New Year's Resolution Apps: CARROT Fit, Lifesum, Mint and More

[JGRE]

Evidently not. I never could understand the need for "to-do list" apps like Wunderlist or any others: "The app allows you to create to-do lists with optional subtasks, notes, files and comments, and set due dates and reminders for important deadlines."

So does a sheet of paper.
Nice side benefit to that sheet of paper: the paper can be folded and put in my pocket, and if I forget it somewhere I wouldn't lose my mind like if I'd lost an iPad or it got stolen.


Nor do people have the common sense to not put so much personal data "out there" for companies to data mine. Mint stands out on this list for being the most egregious - "a free app that links to your bank account". Anything that personal that is free may just be trying to get you interested in a pro upgrade, but it also means they have your information and can use it or abuse it. "Mint enables you to create budgets to help you save money." Yes, I'm sure we're all completely incapable of doing so without the "free" app. Then again, given that the article has this math lesson: "If you spend $83.33 less per month on non-essential purchases, for example, the savings quickly add up to $1,000 in one year", I imagine its directed at people who buy things they don't need when they're on sale because of all the money they save.

Even with the deep lack of common sense, I'm really surprised that there is a water-reminder app. The whole "drink 8 glasses of water a day" thing has no basis in science. You need to drink when thirsty, no more. The only time you'd ever break that rule is if you're an athlete or in a very physical job, where your effort and the environmental conditions can outstrip how fast your sense of thirst is triggered. Drinking too much water can damage your kidneys over time. Plus, if you dilute your electrolytes past a certain point, you lose consciousness and possibly die. I've been there. I changed my behavior. Didn't need an app.

Sleep Cycle is the craziest one of the bunch. Reminds me of when the Soviets used to bug diplomats' rooms in the hopes of hearing them talk in their sleep.

You would expect that these nonsense apps would have vanished after time, surprisingly the app store is (still) cluttered with these free or 0,99 kind of total crap apps. Don't understand that there are so many (excuse me: stupid) people out there which make it worthwhile for these so-called programmers to still make these apps. Browsing through the app store is just no fun as 90% of all the apps is just total junk or even worse they intend to steel your data.

 

[d-b]

Absolutely right. I haven't looked at the water app, but the advice to drink 8 glasses of water a day is highly irresponsible - you need about 8 glasses a day to live, but that counts all the water you get from food and regular drinks (tea, coffee, coke, whatever).

Forcing an additional 8 glasses of water down a day when you don't need it will screw up your kidneys eventually.

And your bladder.

 

[Izauze]

Having a New Years resolution app list that doesn't include MyFitnessPal or any other diet tracker app is like having a list of the craziest presidential candidates that doesn't include Trump.

 

[Sill]

Above sounds real old school.

There's nothing wrong with old school. Nothing wrong with new school, either, as long as you use it for things you can't possible do in a simpler, cheaper fashion. Its faster, easier and cheaper to make notes, sketches, whatever, with a pen/pencil and paper. What you can't do is change the font/line thickness and color after the fact, or send that note to someone in an instant. Both old school and new school have their place. You have to make your own judgement on whether the cost of all the tech plus the learning curve on each app add up to a greater benefit than just getting $2 worth of pen and paper.

Paper easily lost, phone not so much.

Phone always with me, pen and paper not so much.

Thats on the individual user. I guarantee though that losing that paper will come at a much cheaper cost than losing/breaking an iOS device.

Make list on the fly of things to do, things to buy etc..

Again, paper.

More Eco friendly.

No, not in a million years. The eco cost of tech is incredibly high. I used to think that the waste from paper mills was horrifying. Then I saw the "lake", full of waste from neodymium processing in Baotou, China. Plus, when I'm done with paper, I can toss it out where it will biodegrade, burn it with minimal impact, or recycle/reuse it in some fashion. When a cell phone or tablet is obsoleted or dies, its still going to be with us for a very long time.

I like my tech as much as the next person, but I don't have any illusions about its benefits.

 

[Tech198]

We all need that little *bump* along the road..

I like that 7 minutes *hell* workout.. That one has to be torture..

 

[0098386]

Incorrect. Possibly fatally so, if you take it to an extreme. Drinking water for the sake of drinking water can, in fact, kill you (look up water intoxication). For normal activities you should drink water if you're thirsty, the end. Why do you think our sense of thirst evolved in the first place? If it wasn't properly functional, our species wouldn't currently exist.

