The Best Pedometer Apps for iPhone

I have washed, lost, and flushed my FitBit enough to know that something that tiny and able to hide is not a good combination for my forgettable memory. Sigh. As much I love the FitBit, it just does not work for me. That is why I am on a quest to find some of the best fitness tracking apps on the market. Easy, you say? Not so. Turns out that there are very few good fitness tracking apps out there that stay on after the app is not in use and do not eat your battery to an inch of your phone's life by 10 am.

If you have an app other than these that you have found and seriously love. Please, please, please tell me. I am still looking for that holy grail in health monitoring, fitness tracking. That is, until the Apple watch comes out. Then we can forget all of this and wear our health on our sleeve. But, that is a whole 60-90 days away and I seriously doubt all of us who want one will be able to get it day 1.

Pedometer++

As far as turning your phone into a pedometer, the Pedometer++ app has to be my favorite so far. I would love to love Apple's health app but there are days where it will log nothing and days when it is right on the money. Pedometer++ always works. So, a few things I love about Pedometer++ is the pretty interface that has a graph showing your daily steps over the past week, the fact that it imports the correct numbers from Apple Health. Because it is importing from your Health app, it also knows steps, altitude changes, and daily step goals can be changed. This app does not use up tons of battery as well. 

If your Health app already works great, you may not need this. If, however, you would like something simple that shows you results and rewards you for your efforts, this could be the best app yet.

Breeze

Breeze is pretty, simply, and give your a spirit animal depending on your activity. The app tracks the past 7 days and has a great interface to help you see how far your are from reaching your goals. Although it does not show altitude, it does show you your month by month history so you can see how many steps you have walked in a month.

Something interesting that Breeze does is show you your longest activity. This means the longest amount of time your were in movement without stopping and resting. No, it is not necessary, but it sure is fun to look at!

If you do not have an iPhone 6, some other great apps include Moves and Runtastic's Pedometer app. Unfortunately, there are a few bugs that need to be fixed for the iPhone 6 before either can be taken seriously. 

What are some of your favorite fitness tracking apps?

App Review: Acorns

Way back in the day you may remember this blog having articles with the theme "Thrifty Girl". I loved those. Sales and saving money are one of my favorite things to do, sometimes to a fault... Anyone remember that J. Crew blow out a few weeks back? Well, my wallet sure does and our closets are still trying to deal with the influx of pretty, soft things.

Of course, saving money and investing money go hand-in-hand in the bigger picture. We save to have a nest egg to fall back on, get that thing we have been really wanting (hello house, car, vacation), or, just for safe keeping. Investing is really the same, we invest to increase our assets, get to that retirement, bigger house, college fund, or anything else just a bit faster. But, let's face it, the average family just starting out or single guy/gal rarely has the kind of money needed to start setting aside.... Or so you think. Welcome Acorns.

Acorns is a nifty little app that is great for those already investing or just starting out in the investment game. Simply put, Acorns rounds your purchases up to the even dollar and invests that small amount. Unlike many things out there, the app makes investments easy to understand and lowers that limitation wall most newbie investors are afraid of crossing. The hubs recently found this app, and although we already invest, we decided that doing a little more wouldn't hurt. The good thing is that the app has taught us both a bit more about investments and it has helped us find what kind of investors we are.

When you start up Acorns you will tie the app with a few different bank accounts of your choosing. I know that some of you have freaked out at this idea, but let me say, it is as safe as Mint which is pretty darn safe. Next, you decide what kind of investments you want: Safe and untouched for the next ten year, moderate and available in 3-5, or those dangerous penny stocks that will take or multiply your change. We chose the moderate and connected it with the debit account that I use most often.

Although it is the second most common card we have (the first being a credit card we pay off every month), I only use it enough to average about $10 of investments per month. Of course, you can always add money to Acorns. In fact, you start off by adding anywhere from $5 up.

And, that's it. Next time you purchase things, you will also be purchasing stock for your future. Well done, you can now, actually, celebrate that sale in more than one way! But, be sure you are ready for those deductions, it will round up your expenditures and thus round down your available moneys.

For those who want to be able to keep track of what is happening, the app does it too. You can see your stock portfolio, each stock's past month, and your projected income for the next 20-years. Best of all, the information is actually easy to understand. I know, the whole not needing an MBA to understand your stock portfolio is a new idea to many, but it is a real one.

Whether you are wanting to save a bit and investing is new, or you are the Kevin Rose of young investors, this app is a big recommendation from me. Saving money and investing a bit is just plain smart. This app makes it both simple and easy and I have yet to see a downside in using it :) Oh, and did I mention it is free?!! It's free.

Things I am Loving

We all have things that suddenly and unexpectedly make us look like this. There have been a few items, blog posts, and the like over the past couple of weeks that I have simply fallen in love with. Get ready, because there are a lot of things that I have become completely addicted to. One of them being this completely unproductive yet engrossing name website. For instance, I now know that my great-grandmother's name, Alma, was quite popular at the turn of the century. Well, it may not be the cure to world hunger, but I found it super interesting!

There is one thing, however that has lost me. Sadly, as of two weeks ago, I fell out of love with Pretty Little Liars. I mean really, if there was a town that crazy ANYWHERE the entire world would come together in the sole purpose of destroying it. Getting rid of the craziness that is Rosewood could literally bring world peace. That is how crazy PLL has become. Rant complete.

These Jeans

I am LOVING all of her super handy and simple make-up tutorials. She, like me, is a bottle red-head and does make-up to suit those color tones. This has made is super easy for me to do what she does and, bam! have amazing looking make-up. So far, my absolute favorite has been this one on using oranges. It revolutionized my summer make-up regimen.

I am not usually a Hollister kind of gal, but I was in the market for jeans at a time they were having a sale no one could refuse. I purchased these and my love has grown everyday that I wear them. Granted, it has only been a week and I have not washed them yet, but they are incredible. Simply the most comfy, least awkward-when-worn-too-much jeans I have ever purchased, and for under $30!

Braided Buns

These are so easy to do and look so refined. Definitely not like something you just did because your hair has decided to go in every direction but flat. And let's face it, that is one of the best reasons anyone has for putting their hair in a bun.

Deodorant for Clothes

Because we are camping. And because sometimes you just don't have time to dry clean that one needed article of clothing.

These Shoes

I got them on a sale and have also fallen in love with them. If they are still available, man are they a good buy! The only downside is that the buckle hits right on my ankle bone. This has made a comfort issue when I try to wear them too tight. Just as long as the buckle stays loose though, they are super comfy.

Sales

My wallet is telling me no but my mind is telling me yes! There have been so many incredible sales this past month on Etsy, J. Crew, The Gap, Hollister, and about 50 other places that I cannot currently think of. It has made purchasing all those needed clothes for summer and fall soooo easy!

Photo Beautifiers

Apps like Afterlight and Over have made my new Instagram goals soo much easier! Not only am I able to get pictures out more regularly, but they do no look like my usual sad, gray photos of nothingness. Yay for apps that make us look much more proficient with cameras than we may actually be!

Michigan Weather

We are heading down to Florida this week and I have an odd feeling there will be some weather shock in my future. The summer in Michigan has been wonderful with very few days reaching above 85 degrees. This Michigan summer has definitely been on the top of my "Things I am Loving"  list.

This Bracelet

I ordered it. Received it 4-days later. And fell for it on the spot. It is simple, light, and comes in some pretty nice packaging to boot!

Fishtail Braids

They are easy when you get the hang of it and look so wonderful. I also absolutely love them with a pretty hair band or some big earrings. Swoon.

This is a great tutorial as well!

Jaclyn Hill

I am LOVING all of her super handy and simple make-up tutorials. She, like me, is a bottle red-head and does make-up to suit those color tones. This has made is super easy for me to do what she does and, bam! have amazing looking make-up. So far, my absolute favorite has been this one on using oranges. It revolutionized my summer make-up regimen.

Easy Food Logging

{via}

I recently heard someone say that you have no idea what you are eating until it is logged for a month. Honestly, I have never really logged what I ate or seen the importance of it; until hearing this. Maybe, this random person who said that random thing is right, I could be thinking that I am eating healthy, or not-so-healthy, and be completely wrong. Logging every. single. thing. we eat can, for sure, show us things that we skimped over, and more importantly, show us those nasty habits in our eating schedule. 

What I have really found from this is 1) I am a snacker and a person who only eats one big meal a day, and 2) the days I drink more water I have more energy. Although I have not been food logging for an entire month yet, it is very easy to see the rewards in it. What is even more important for a girl on the go like me, however, is the ease of use. I have tried a handful+ of free apps and decided that my absolute favorite is MyDietDiary. Although, MyNetDiary's takes a close second. 

The absolute best thing about MyDietDiary is that it has a bar code scanner. This app takes a picture of the bar code and logs all the nutritional information for you. Of course, it is better if we are not eating foods with bar codes, but snack bars, protein shakes, and even fruits and veggies have them. Chances are, however, that if we are eating something with a bar code (healthy or not) we are a bit too stretched for time to also look up the food we are eating, or worse, have to sit and input all it's nutritional information. Really, could there be anything else less likely to happen on a busy day? Probably not. 

This app is also super pretty and, like most others, calculates how many calories you should eat each day to achieve your weight and health goals. There are also tons of pre-logged activities where all you need to do is select which activity you completed and add the number of minutes. The app will calculate the calories burned. So far, the calculated calories seem to be pretty close to what my HRM says as well! If you have a FitBit, Jawbone Up, or use Run Keeper, you can just connect your devices to the app for easier logging. 

A place where MyNetDiary has it beat is with the interface. If you are all about the bells and whistles and do not mind taking a bit more time to log things, MyNetDiary may be more your style. On MND you can add body measurements, before and after photos,  diet plans, and you can log vitamins. Since I do take vitamins, that is something I seriously wish was on MyDietDiary. 

Both these apps do have charts, calendars, and communities to get support from. Really, either one is a great option, it just depends on how much effort you are ready to put into logging what you eat.