REAL Cool iPhone Apps

So, a wise friend and colleague thought a good follow-up to the last post on helpful web links would be iPhone applications that I find useful since so many of us are iPhone junkies... (yes, myself included). I tend to be most interested in the ones that are free or very inexpensive because they are easy to recommend to people who want to try something new. Here are a few that I use myself that you may want to check out.

Medically Related Applications:
Epocrates = solid information on drugs, interactions and research updates
Medical Calc = a grouping of calculators used in medical settings
MedRef = lists of normal lab values and references
PubSearch = the iPhone app version of PubMed Search referencing hundreds of medical journals

Fitness Related Applications:
TrailGuru = tracks your hike, walk or bike via GPS; you can upload the info including photos taken on your outing to their website; gives you distance traveled, elevation gain and loss, and a map of your journey
StepTrakLite = step counting program which gives you input on levels of exercise not just steps counted
iWalk = gives you step counting, total distance, speed, and calories burned
LoseIt! = very comprehensive food journaling app that also allows you to enter exercise, goals for weight and nutrients, logging with groups of friends, setting up motivating daily emails, and more. This is a favorite although I wish it worked more with serving size and less with calories.
GymGoalLite = a good exercise workout tracker complete with instructional videos of various exercises, set programs to try, and the ability to create your own workout with goals and tracking

Food Related Applications:
Dirty Dozen = the complete list of pesticides in produce from the Environmental Working Group, handy to have when you're doing your shopping
SeafoodWatch = a good fish list from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, also handy while shopping
Epicurious = recipes and menu ideas, searchable by ingredient, meal type, season, and ease of preparation; also creates shopping lists for you from recipes; lets you save favorites in your own file
AllRecipes DinnerSpinner = a fun way to change up your meals and try something new

Strictly Geeky Photo Fun:
Hipstamatic = photography with a retro twist to create really fun effects and photos
CameraBag = like Hipstamatic but you can import photos and tweak them within the program as well
PS Express = Photoshop mini version for the iPhone; import or take photos and then play with them
Autostitch = create panoramic photos from a series of shots

There you have it! Get Connected. Get Hip. Get REAL!

Get Moving!

I find it interesting that so many of my clients, friends and family end up having this conversation with me. Sometimes it comes up directly as is often the case with my clients. Other times, it's this circumspect navigation around to the topic. What it comes down to is that in this American culture of "busyness" we have conveniently convinced ourselves that there just isn't enough time to get any exercise in the day. We have to pick up and drop off kids, we have to commute to work and back, we have to do the laundry, we have to do the taxes, you name it, there's a reason. The reasons all sound like good ones. They are all things that need doing in this adult world, and not all of them fun either. Still, I challenge everyone on this point.

I think part of the issue is that we have also been convinced by marketers, researchers and magazine articles that "exercise" is something separate from your life. Something you have to take time out to do. Something that requires a whole separate wardrobe or gear or machines or memberships. What we forget is that we have these bodies 24/7 until we're 6 feet under. They move us through space, hold us upright in line at the bank, carry that laundry to the machines in the garage, and swing our children or grandchildren up for a piggy back ride. These bodies are designed to move and bend and lift and walk. Most importantly, walk. It's one of the few things that makes us special as a species, and yet as a culture we are doing our level best to avoid it at all costs. We have invented all sorts of ways to avoid walking: elevators, escalators, cars, moving sidewalks and golf carts to name a few.

Here is my challenge to you: from the standpoint of moving, act as if you live in 1810 rather than 2010 as often as you can. See where you can opt to take the stairs or leave the car at home and walk. If you must drive, see if you can park once and walk to all your errands with the car in a central location, or at least park the car as far as possible from the front door of the business you're visiting.

For the techies out there like me, invest in a pedometer and track your progress. Spend the first week just logging what you normally do. Then challenge yourself to add 100 steps each day until you get up to at least a mile. You'll be surprised at how quickly it actually happens! Most people start out thinking they'll never be able to and end up walking 5 miles or more a day just by increasing the steps they take in living life.

It doesn't take purchasing a gym membership, $100 shoes, or a $1000 bicycle. It also doesn't take blocking out 2 hours each day to get to the gym, change, get all sweaty in an hour-long workout, shower, and get back to your life. Of course those planned workouts will accelerate the process of getting and staying healthy, but THE most important thing is just to move. Move more. Eat less. Get REAL.

What's It All About Anyway?

So here I sit in my home office in Marin on a gorgeous sunny day looking for ways to help people get accurate information they can actually use in their daily lives. My goal? To get as many people as possible to take back their health from Big Pharma and Big Agra! We have given up so much of our personal responsibility to corporations and agencies that really only look out for their own bottom line, not our health. This includes those health insurance companies that are finally under scrutiny for shady practices.

One simple truth is: you have a LOT of control over your current and future health through the little decisions you make everyday about what to eat and drink, how much stress you fool yourself into believing is "normal", and whether or not you get out of your chair and move. It has been shown time and time again that a huge percentage of chronic disease can be avoided simply by eating less junk and moving more, and yet we continue to choose to believe the clever marketing by big corporations rather than what we know to be true. So I'm working on deciphering ways to motivate people to first SEE and then change their health trajectories. It can be as simple as deciding to eat breakfast instead of substituting a quad espresso drink. It can be as easy as a 10 minute walk at lunch time and taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

I recently returned from a trip to Virgina where I taught a 3 day intensive on the principles of a healthy lifestyle. The participants were all enthusiastic and energized. They had great questions and by the end of our time together, all were highly motivated to make changes for themselves and their families. What struck me was that even after being so jazzed about our discussions for 3 days, they all took the elevator down after the last class and walked to the front row of parking spaces where each of them parked. I walked passed and waved as I made my way to the opposite end of the parking lot. It takes more than just seeing what needs to change, you have to begin to make it who you are from now on. I'm working on figuring out how to help that transition more effectively.