--Eric

Heh I knew I'd get a pedantic answer like this. Water intoxication isn't easy to 'achieve'. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

 

[yg17]

People need an app to know when to drink water? Next people will need apps to know when to breathe. It's amazing humanity lasted for so long without modern technology.

 

[azentropy]

Personal Capital is much better than Mint. Truly free with no advertising and a much better interface (they make money if you invest with them, but the link to the service isn't in your face).

It is more about money management and data than it is about "advice" the way Mint is, but Mints advice has gotten pretty bad lately because all they do is advise you to sign up for a credit card through their sponsors instead of the actual best fit for you.

Mint does have good support for my 10+ financial institutions (and 20+ accounts) so I use it to give me a summary view of all my accounts. But I am looking for something else as I am pretty upset they discontinued the Mint Quickview Mac App which IMO was the best part of Mint. It provided a quick way to search for specific transactions or groups of transactions and also provide great/quick notifications of new transactions.

I had looked at Personal Capital a couple years ago, but my main "checking" is through a credit union they don't support and when I inquired about them adding support (plus a couple of the other institutions I use) they brushed me off...

 

[8692574]

People need an app to know when to drink water? Next people will need apps to know when to breathe. It's amazing humanity lasted for so long without modern technology.

People don't need, since it is an add on app.......people MIGHT want to achieve better hidration, it is a different thing...

People don't need an app to remember them things, it is just more practical
People don't need an app to take photos, they can remember the instant...it just works better with visual aid...
People don't even need a phone (even if most of them would not last a day without it)
and lastly people don't need apps and games on a device, isn't there anything more interesting to do?

Apparently you also fall into the people that need this things like most of us, or you wouldn't waste your time on a forum

EDIT:
As per breathing apps, you'd be surprised what correct breathing can do to your body

What you can't do is change the font/line thickness and color after the fact

My marker begs to differ or you can simply make a Check sign, like "old school" you know

 

[ronntaylor]

Heh I knew I'd get a pedantic answer like this. Water intoxication isn't easy to 'achieve'. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

Thanks for posting that link in response to the nonsense about water intoxication. It's extremely rare and almost never happens due to drinking water over several hours during the day with normal food consumption.

 

[ctg7w6]

There's nothing wrong with old school. Nothing wrong with new school, either, as long as you use it for things you can't possible do in a simpler, cheaper fashion. Its faster, easier and cheaper to make notes, sketches, whatever, with a pen/pencil and paper. What you can't do is change the font/line thickness and color after the fact, or send that note to someone in an instant. Both old school and new school have their place. You have to make your own judgement on whether the cost of all the tech plus the learning curve on each app add up to a greater benefit than just getting $2 worth of pen and paper.



Thats on the individual user. I guarantee though that losing that paper will come at a much cheaper cost than losing/breaking an iOS device.



Again, paper.

I like my tech as much as the next person, but I don't have any illusions about its benefits.

I find your reasoning very odd. I am going to assume you don't have a smart phone? Because losing a cheap track phone will be much cheaper than losing/breaking an iOS device...

It's true that losing paper is less of a big deal than an expensive device.... But the whole reason that we put our notes and stuff on smart devices is BECAUSE WE TAKE THEM EVERYWHERE ANYWAY. You're looking at it backwards... We don't take the devices so that we have our notes with us, because we could just bring paper which is easier to carry. We are taking our devices with us ANYWAY, so it just makes sense to put our notes on them.

So, it really doesn't matter how much it costs to replace an iOS device, it is a sunk cost in the equation because we are bringing it with us whether we have notes or no notes.

For people that don't have a smart phone or don't carry it with them everywhere, then yes, paper is still a good idea.

For most of the people on this site, I suspect, paper is not something you often find in their pockets.

 

[SgtPepper12]

I get that these apps are a nice way to build habits, but I never required anything like that. If anything, I need an app that reminds to use the apps, because I get sick of them very quickly.

Incorrect. Possibly fatally so, if you take it to an extreme. Drinking water for the sake of drinking water can, in fact, kill you (look up water intoxication). For normal activities you should drink water if you're thirsty, the end. Why do you think our sense of thirst evolved in the first place? If it wasn't properly functional, our species wouldn't currently exist.

