12 health and fitness Apps to get you to your goals in 2017

Are you running the same route, eating the same grilled chicken and veggies for dinner, or listening to the same playlists over and over? Anyone can fall into a rut, but it’s time to push past the monotony and re-energize your habits. Choose among these 12 apps to find inspiration and ideas to eat, exercise and, yes, sleep better every day. Yonder - free; iOS, Android Whether you’re already an outdoor adventurer or someone who wants to travel more, Yonder helps you find and share outdoor excursions based on where you are and what interests you most. By tapping on categories ranging from backpacking and biking to skiing and swimming, you can check out local options and read up on what fellow “Yonderers” loved most about each experience. Yonder wants to keep you inspired to engage with nature, so it acts like a social platform, encouraging you to read what others have to say and share your own experiences and photos. Aaptiv - Android if you’ve made a commitment to find and stick to a fitness plan, terrific. But sometimes you can feel lost as to what to actually do once you get to the gym or head outside. While there are countless workout video apps and web sites, Aaptiv sets itself apart by offering on-demand audio fitness training through your smartphone, letting you take personal coaching on the go with you from a trail run to an at-home yoga session. Each trainer motivates you to get up and get going, while perfectly matched music keeps you energized and sees you through. People stretch after working out during the car-free day. Headspace - free; iOS, Android While allowing yourself the time and focus to clear your mind can feel like a luxury that we can’t afford, it is crucial to maintaining balance. But if you have trouble blocking out the noise and finding some peace, Headspace can be your guide. (Wall Street execs, Olympic athletes and moguls from Richard Branson to Gwyneth Paltrow are among the app’s more than 10 million users worldwide.) Start off with the free Take10 program, which introduces you to the practice of meditation for 10 minutes a day in 10 days, while a subscription unlocks access to a deeper range of mindfulness exercises from just a couple minutes to one hour. Tailor it to focus on what matters to you most, then follow the straightforward guidance on breathing and visualization to reap the benefits every day. Forks Over Knives - free iOS, Android Eating clean, minimally processed foods is a way of life that’s becoming more and more popular with those who want to try to resolve or reverse health issues with food. If you’re looking to overhaul your diet, the Forks Over Knives app offers more than 200 whole-food, plant-based recipes from well-known chefs. Each recipe includes step-by-step instructions and photos of the finished dish, while you can easily make notes, save your favorites and create shopping lists for next time. Spotify - free; iOS, Android Yes, you read that correctly! Here’s a tip about the top music app that’s most likely already on your smartphone: Spotify has a feature that makes custom running playlists to match your tempo perfectly. No more taking the time to create your own running playlist or skip through songs on the go. Just open the app, tap “Browse,” then “Running,” and select a genre of music, from “Morning Run” or Latin Beat” for a curated mix of popular songs or choose original, remixed music created just for Spotify Running. Once you get started, the app will automatically detect your pace and the music will begin. Spotify Running is also integrated with Runkeeper, giving you the option to track your run while keeping you and your playlist going strong. Shop Well - free; iOS, Android If you’re making every effort to stock your kitchen with fresh, healthy foods but are overwhelmed by the number of options and labels on the market today, Shop Well aims to make the process simpler for you. The app learns about your own dietary goals, needs and restrictions and creates a personalized profile to make sure the foods you buy suit you the best. Using a scanner on your smartphone, Shop Well gives each item you scan a personalized score from 1-100 based on your profile, plus it calls out ingredients that don’t fit with your profile. Tempted to buy something that pulls in a low score? Shop Well will suggest alternatives to similar but healthier options. Sleep Cycle - free with in-app purchases on iOS, $.99 on Android when trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, we track everything from our steps to our calories and our water intake. But have you ever examined - or even thought about - your sleep patterns? The Sleep Cycle app gives you that insight by monitoring your your sounds and movements while you sleep to detect when you’re in your deepest sleep. It then adapts to your rhythms to wake you up at your lightest sleep state so you’ll start your day feeling more naturally refreshed. Combine that with the app’s analysis of your time asleep, and you’ll feel motivated to place more of a priority on making good sleep a part of your daily routine. SideChef - free; iOS, Android With a few intuitive tricks, SideChef has become a game changer in the crowded space of cooking apps. Sure, it has a vast recipe library and great photos, but its voice-activated prompts give you step-by-step instructions so you can keep your hands in the mixing bowl and not on your phone to tap the screen at each step along the way. On top of that, SideChef has an integrated timer that automatically starts once you begin the cooking process so you don’t have to set your own timer or take a guess as to when you’ve actually reached “3-4 minutes per side.” Keelo - free (plus paid premium plan); iOS, Android We all want to make the most of our time and exercise app Keelo gets this by focusing on high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and offering strength, cardio and conditioning workouts ranging from about 7 to 20 minutes to complete at the gym or at home. Keelo can devise a workout plan based on your goals, then spell out each stage of the workout so you know exactly what to expect before you begin. Plus, with the option to sync with Apple Health, you’ll have the ability to track your results and even access a virtual coach to keep you going. Healthy Living - free; iOS, Android Once you’re eating more organic foods and reading more nutrition labels, that’s great - but what happens when you start asking questions about what’s in your everyday products like shampoo or shaving cream? Who do you ask? Enter Healthy Living, a comprehensive, ratings-based app that explains exactly what ingredients are in more than 120,000 food and personal care products. You can search for a product by name, scan a barcode or scroll through the app’s own recommendations on what to buy. DietBet - free (plus bets for each game); iOS, Android The road to reaching a weight loss goal can feel like a one-way street, so it’s important to find ways to keep yourself motivated and supported along the way. DietBet combines the traditional camaraderie of a group setting with the not-so standard and downright exciting incentive of winning money. With the app, choose a group to join, whether with celebrities, fitness coaches or friends, then bet on yourself to lose weight and the game begins.Track your progress with photos and “referee” reviews, and if you’ve hit your goal by the end of the game, you split a pot with the others in the group who also made their goal weight. Relationup - $12 for each 15-minute chat; iOS, Android Friends and family can have great intentions at heart but when you need an objective and experienced voice to turn to, Relationup offers on-demand text access to professional, skilled counselors for a fraction of the cost of a traditional therapist, plus you have the added bonus of staying anonymous. You don’t have to worry about waiting to ask for help or being embarrassed to bring up a certain person or topic (again). You can get started with a free 15-minute conversation, then choose to book a future appointment to continue working with one advisor or search for one or even several others for more perspectives. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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12 health and fitness Apps to get you to your goals in 2017