Sort your Diet Out: MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal (Android, BB, iOS, Windows) gives target calories for the weight you want to hit, taking into account any activity recorded by your phone, tracker or other apps. The barcode scanner makes life even easier, and we hit our target weight in three weeks (as the app predicted).
Get Better Kip: Twilight
Scientists advise not using your phone for three hours before bed because the blue light it emits unbalances your sleep hormones. Sorry scientists, but no-one with a phone can stick to that. Get Twilight (Android) – it reduces your phone’s blue light output in the evening so you can keep using it without ruining your sleep.
Love Mornings: Sleep Cycle
We’ve been jumping out of bed every day since using this. OK, maybe not jumping, but Sleep Cycle (Android, iOS) figures out when we’re in a light-rest phase, waking us gently to eliminate any eye-rubbing protestations.
Analyse Everything: Apple Health
Apple Health (iOS) collates all the info gathered from your phone and major health and fitness apps to display all your vital statistics in one place.
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7 Minute Workout (Android, iOS) gets you doing 12 kit-free exercises for seven minutes, three to four times a week. Go flat-out and it’ll turn your body into a flab-burning furnace.
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Ditch the notepad and use Strong (iOS) to record workouts. The no-frills, intuitive interface also syncs with other note-taking apps so you can plan future sessions wherever you are.
We proved Freeletics (Android, iOS) can get you ripped without lifting a single dumbbell when we trialled it in July 2015.
Endomondo (Android, BB, iOS, Windows) records over 40 activities and has a huge community. Not many of our Facebook friends care we’ve just done our fastest run, but on this? Digital high-fives all round.
Turn lonely runs and cycles into competitions between you and the almost-definitely-cheating scoundrels above you on the Strava (Android, iOS) leaderboard. A powerful motivator to pick up the pace.
Without structured sessions you’ll soon hang up your trainers. As well as setting goals (distance, duration, calories), Runtastic (Android, BB, iOS, Windows) has pre-set interval training modes – great for fat loss – and pace feedback that scolds you for slowing down.
Turn every run or bike ride into a sponsored event by donating up to 25¢ (around 16p) per mile to good causes. You choose the charity, and image-conscious corporations foot the bill. Right now, the recipients are all American, but a UK version of Charity Miles (Android, iOS) is on its way in 2016.
IFTTT (Android, iOS, Windows) stands for “if this then that” and works with 240 different apps. For example, you can set it so if there is heavy traffic, then it will automatically text your other half to let them know you’ll be delayed.
Music makes exercise feel easier. Spotify (Android, BB, iOS, Windows) has the biggest streaming catalogue, as well as a new running feature that matches the music’s tempo with yours.
As well as suggesting workouts, JEFIT (Android, iOS) has a progress report section that encourages you to take a pic each week. This tangible, visual proof of your changing body makes skipping the gym much harder.
Deciding what to cook is a nightmare, especially if your cupboards are looking bare. Just enter the ingredients you do have and Gojee (iOS) scours food blogs to suggest mouth-watering recipes.
A personal trainer for your grey matter, Lumosity (Android, iOS) was developed by neuroscientists to improve cognitive function. The more you play, the smarter you get – we’re currently in the top 10% for our age range and can even remember where we parked at the airport.
