Hilde, Author at BeFinallyFit

Is Your Apple iPhone Going to Help you Lose Weight?

Sure, there are plenty of apps for both iPhone and Android phones that can help you track calorie intake. Personally, I have used MyFitnessPal several times in the past to track my food and see how many calories I was consuming. Apart from the awareness of the calories, it also helped me know if my diet was balanced enough (nutrients).

Hurdles with Calorie Counting Apps

Remembering to enter data every time you eat something.
The challenge of finding the right food entry that accurately represents your food.
Guesstimating the amount of each type of food or ingredient.

Over time, the variation of food available in such tracking apps has improved dramatically. So picking the food is much simpler with local products being available in the apps directly. The ability to scan a QR code for a recipe is also a great feature that is supported more and more.

Number 3 is a common problem. Being aware of the amount of food you consume is difficult. It is easy to underestimate (or overestimate) the portion size.

But could it even be simpler? In the recent past, researchers came up with FitByte. That is a solution that makes use of a wearable solution (eyeglasses) to detect and monitor food intake. Audio and movement are used to detect food intake, while a camera is used to register the actual food. Initially, the user would still identify the food and drinks consumed, but with image analyses, even that could be automated.

Apple’s Patent Idea

This idea is now what Apple has been granted a new patent on. The iPhone has a microphone, gyroscopes, and a camera, so why not consider the idea of measuring food intake with a device again? The solution described in the patent could be using iPhone electronics, but also a headset could be used. The glasses would be an augmented reality headset (let’s call it Apple Glasses), containing the same sensors to capture audio, movement, and video.

The food intake solution will be triggered using the sensors to detect food intake (chewing, swallowing, moving something toward your mouth). The camera will take one or more pictures of the food and using AI, it will be analyzed to automatically determine portion size, food type, ingredients, and as a result, calories and nutrients. There you have it an automated calorie counter!

So, what’s the catch?

Well, it is a patent, so just an idea for now. Although, some R&D must have happened already! But we do not know if the solution will ever be completely developed and released. There are quite a few challenges in making this process of detecting food intake and analyzing the calories in the food reliable.

Another biggie is the privacy issue. Apple would probably want to couple this with Apple Health to register data. What users are willing to share is an important requirement to make this AR calorie counter work. To detect food intake, the microphone would need to be listening all the time. Maybe some users already have this to use Siri, but not everybody is willing to trust Apple with that.

The potential benefits can be huge though. Obesity is becoming a bigger problem worldwide, so any help tech can offer to fight this problem could be valuable. And for people wanting to lose weight sacrificing some privacy (maybe just for a limited period) could be worth considering.

Let’s see what the future brings!

Healthy Fruits

When you focus on weight loss, it is important to make sure that you keep eating healthy. Although this may sound like an obvious thing, it is easy to focus on eating fewer calories without realizing that the nutritional values are insufficient.

Besides getting sufficient nutrients, keep an eye on your body’s antioxidant input. Eating fruits that have anti-inflammatory compounds can help protect your body against sickness. Studies have shown that eating anti-inflammatory food can reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and even Alzheimer’s.

And the great thing about eating fruit is that it is easy because so many are very tasty! My personal favorite? Berries! Berries are not only rich in vitamin C and fibers, but they also contain plant pigment phytochemicals. Those are known for their antioxidant functions and preventive medicinal benefits.

Of course, it is best to eat with the season, so get your berries fresh from the market or supermarket. Organic is best as nothing makes berries taste better when they have had actual sunlight! Seasonal fruits are generally also cheaper than out-of-season fruit. If you can even consider growing your fruit at home.

What Fruit to Eat

I grow strawberries and raspberries, both are easy to grow with a little sunshine during the summer and they don’t take up much space. But the berries I eat most are blueberries. They are one of the best sources of antioxidants, which help the body protect against damage from free radicals (a waste produced by body cells). Blueberries are delicious and easy to eat as a snack at breakfast or in yogurt.

Apart from berries, there are other fruits that are good choices. One of the best and most available everywhere is apples (and pears). The fibers are great for gut health.

Grapes are a good choice as well. The resveratrol present in grapes is seen as responsible for grapes’ cardioprotection. And considering the risks associated with alcohol, grapes are a better choice than red wine…

Purely for maximum vitamin C intake, citrus fruits are a good choice. Oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and lime can also be ingredients in many dishes, as they are not everyone’s favorite to eat as-is. With oranges, make sure to brush your teeth properly afterwards, their acidity can harm your teeth!

Whatever your favorite fruit, make sure to include it in your regular eating routine. As with weight loss in general, it is important to develop healthy habits.

What Fruit Not to Eat

It is easy to think that all fruits and vegetables are healthy, but unfortunately, that is not the case. Some fruits are healthier than others, even all fruits have some good aspects.

