# The benefit of using smartphone apps to track your health and fitness.



## Happyflowerlady (Jul 1, 2018)

I think that it is important for us, especially as seniors, to monitor our health as much as we can, and I have found that using my iPhone and health apps really helps me to do this. 
Of course, the most important thing is for us to do our best to take care of our health, exercise, eat healthy, get enough sleep, and all of that kind of stuff. 
However, I find that when I am keeping records of this and can look at the overall picture each day, it really helps me to keep on track, and I wanted to share some of the health apps that I have found to be useful for this. 


The main app that connects everything together is the Health app. It comes already installed on all iPhones, so it might only be an Apple product; but probably other systems have a similar app. Most of the other apps will sync with the Health app, so you can have the overall information all in one place. 
My Apple Watch tracks all of my exercise, including swimming, as well as keeping a constant monitor of my heart rate. 


Carbmanager is the app that I use to track my food intake, and it is very easy to use (I like it much better than My Fitness Pal), and it shows me all of the nutritional components of each food that I eat, as well as tracking water intake. 


Sleepmatic , combined with the Apple Watch, tracks my sleep patterns, so I can tell if I am resting well or not. 


Heart Star is a blood pressure app. Although it does not check your BP itself, it does sync with many BP monitors, or you can add the readings manually. Since the BP cuff that I have does not sync with anything, I add the measurements in manually at this point. 


My Apple Watch constantly monitors my pulse rate, but there is also a phone app called Cardiio that will check your heart rate using the camera and flashlight from your phone. 


There are a lot of other health apps that would fit for special health needs, like for diabetics, so it can’t hurt to look though some of the available apps to see which ones meet your need for health monitoring.


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## jaminhealth (Jul 2, 2018)

I don't need any of the tech to track my health issues.  I know my body, it's the best technology I could ever have.  I know when I don't get good sleep.  Body is Smart.


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## PattyPop (Nov 28, 2018)

_Hello Happyflowerlady,  I use the "Lose It" app on my iPhone and love it. _


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## C'est Moi (Nov 28, 2018)

jaminhealth said:


> I don't need any of the tech to track my health issues.  I know my body, it's the best technology I could ever have.  I know when I don't get good sleep.  Body is Smart.



Same here for the most part.   I do use a Fitbit to monitor my resting heart rate and step counting, but not consistently.


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## Capt Lightning (Nov 30, 2018)

jaminhealth said:


> I don't need any of the tech to track my health issues.  I know my body, it's the best technology I could ever have.  I know when I don't get good sleep.  Body is Smart.



Totally agree..  All these gizmos, "apps" etc..are a total waste of time in my opinion. 

There is a programme on BBC called "Room 101"  where guests consign things they hate into a virtual obscurity.  One female guest chose "Fitbit", describing it as a device that turned normal people into obsessed idiots in under 10 mins. This got a great round of applause from the audience.


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## mrmaxwalker (Jan 17, 2019)

Ive also been looking into fitness to prime up my old body! ive found a few cool apps, though! If anyone wants to create some exercise plans together shoot me a message or if you'd like some help with your exercises. max


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## Happyflowerlady (Feb 16, 2020)

I just recently had to have a pacemaker procedure because my heart had started beating way too slow sometimes (bradycardia), and other times, it has gone into tachycardia or a-fib.  The meds that I take are to slow the heart into a normal rhythm and help keep it out of a-fib; but they did nothing for the slow heartbeats. 

With my Apple Watch, I am able to continuously monitor my heart rate, and that was what actually motivated me to talk to me doctor about the low heart rate. 
They then did some tests and determined that I had something called sick sinus syndrome, and needed the pacemaker.  Now that it is installed, I can see that my resting heart rate is staying right at about 60 bpm, where it is supposed to be, and since I got the pacemaker, I haven’t had the problem with a-fib or tachycardia either. 

I am really thankful that I have the health apps on my phone and can track my heart issues with them and the Apple Watch.


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