--Eric

Precisely. The "water is healthy"-fad of recent years is one of the most ridiculous things that happened to fitness culture. And people really do take it to an extreme, I even heard about people being completely serious about drinking 5 litres a day. How much you should drink depends on the weather, what you eat, your physical activity, your health, sometimes medication. And because this is pretty complicated, nature gave us thirst as a natural control whether we need to drink or not. That your urine is yellow is not an indicator whether you are dehydrated or not, by the way.

 

[8692574]

That your urine is yellow is not an indicator whether you are dehydrated or not, by the way.

Wrong, you should get informed first:

One of the first things you should do is take a look at your urine color. The color of your urine can be an early indicator of dehydration. If your urine is a dark yellow color it may be a sign that you are dehydrated.
If you do not drink enough water, then your urine becomes over-concentrated with waste, which is why it is a darker yellow urine color.

Now yellow urine can mean more than that, but it can be a good indicator as well of your hidration.

EDIT:
you can have fun and read this
http://health.clevelandclinic.org/2013/10/what-the-color-of-your-urine-says-about-you-infographic/

 

[mikeatcarrot]

I use MINT and have used Wanderlust... I use MINT quite a bit. Wanderlust was great for a week but I still have not found a great app that engages me to keep at it with making and maintaining task lists.... We are trying a new approach to health and wellness - its called CARROT pass. You get rewarded, financially, for walking. Every step you take earns you a point. For every 10k points (steps) you can redeem them for rewards, deals, discounts, gift cards, at our growing list of merchants. We have over 450 merchants and growing fast. We believe people should be rewarded for being healthy! Let us know what you think.....


CARROT pass - A Healthier Way to Save ... - iTunes - Apple
CARROT - Android Apps on Google Play

January 1 is a popular day to begin New Year's resolutions, but many people fall back to bad habits by February because the goals they set are not realistic. If you are one of those people, consider focusing on making small improvements to your lifestyle this year by taking advantage of iOS apps that can help you succeed.

Drink more water with Lifesum, a free healthy living app for easily tracking each glass or bottle of water you drink. The daily goal is set to 8 glasses, or 68 fl. oz, by default, but can be adjusted based on your personal needs. Water intake data can be exported to Apple's official Health app.

Drinking water can contribute to better alertness and productivity, weight loss, improved digestion and many other benefits. Lifesum can also help you track your breakfast, lunch, dinner and exercise. Some features require upgrading to a Lifesum Gold subscription. [Direct Link]

Save more money with Mint, a free app that links to your U.S. or Canadian bank account and provides an overview of your cash flow, recent transactions, upcoming bills and spending habits based on categories such as restaurants, groceries, fast food, alcohol and bars, clothing and more.

Mint enables you to create budgets to help you save money. Aim to reduce your spending by a realistic amount relative to your net income. If you spend $83.33 less per month on non-essential purchases, for example, the savings quickly add up to $1,000 in one year. [Direct Link]

BUDGT [Direct Link] is a simplistic budget and expense tracking alternative that does not link with your bank account. The app costs $1.99.

Get in shape with CARROT Fit, a top-rated fitness app that delivers an exhaustive 7-minute interval workout based on 12 high intensity 30-second exercises with 10 seconds of rest in between each set. The app also features a step counter, weight tracker, workout calendar and more.

CARROT Fit is $2.99, so it is worth a try before signing up for an annual gym membership or personal training, which can easily cost upwards of $300 or $50 per hour respectively. The app's 7 Minutes in Hell workout can be completed anywhere, and the only equipment needed is a chair. [Direct Link]

Quit smoking with Smoke Free, which tracks how much money you have saved since quitting, how many cigarettes you've avoided smoking, how long you've been smoke free, how many hours of life you've theoretically regained, overall health improvements and more.

Smoke Free provides you with daily missions and tips to help you stop smoking, and rewards you with badges for not smoking or avoiding cravings for various lengths of time. These features can be unlocked via in-app purchase, while most of the app's other features are free to use. [Direct Link]

Wake up rested with Sleep Cycle, a free intelligent alarm clock app that analyzes your sleep and wakes you in the lightest sleep phase, allowing you to feel rested and relaxed. The app has patented technology that monitors your sleep movements using sound or vibration analysis.

Simply open Sleep Cycle and place your iPhone on a nightside table or floor near your bed, and the app will find the optimal time to wake you up during a 30 minute window that ends at your set alarm time. Make sure that your iPhone is connected to a power source to ensure it does not die overnight. [Direct Link]

Sleep Cycle offers an optional annual Premium subscription for $1.99 per year featuring online backup, long term sleeping trends, sleep notes, a heart rate monitor, Philips HUE lightbulb support and more. Sleep Cycle's developer Northcube AB says the app was developed using proven sleep science and years of research and development. The app is also fully integrated with Apple's stock Health app.