The first thing to consider is the amount of sugar in many fruits. Fruits like cherries and mangos for example are high in relative sugar content.

A second consideration is the number of carbs. Bananas are a favorite for many athletes since they provide quick fuel. But if you want to focus on your weight, be considerate of how you eat them. A healthy option: the banana avocado smoothy!

Calory-rich fruits are the last category I mention here. Coconut and cranberries are an example of fruits that have such high calories, it is better to choose an alternative.

Day 125 – Walking Plank on BOSU

Walking Plank on BOSU

Congrats on making it to day 125! This is currently the last planking variation in our series. Of course, we do not end with the easiest plank. The walking plank on BOSU is an exercise that uses the BOSU with active upper body movement.

HOW TO…

Position yourself into a High Plank on BOSU.
Lift your right arm and move it next to the BOSU. You are leaning with your left hand on the BOSU ball, and your right hand on the floor.
Now lift and move your right leg as well. Move it outward and position it on the floor again.
Next, reverse these actions. Lift your right arm and place it back on the BOSU again next to your left arm. Then lift your right leg and place your right foot next to the left foot again. You are now back in the starting position (high plank on BOSU).
Now repeat steps 2,3, and 4 on the left side.
Once you return to the center you have completed the walking plank on BOSU.

Progression: To extend the exercise, you can move both hands off the BOSU ball, before moving back onto the ball. You also move both feet rather than just one leg at a time. Basically, you end up moving from a high plank on BOSU to a high plank on the floor, and back (on both sides, of course).

Goal: Work your way up to doing walking planks on BOSU ten (10) times on each side.

Challenge:
Do a push up in each side position (while leaning with one hand on the BOSU and one on the floor).
Work your way up to repeat 5x on each side.

Day 124 – Plank Cross Tuck on BOSU

Plank Cross Tuck on BOSU

The cross tuck on BOSU is a great exercise. The extra height provided by the BOSU ball helps to prevent your knees touching the floor. At the same time, the imbalance of the upside down BOSU ball makes this a rather challenging exercise!

HOW TO…

Position yourself in a High Plank on the BOSU trainer. The BOSU is used upside down in this case, like it was in the Mountain Climber on BOSU.
Lift your left leg and pull up your left knee. Move the left knee under your body while you pull it up higher.
Use your core muscles together with your arms and right foot to keep your balance. Try to rotate your left foot as little as possible, and try to keep your shoulders as level as possible. This will help with the balance.
This is the plank cross tuck on BOSU. Slowly move your left leg back to the starting position and place it on the floor.
Repeat switching the leg pull-ups with alternating legs.

Note: Although not required, a yoga mat can help to prevent slipping with your feet.

Progression: Perform the Plank Cross Tuck on BOSU 10 times on each side.

Variation: Too difficult? Make sure you can do the cross tuck movement without a BOSU trainer first. When ready, add the BOSU. Limit the leg movement. Start with just a lift and pull before moving it under the body.

Day 123 – Hanging Plank on BOSU

Hanging Plank on BOSU

We first did a side plank on day 14. Now let us use the BOSU Balance Trainer to lift our legs and make the side plank a little more difficult.

HOW TO…

Position yourself into a high plank position with your feet on the BOSU.
Lower yourself to forearm plank.
Slowly turn to your right side by… (a) turning your left arm to the right, (b) stacking your right leg on top of your left leg, and (c) placing your right arm alongside your body. Use the right arm to push your body into a rotation.
Ensure that your hips are NOT sagging or lowering to the ground. Your body should form a straight line from your heels to your head. Keep facing forward.
Slowly return to the starting position. Switch sides.

Progression: Perform the hanging plank on BOSU on each side for as long as you can. Stop when you feel your form is deteriorating (hips sagging). Slowly build up the duration over time.

Variation: Too hard? Perform the exercise while using a high plank position. This will increase the angle of your body, which reduces the effort to keep the side plank.

Goal: Work your way up to continuously side planking on the BOSU until you’re able to side plank for 10x (5 times on each side).

Day 122 – Plank with Alt Arm Extension on BOSU

Plank with Alt Arm Extension on BOSU

The plank with alt arm extension on BOSU uses the BOSU ball to raise your legs. This results in the body being more horizontal, demanding a bit more core strength than a pure high plank. The alternating arm extensions challenge your control over your balance.

HOW TO…

First, get in a High Plank position with your feet on the BOSU ball like in the superman on BOSU.
Now lift your right arm and extend it. Your body should be in a straight line from heels to hand.
Keep facing down and keep your core tight to make sure your body stays straight.
Hold for 3 seconds.
Slowly lower the right arm back onto the floor.
Repeat with the other arm to complete the plank with alt arm extension on BOSU.

