apps

Jordin Sparks Manages Her Migraines With New App

December 14, 2012 at 10:36 am
By Lauren Cardarelli

Migraines are, well, a headache and as sufferers know, triggers mean trouble. In a recent Excedrin Migraine survey, 93 percent of women said that having a better understanding of their triggers would help with their migraine management yet only 11 percent tracked them regularly. Good news: There’s now an app for that. With the help of a neurologist, Excedrin Migraine developed My Migraine Triggers (now available for free on iTunes) to log pain intensity, severity and location for convenient symptom understanding.

“There are so many triggers patients may not be aware of,” explained Keri Petersen, MD, an internist at Lenox Hill Hospital. “[The app] breaks it down into environment, lifestyle and diet. There’s a big list of things that a month down the road you’re not going to remember, but in the moment it’s right in front of you to think of.” With the tough of a finger, triggers like alcohol, odors, chocolate and stress are documented in a personal history chart. Determine the root of the painful problem and facilitate a discussion with your physician for treatment by bringing the generated graph with you to your next doctor’s visit.

After an a cappella treat to celebrate the app’s launch, we sat down with American Idol’s youngest winner and moderate migraine sufferer, Jordin Sparks. We talked triggers, her fit lifestyle change and how the football lover lightens up game day noshing. Here’s what she had to say: Read more

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Featured Fitterati: Weight Loss Blog It Sux to Be Fat

July 17, 2012 at 2:35 pm
By Karla Walsh

Each Tuesday, we’re highlighting one category of winners from our Fitterati Blogger Awards! This week the spotlight is on the Best Weight-Loss Blogs!

Jennifer Swafford

• 34, Marietta, Georgia

One hundred pounds down, elementary school teacher Jennifer is learning to maintain the healthy weight she achieved through Weight Watchers. She started It Sux to Be Fat to stay accountable (Jennifer posts weekly weigh-ins) and share her secrets to success.

Dessert Do “Instead of having the full-fat version of a dessert, I choose a healthier or portion-controlled version like Weight Watchers ice cream bars. That way, I can indulge my sweet tooth and satisfy cravings without overdoing it on calories.”

Motivation Must “My future family inspires me to stay on track with my diet. I want to get pregnant some day soon, and I know that the healthier I am, the easier that process will be!”

Best Breakfasts “Quaker Weight Control Instant Oatmeal is fast, easy and keeps me satisfied for hours. I also love Greek yogurt for the protein punch.”

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Sprinter Michael Johnson Wants to Help You Get Fit Fast

June 25, 2012 at 11:28 am
By FITNESS Intern

Written by Lisa Turner, editorial intern

We are in a running mood after the amazing Olympic trials this weekend. Did you catch Ashton Eaton’s record-breaking decathlon performance? How about the hurdling action by one of the July/August FITNESS cover models (and Olympic qualifier) Lolo Jones?

Sprinter Michael Johnson may have hung up his gold running shoes after winning four gold medals at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, but his love for health and fitness remains strong. He partnered up with GE to develop personalized workouts for a new Facebook app called “Healthy Share,” which encourages users to implement small changes in their lives to yield big results. The soon-to-be Track and Field Hall of Famer and Olympic commentator says the app thrives on a sense of community, because you can log your workouts and then share your results with Facebook friends.

He sat down with The Fit Stop to tell us some of the ways he stays motivated and the importance of setting goals.

Tell us about your new Facebook app.

It’s an app that people can use to help them with a healthy and active lifestyle. We give you a type of challenge and you share your health goals with friends. It creates accountability and helps them get some support from friends. You can get tips from me, too, using a challenge I created. We’re not trying to get people to do Olympics-style training—they’re simple and easy things to do to help them get started on a path to a healthy lifestyle.

What are some examples of the tips you share with users?

Things like stretching before exercising, simple exercises when you don’t have time and drinking more water, because it’s not just fitness but the nutritional side as well. It gets people started off easily because the idea of getting fit can be daunting for some people. You work them into your daily life to get started, then share those ideas and get help from friends so you can make it a part of your daily routine.

Read more

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Fit Links: Top Health Habits For Bikini Season and How to Train Like an Olympian

June 22, 2012 at 1:26 pm
By Karla Walsh

This week’s fit links from around the web:

• Donning a swimsuit will be no sweat with these tips from Dr. Oz! — iVillage
• Go for gold! We can’t all compete at the Olympics, but we can train like we are on the team with exercises from some of the best U.S. athletes. — Refinery 29
• You know we love Bob Harper, so it was extra-fun to get to live vicariously through this blogger who hit the gym with him! — Fit Bottomed Girls
• Where’s the beef? Your barbecue guests won’t feel deprived one bit with these DIY meat-free burgers. — Iowa Girl Eats
• Match the weather to your (work and workout) wardrobe with the relaunched iPhone app, Cloth. Index your closet, then it automatically provides suggestions based on predicted temps. — N.Y. Times
• Cheesecake for 87 calories?! This is one treat too sweet to pass up. — Snack Girl

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Safe Driving: Is There an App for That?

September 14, 2011 at 10:49 am
By Karla Walsh

It’s a shocking reality: using a cell phone of any kind (even with a headset!) while driving impairs your reaction time as much as having a blood alcohol level at the legal limit of .08, according to a University of Utah study. And nearly one in five car accidents can be attributed to distracted driving. But besides tossing your phone in the back seat, what can you do to steer clear of the temptation of calls, texts or tweets at a red light—or help your teens do the same?

Sprint launched an app yesterday called “Drive First” that automatically locks the phone when the car’s speed exceeds 10 miles per hour. All calls and text conversations will be forced to end and the phone will be locked on the home screen, customized by the account holder (this can include just a 911 button or specific apps that the user deems necessary, such as weather and music). After the car stops moving for a few minutes, it fully unlocks. Considering many of us (myself included!) have a massive multitasking habit, this app could be a lifesaver.

Drive First is now available for Sprint android phones for $2 per month and in the near future, Blackberry and other phone users will be able to use the app as well. Learn more and sign up for a free trial or the app here.

Now tell us: What are your top safe driving tips?

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Don’t Forget to Spring Forward!

March 11, 2011 at 6:00 pm
By Karla Walsh

The not-so-welcome news for some of us: Clocks “spring forward” this Sunday—meaning that we lose an hour of our already limited sleep. But we at FITNESS consider this well worth it, since what we lose in sleep we gain in extra post-workday sun time. That means more opportunities for outdoor evening exercise!

Here are a few fun sleep-related tools that may not help you snooze more, but do guarantee to make the switch a bit more bearable or fun:

For soothing…The White Noise app will play your favorite soothing sounds (wind, showers, ocean) as well as some options that strike us as not-so-calming (vacuum, violent noise or train). And it will play for as long as you like, because, appropriately, there are multiple sleep timers.  ($1.99, iTunes Store)

For laughs…The mattress company Sealy recently released a new app that harkens back to the popular junior high fortune cookie joke. Simply snap a photo you’re your smart phone or iPod touch and place a “in bed” caption after whatever you like. (Free, iTunes store)

When all else fails…Perhaps you could find someone who actually sells the Sleep Safe Tape, so that when you do finally nod off, others will think you’re as alert as ever. (Of course, we don’t really endorse this kind of trickery, but it sure is a creative idea!)

Do you look forward to setting your clocks ahead or struggle with the switch?

More from FITNESS: 5 Steps to a Good Night’s Sleep

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