Organize your life with Wunderlist, a popular task management and to-do list app acquired by Microsoft in June 2015. The app allows you to create to-do lists with optional subtasks, notes, files and comments, and set due dates and reminders for important deadlines.

Wunderlist is free to use, while upgrading to Wunderlist Pro is optional and provides unlimited access to Files, Assigning and Subtasks for $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year through an auto-renewing subscription. [Direct Link]
Lifesum, Mint, CARROT Fit and Wunderlist have companion Apple Watch apps available.

Article Link: New Year's Resolution Apps: CARROT Fit, Lifesum, Mint and More

 

[jclardy]

Evidently not. I never could understand the need for "to-do list" apps like Wunderlist or any others: "The app allows you to create to-do lists with optional subtasks, notes, files and comments, and set due dates and reminders for important deadlines."

So does a sheet of paper.
Nice side benefit to that sheet of paper: the paper can be folded and put in my pocket, and if I forget it somewhere I wouldn't lose my mind like if I'd lost an iPad or it got stolen.

Wait, have you heard of the iPhone? It is like a small iPad that magically fits in your pocket, just like your old fashioned sheet of paper AND it can keep a todo list!

 

[rcooked]

Mint seems like a good app. I worry about the issues of accounts being "broken" and not updating for months at a time. However, it's free and should be decently supported since owned by Intuit.

 

[a0me]

Evidently not. I never could understand the need for "to-do list" apps like Wunderlist or any others: "The app allows you to create to-do lists with optional subtasks, notes, files and comments, and set due dates and reminders for important deadlines."

So does a sheet of paper.
Nice side benefit to that sheet of paper: the paper can be folded and put in my pocket, and if I forget it somewhere I wouldn't lose my mind like if I'd lost an iPad or it got stolen.


Nor do people have the common sense to not put so much personal data "out there" for companies to data mine. Mint stands out on this list for being the most egregious - "a free app that links to your bank account". Anything that personal that is free may just be trying to get you interested in a pro upgrade, but it also means they have your information and can use it or abuse it. "Mint enables you to create budgets to help you save money." Yes, I'm sure we're all completely incapable of doing so without the "free" app. Then again, given that the article has this math lesson: "If you spend $83.33 less per month on non-essential purchases, for example, the savings quickly add up to $1,000 in one year", I imagine its directed at people who buy things they don't need when they're on sale because of all the money they save.

Even with the deep lack of common sense, I'm really surprised that there is a water-reminder app. The whole "drink 8 glasses of water a day" thing has no basis in science. You need to drink when thirsty, no more. The only time you'd ever break that rule is if you're an athlete or in a very physical job, where your effort and the environmental conditions can outstrip how fast your sense of thirst is triggered. Drinking too much water can damage your kidneys over time. Plus, if you dilute your electrolytes past a certain point, you lose consciousness and possibly die. I've been there. I changed my behavior. Didn't need an app.

Sleep Cycle is the craziest one of the bunch. Reminds me of when the Soviets used to bug diplomats' rooms in the hopes of hearing them talk in their sleep.

I guess that you can replace all these apps with a sheet of paper but I'm not sure what's your point.

 

[bidalufias]

Greetings,

I think these apps are great but it is just too easy to stop using them especially when it comes to sticking to our new years resolutions.

If you are like me, you need a pain point to keep you motivated. You know, something that if you do not do it, it's gonna hurt you or trouble you or if you have already committed money or something, you will want to work towards that goal to not let that money go to waste.

For me, this works: www.poiuyt.xyz - Motivation Through Pain.

Whatever method you choose to use, let us just hope for a successful 2016 for everyone!

 

[8692574]

Greetings,

I think these apps are great but it is just too easy to stop using them especially when it comes to sticking to our new years resolutions.

If you are like me, you need a pain point to keep you motivated. You know, something that if you do not do it, it's gonna hurt you or trouble you or if you have already committed money or something, you will want to work towards that goal to not let that money go to waste.

For me, this works: www.poiuyt.xyz - Motivation Through Pain.

Whatever method you choose to use, let us just hope for a successful 2016 for everyone!

