I have a beer gut. It’s not huge, but it’s there. And it’s definitely noticeable. I knew something had to be done about it, because not only do I not look as good as I used to, I don’t feel as good as I used to either.

I have wanted to start a regular workout for a few months now, but I have never been able to keep myself motivated enough to keep at it. That’s where technology and a little magazine called Wired comes in. Wired’s July issue, titled Living by Numbers had a lot of great articles detailing just how tracking your workout can help you burn fat, gain muscle, feel better, look better, and teach you a lot about yourself. If you’re curious, check out this article which was also published online: Know Thyself: Tracking Every Facet of Life, from Sleep to Mood to Pain, 24/7/365.

So what am I doing, using, and monitoring to help me feel better? First of all, I have to say that without Apple’s iPhone, this routine I’ve started could never have come to fruition. Check it out (after the break):

To monitor my food intake, I use a free app found on Apple’s iTunes App Store called Lose it (Warning: iTunes link). I use Lose it mostly to monitor my daily calorie intake. The app sets out a daily calorie budget based on the information you provide (your weight, your goal weight, your age, how much weight you want to lose per week), which you should not go over to maintain a weight loss. It also tracks nutrient information, like how much fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, etc you consume, but I’m not that hardcore about it. At least not yet.

Basically, if I eat something, I input that food or drink into the daily log, and the app then tells me how many calories I have consumed. This eats away at my daily calorie budget. I then only have a certain amount of calories left to consume for the rest of the day. BUT, if I go on a jog or a bike ride, I can input that exercise into my daily log, and the app will then tell me how many calories I’ve burnt. This will of course increase the remaining calories I am allowed to consume for the rest of the day. It’s not just about eating less, it’s also about exercising and burning calories.

Here are some screenshots of Lose It!

That’s how I keep track of my food intake. Now what else do I do?

I use an app called RunKeeper (Warning: iTunes link) to track my running, biking, and rollerblading workouts. This is actually one of my favourite apps on the App Store. It’s free as well, but there is also Pro version available for $9.99.

RunKeeper is not only an iPhone app but a web app as well. On the iPhone side, RunKeeper uses GPS to keep track of where you ran, how fast you ran, how far you’ve run, and updates you on your status through your headphones while you’re running. You don’t ever really have to look back at the screen. You just start your music in the iPod app on your iPhone, switch over to RunKeeper, click Start, throw the phone in your pocket, and start running.

After your run, the app asks you if you want to save your workout. After you click yes, it uploads all of the info it collected onto RunKeeper.com, where you’ve set up an account. At the site, there’s a boatload of information for your perusal. It’s absolutely insane how much information there is for you to absorb. The best part: the app uploads your route onto Google Maps so you can see exactly where you’ve run and how far you’ve run. The cool thing is that it doesn’t try to stick the route onto roads. If you ran through a park, it’ll show that you’ve run through the park, not the road beside the park. It’s awesome. Have a look at the interface by checking out a 24.3km bike ride Heather and I went on yesterday:

And here’s a closer look. It’s also through the “hybrid” view of Google Maps:

Not only does it track some of the statistics you saw in the second last screenshot, but it also tracks your speed based on elevation and how long it took you to complete each kilometre. I’d upload more screenshots, but I think the bombardment of images in this post is complete.

I use these two apps almost religiously now. They keep me motivated. I didn’t think tracking my food intake and workouts could be so motivating, rewarding, and helpful in achieving my goals, but as soon as I saw the impressive technology at my (and ANYONE’S) disposal, I immediately got drawn in to tracking my body’s improvement.

Apart from feeling more healthy, I’m also amazed at just how technology STILL impresses and excites me. From video games to working out, technology has yet to cease to amaze me. It’s absolutely mind boggling to think that I can do all of the above (and much much more) with a device that fits into my pocket and an internet connection.

Right now, mobile technology and the internet are my two favourite things. And they’re helping me get (and hopefully stay) in better shape.