, from the stuff you buy in the grocery store to meals served at restaurants.
It also calculate calories for custom recipes you type in. Tell it how much weight you want to lose, when you want to lose it by and the app will tell you how many calories you should eat per day. It offsets your total by the amount of exercise you get, too. Try it for a month and it might just reinforce healthy eating habits that’ll last a lifetime. Get it in the iTunes store.
WiFi Body Scale
A traditional scale won’t tell you a lot. And your BMI? That can be misleading, too. What you really need to know is your body fat percentages.
You can pay for expensive test for a really accurate reading, or just get a better scale for an in-the-ballpark figure. The cool thing about this scale is that it tweets your daily readings through a built-in wireless connection to help keep you honest and on track for your weight goal. Oh, and bonus, it has a free iPhone app that graphs your daily progress. My favorite part is that it does this without any real work from you. Just step on the scale. That’s it.
Here’s how Nike+ works. You put a little sensor in your shoe. It talks wirelessly to another sensor that you plug into your iPod or iPhone 3GS (older iPhone models aren’t compatible).
So, after some time running or walking, you get access to your distance and speed on a Web site. It’s a fantastic way to track your progress over time. If your lucky, you might even come across have cardio equipment that works directly with Nike’s sensors to track your workouts from gym to gym.
Justin McLachlan writes on personal technology.
Justin McLachlan is a freelance journalist in San Diego. Follow him on Twitter @justinmclachlan.
Tags: Apple, iPhone app, itunes, justin mclachlan, loseit!, nintendo, personal tech, SDNN, wii fit, wii sports
