The basic formula for weight loss may be as simple as "move more, eat less," but the motivation for doing that may be harder than you think. Fortunately, our high-tech society offers gadgets to help you meet all your weight-loss goals -- from eating smarter to getting active to having more fun while doing it. Knowing your gadget options and choosing just a few that are right for you can help make losing weight more enjoyable.
Body Assessment
According to Health.com, metabolic profilers are available at gyms nationwide and can help you determine your resting metabolic rate or RMR. Knowing the minimum amount of calories your body naturally uses while you sit each day helps you more accurately determine the number of calories your body specifically needs to burn to lose weight. If you opt for this device, expect to breathe into a mask or mouth-piece for 10 to 15 minutes while the device measures how much oxygen you inhale or much carbon dioxide you exhale. Use your RMR to determine realistic weight-loss goals.
Activity Measurement
Activity measurement gadgets come in the form of pedometers, calorie counters and heart monitors. At the very least, invest in a pedometer. The staff at Mayo Clinic suggest a pedometer to help with goal setting, accountability and motivation. Look for one with an easy-to-read display that is comfortable where you intend to clip it. If you own a smart phone or mobile display, look for a free basic pedometer application or pay a few dollars more for a feature-rich option. To measure more than your steps, purchase a wearable calorie counter or a heart rate monitor. These often take the form of an easy-to-wear watch or an arm band and include software to help you track your progress on your desktop.
Weight-Loss Meaurement
A bathroom scale is a must-have for watching and recording the number of pounds you weigh go lower and lower, and for learning more about your body in the progress. To watch these numbers more seriously, choose a digital scale over an analog scale for increased accuracy and more measurement data -- including not only your weight, but your body fat and water composition. Compare these numbers with your food diary to determine whether weight fluctuation is normal for that time of day, is related to too much water intake or bloating, or is a result of over-eating.
Exercise Enjoyment
Listening to good music makes exercise time more enjoyable. Invest in a portable music player and you won't be sorry. For the ultimate hands-free experience, select a small player that you can wear in an arm band or clip to your pocket and that connects to cordless blue-tooth ear phones. If you can't go cordless, choose ear phones that wrap around your outer ear and stay put. Smart phone applications using global-positioning technology also make exercise more enjoyable by helping you locate trails and share your fitness adventure online with your social network. To take gadgetry a bit further in your weight-loss goals, use a GPS device to introduce yourself to geocaching, an outdoor sport in which tech-savvy players locate outdoor "treasures" -- to make fitness even more enjoyable.
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