Fitness…fitness….fitness   The New Year has arrived and many of us are trying to stick to our New Year Resolutions- lose weight, be nice, ect.  There are a few good apps to help with weight that are free.  One, I have used (need to more regularly) is FatSecret.  When I first discovered the app, it helped me lose 10 pounds.  The app is simple and easy to use and helps you stay in control of your weight loss.  The only way to lose weight is to change your eating habits, lifestyle and cutting calories/exercising.  FatSecret helps you take control of counting calories and makes it easy and painless. When you open the app, you complete a small questionnaire- Sex, weight, height, and activity level plus email and password.  After your account is set up, the app opens to a new screen that gives you a very short crash course in using the app- but it is simple.  The app reviews your current weight, how much weight you want to lose and your activity level to determine the amount of calories you may consume daily.  You can change the amount of calories you want to consume each day if you do not like their calculation.  As you eat, you scan the barcodes found on food items or you can use the search function to find what you are eating.   You can change the serving size and the app automatically adjusts the calories and adds to your grid.  FatSecret tells you how many calories you have left after each entry.    FatSecret has a list of different activities ranging from housecleaning to running with an estimate of how many calories burned.   Each activity burns some calories plus you can add your own activity such as elliptical machine.  FatSecret includes many restaurant menu items listed as well.  The app adds your daily caloric intake and the calories you burn throughout the day – showing you the deficit in calories thus weight loss or if you are trying to gain weight, show you how many calories you need to gain the weight. The one thing I love about the app is I can see what I am eating and how many calories I have left; plus with exercise, it helps me make sure I stay on track and lose the pounds I want/need. Cnet reviewed the app and stated “Calorie Counter is the essential app to simply find nutritional info for the food you eat and easily keep track of your meals, exercise and weight.”   Read more here: http://tiny.cc/hoqzcx   Download the app here:     With a busy lifestyle, the app takes little effort but does not help with motivation to stay on track.  There is a new feature to the app that showcases tasty recipes.  The recipe offers list of ingredients, how to prepare, nutritional information and a button that imports the information to your food diary.  I love to review and try new recipes, especially since my house is full of individuals with food allergies and other health problems making it difficult to prepare meals.   The app is available for free from iTunes and the Google Play Store.