Note: Make sure to position your feet as close together on the BOSU ball as possible.

Goal: Aim to perform the arm extension 10 times on each side before moving off the ball.

Variation: If the exercise is too difficult, start with only slightly lifting the arm of the floor without extending it. This way you can train yourself to keep your balance before doing the alternating arm extensions.

Day 121 – Superman on BOSU

Superman on BOSU

On day 21 we did the superman pose, simply on the floor using a yoga mat. On day 84 we used the stability ball to make the superman pose even more interesting. Now that we are using BOSU, let’s also do a superman on BOSU.

HOW TO…

First, get in a High Plank position with your feet on the BOSU ball. Refer to the day 84 if you need to remember how to do this.
Now lift your right arm and extend it. At the same time lift your left leg off the BOSU a little. No need to raise the leg high, just a little lift is enough.
Keep facing down and keep your core tight to make sure your body stays straight.
Hold for 3 seconds.
Slowly lower the left leg back onto the BOSU ball and lower your right arm back onto the floor.
The completes the superman on BOSU. Repeat with the other arm and leg.

Note: Make sure to position your feet as close together on the BOSU ball as possible. This makes it easier to lift one of the legs and keep your balance with the other.

Goal: Aim to perform 5 stability ball superman poses on the BOSU before moving off the ball.

Variation: If the exercise is too difficult, start with only doing the arm movement. Once you can do that comfortably, do only the leg. Then combine both the leg and arm movements.

Day 120 – Plank Jacks on BOSU

Plank Jacks on BOSU

On day 11 we learned how to perform leg jacks in a plank position. Performing this exercise on a BOSU adds a little lift and instability to the upper body position.

HOW TO…

Position yourself into High Plank on BOSU.
Just like a normal jumping jack… jump your legs out wide and then quickly jump them back together.
Jump as quickly as you want, but keep your pelvis steady, and don’t let your booty rise toward the ceiling. So keep your feet at the same distance from the BOSU.

Note: Due to the effort of keeping balance with your hands on the BOSU, it is okay if you perform the jacks slower than you would in the leg jacks exercise.

Progression: Perform plank jacks on BOSU as long as you can WITHOUT suffering proper form. If you can only do this for 5 secs, no sweat! Just do 5 secs, rest, return to position, do another 5 secs, rest, and so on.

Goal: Work your way up to doing plank jacks on BOSU for 30 seconds minimum.

Variation: Want it harder? Do this while on a forearm plank on BOSU. Also try varying the with of your hands on the BOSU. The closer your hands are together, the more difficult it is to keep you balance.

Day 119 – Swimmer 2 on BOSU

Swimmer 2 on BOSU

Remember the swimmer on BOSU from dat 111? Let’s flip the BOSU ball over and try that again! We call it swimmer 2 on BOSU.

HOW TO…

Place the BOSU ball upside down on the floor.
Position yourself belly down on the BOSU ball. Reposition as needed to make sure you are balanced on the BOSU.
Extend your arm and legs.
Now lift your arms and legs at the same time. Try to lift them as high as you can without losing your balance.
Hold for a few seconds, and then lower arms and legs again.

Note: Although you have a bigger platform for your body to rest on, the round part of the BOSU on the floor actually makes this planking variation more difficult than with the BOSU in the normal position.

Progression: Perform the Swimmer 2 on BOSU 10 times in sequence, hold the swimmer pose for 3 seconds.

Variation: Too difficult? Limit the height of the arm and leg lift. It also helps to spread your arms and legs a little more as it makes the balance easier. Even easier: deflate the BOSU a little bit to reduce the imbalance.

Day 118 – Push Up on BOSU

Push Up on BOSU

Doing push ups is great for your core, arms and shoulders. To add a level of difficulty, you can use a BOSU Balance Trainer. Using it upside down gives you a good platform for your hands and at the same time makes keeping balance difficult.

If you want to see how to do a basic push up without a BOSU, check out my push up video.

HOW TO…

Position yourself in a High Plank position on the BOSU trainer. The BOSU is used upside down as mentioned in the first paragraph. If needed, spread your legs a little to position your feet a little apart for more stability.
Move your hand to the outer side of the BOSU for maximum grip and control.
Slowly lower your upper body, bringing your chest closer to the BOSU.
Move as low as you can without touching the BOSU and loosing control.
Now slowly push yourself back up into the high plank pose.

Progression: Perform the Push Up on BOSU 10 times in one sequence. Move slower to make the exercise more difficult.

Variation: Too difficult? Start by keeping your knees on the floor to get familiar with the exercise and increase your abilities. You can also deflate the BOSU a little bit to make it less ‘wobbly’, which will make it easier to keep your balance during the push up on BOSU.