Apps to Help You Kick Bad Habits & Shape Up-MainPhoto

Apps to Help You Kick Bad Habits & Shape Up-MainPhoto
No matter what your New Year’s resolutions were, there are plenty of apps out there to help you stick to them. And if you’ve fallen off the wagon, don’t despair. It’s never too late to start over and kick your bad habit once and for all, lose weight or shape up.

Following are our favorite apps to help you stay on track with the most frequent New Year’s resolutions.

LOSE WEIGHT
Noom Weight Loss Coach (Android) is a virtual weight loss coach that encourages you to set goals and track your progress.  The coach converts your long term goals into daily tasks, which in turn helps create positive lifestyle changes.  In addition, users are provided with helpful articles on health and wellness, fun and interesting challenges, a daily progress report, activity reminders, and food and exercise logging—all necessary for successful weight loss.

Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker by MyFitnessPal (iOS; Android) is a comprehensive, yet easy to use, weight loss tool which claims to have the largest food database of any calorie counter (over 2 million foods).  In additions, it allows you to fully sync with the web, monitor and support friends, customize your goals, view charts of your progress over time, and much more.


PAY OFF DEBT

Debt Payoff Planner by Adonis Apps (Android) has only one goal—to help you pay off your debt the best way possible. If you pay your debts with the highest balances first, how long until they’re paid off? What if you focus on the account charging the highest interest first?  Should you pay more than the minimum payments? Use the app to explore various scenarios and determine the best strategy for you.

Debt Strategy by Anishu, Inc. (iOS) helps you determine which of the various debt reduction strategies will work best for you. After entering your liabilities in the application, you’ll be able to see how the various payment options will determine when each liability, as well as all of your debts, will be paid off. Choose between strategies such as minimum payment only, low balance first, high balance first, etc. Well worth 99¢ for this unlimited version.  If you want to try it before buying it, there’s no charge for the lite version, but it’s limited to two liabilities.

Read Related: 10 Fitness Apps to Keep you Virtually Fit

QUIT SMOKING
Livestrong MyQuit Coach
by Demand Media, Inc. (iOS) costs $3.99 for the full version, but that’s nothing when you think about how much you’ll save when you quit smoking. After completing the brief profile, the app will create a smoking cessation plan just for you. You can choose between a cold turkey approach or decrease your nicotine intake gradually over time. In addition, the app allows you to track your progress and rewards you with inspirational messages and achievement badges.

QuitNow! Pro by Fewlaps (Android) is another great app because it breaks up your long-term goal into shorter attainable increments and rewards you every step of the way. It works by focusing on how your achievements to date have improved your life, and then uses that to motivate you to keep going. In addition, you can celebrate your successes by broadcasting them on Facebook and Twitter. This app costs $2.99—less than a pack of cigarettes.


START EXERCISING

Runkeeper by Fitnesskeeper, Inc. (iOS; Android) isn’t just for running. It tracks and motivates you for walking, hiking, bicycling, skiing, swimming, and a whole lot more. You can even create your own exercise routine. By integrating with your phone’s GPS, it logs detailed statistics for each of your fitness activities, tracks your progress, and measures your heart rate with available sensors, which you must purchase separately. You can even program it to inspire you with motivational audio cues during your routine, and share your accomplishments by posting them on Facebook and Twitter.

There, now you have no more excuses.  Go get ‘em!