Growing up my father always used to say “mens sana in corpore sano” which translates to “a healthy mind in a healthy body”. Those are the two things, probably the only two things, you need to lead a fulfilling life. In reality it was just a fancy way of him telling me to get my ass off the couch, throw the ball around a few times, and study. Keeping track of all the activities you do to keep your body in shape has traditionally been something people have done either by hand, with a well kept training log such as the one I use to track my rowing, or just good old fashioned memory. That’s not how we’re supposed to do things in 2010 however, which is why Nokia created something called “Wellness Diary“. Using your smartphone’s accelerometer it keeps track of the amount of steps you take, and then it’ll tell you if you’ve spent too much time on your bum on Facebook. You can also program reminders that will ask you if you’ve done such naughty things as eating a snack or drinking an alcoholic beverage. Watch the video below for a more detailed explanation.
If these digital tools help you get into shape, then by all means use them. It’s been proven that old people take their medicine on a more consistent basis if they get a reminder via SMS, so will you head to the gym if your phone starts calling you fatboi? Hard to tell, and I’d try this out if I had any Symbian devices laying around, but sadly I don’t.
Here’s a tip for those trying to lose weight: Don’t do diets. Change your lifestyle. Get more sleep. Drink lots of water. Don’t eat anything that your grandmother doesn’t recognize as food. It’s really that simple. You may not get a six pack unless you hit the gym and make sure you eat every 3 hours to increase your metabolism, but we can’t all be like Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino.