Top Apps You Can't Live Without (3)

I lost 90 pounds half year, and I've kept it off since then. The key to my success was keeping a record of all my food and exercise.

I track food and exercise using Lose It (freemium, $39.99 per year) for the iPhone (also available for Android and on the Web). I make a note in Lose It for everything I eat and drink (aside from beverages with no calories, such as water, coffee, and tea). The program calculates the calorie count of what I eat and tracks the number of calories I should be consuming every day.

One nice feature of Lose It: You can record packaged foods simply by scanning barcodes.

I walk or bike five days a week, and the free RunKeeper tracks how far I've gone and for how long. One nice feature of RunKeeper: It uses the iPhone's GPS to detect when I've stopped moving, so if I stop to take a picture at the park, RunKeeper knows and automatically deducts the time from my total exercise.

Keeping a journal of food and exercise makes you conscious of how much you eat and how many calories you're burning. It's not as difficult as it sounds; it gets to be a habit. And I find it essential to keeping weight off and staying fit.