Nice concept, you get to stick to the resolution because you paid for it, good idea and then "Enter the promo code: newyearspecial and get 90% off!!!"

So I am cheating myself?

 

[SgtPepper12]

Wrong, you should get informed first:

One of the first things you should do is take a look at your urine color. The color of your urine can be an early indicator of dehydration. If your urine is a dark yellow color it may be a sign that you are dehydrated.
If you do not drink enough water, then your urine becomes over-concentrated with waste, which is why it is a darker yellow urine color.

Now yellow urine can mean more than that, but it can be a good indicator as well of your hidration.

EDIT:
you can have fun and read this
http://health.clevelandclinic.org/2013/10/what-the-color-of-your-urine-says-about-you-infographic/

I didn't claim that the colour of your urine has no correlation with your hydration, I'm merely claiming that yellow urine is completely normal. I just know many people who say your urine needs to be transparent, which is wrong. (Light) dehydration starts when your urine is getting a tint of orange, but it's not necessarily a bad sign. Most people have darker urine in the mornings for example, but that is completely normal and not at all problematic. Trust your thirst, and you'll be fine. Being paranoid about having super light urine leads to disorders if anything.

 

[xyion1]

I understand the hesitance that comes with putting your personal info into an app that is free, but I can assure you that Mint isn't "some free app." It was developed by Intuit, which is a respected financial application company. They make their money by linking you to financial services you may be interested in without giving personal info away at all. The ball is totally in the user's court. I have used it for years and I like it. Lots of businesses are out to get you and always have an angle, but this one is about as safe as they come.

Just a small point of clarification, Mint was purchased by Intuit a few years ago - Ive been using it since 2008 or 2009 (or roughly whenever it started). No issues with personal information being shared, any more so than my credit cards do anyway (ever read their privacy policies? They suck.). I love Mint since I can get 1 snapshot of all my accounts at the top level (assets - expenses).

 

[ahostmadsen]

Does anyone still believe in the myth that we should drink more water, a specific amount of water? It defies all common sense and all science. Unless people are ill or very old, our thirst mechanism works very, very well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/25/upshot/no-you-do-not-have-to-drink-8-glasses-of-water-a-day.html

 

[daverobeson]

Since when did a glass of water equal 8.5 ounces?

Well, water levels ARE rising all over the world...

 

[5105973]

I used the Smoke Free app last year to help me keep track of how much money I was saving while not smoking. It's a pretty simple app but really helps you see how much you spending on cigarettes! I've been cigarette free for over a year and 3 months. I recommend this app to anyone who is looking at kicking the horrible habit!!

That's wonderful! Not only are you saving money but a lot of grief for yourself and your family. I can't work even part time and my husband and my sister-in-law miss a LOT of work time as a result of caring for their parents and mine. Caring for two sets of parents is a full time job thanks to cigarettes being such a staple in their lives; not all of their health problems are caused directly by smoking but the worst ones are.

The lost productivity is astonishing. It's hell trying to raise your own family when you're practically living at the hospital or tending to the needs of elders at their homes. It's hard sometimes to not resent having to pay this price for someone else's life choices. It's not as if we children didn't beg them and warn this would happen. I guess it's karma for all the times we didn't heed our parents and they had to get our butts out of a fix!

I'm amazed that apps can help us with getting healthier but they really do help. My Apple Watch keeps me motivated to keep moving. Now I just need an app that delivers a nasty zap to my wrist when I eat too many Christmas cookies! My BMI is still good but I'd like my bikini figure back someday. Especially since my face is so unfortunate.

Edited to fix "need" to "heed". Typos. Argh.

 

[8692574]

I didn't claim that the colour of your urine has no correlation with your hydration

That your urine is yellow is not an indicator whether you are dehydrated or not, by the way.

Seems to me you said just that.....no indicator = no correlation and where so sure to put it in italic, but then again not being native english I might misunderstand you.

Most people have darker urine in the mornings for example, but that is completely normal

Because they did NOT drink during the night....
Urine is always darker in the morning because it has been sitting in your bladder all night. You haven't diluted with drinking water and other things and urinating.

I didn't claim that the colour of your urine has no correlation with your hydration, I'm merely claiming that yellow urine is completely normal. I just know many people who say your urine needs to be transparent, which is wrong.

If you cared to open the link you would have seen that white, pale and transparent yellow are indeed normal, might want to pass the link you did not open to those many people