Fletcher Allen, a Vermont university hospital and medical center, serves all of
Vermont and the northern New York region. Located in Burlington, Fletcher Allen is a regional, academic healthcare center and teaching hospital in alliance with the University of Vermont.
04. Helpful Apps to Track Your Health and Promote Wellness
Top Tip
Calorie counters, exercise trackers, and attitude adjustors. There are apps for just about everything these days, including health and wellness. Dr. Benjamin Littenberg, Dr. Liz Schneider, Dr. Alicia Jacobs, and nurse practitioner Tristin Adie share some of their favorite on-the-go tools to stay happy and healthy.
Simple Calorie Count
Benjamin Littenberg, MD, Internal Medicine at Fletcher Allen
Add your daily calorie intake with this simple diet diary. Dr. Littenberg says the app is easy to use and helps him maintain his daily calorie limit.
Cost: Free
Android
Audible
Dr. Littenberg says one of his favorite apps is not really a health app at all. Audible lets him listen to books while he walks, which helps him look forward to exercising.
Cost: Free (the books cost about $10 each).
Android, iPhone, Kindle Fire and Windows Phone
My Fitness Pal
Liz Schneider, MD, Milton Family Practice
Dr. Schneider says she has been impressed with My Fitness Pal, which not only tracks your daily activities and calories, but also provides charts that illustrate your intake of carbs, proteins and fats. The app allows you to set a daily calorie goal, record your food intake and exercise to make sure you stay on track. You’ll get an alert if you’re eating too few calories and you can record how many pounds you want to lose per week (Dr. Schneider says a safe goal is one pound per week).
Cost: Free
Android, Blackberry, iPhone and Windows Phone
Health Tip of the Day
Alicia Jacobs, MD, Colchester Family Practice
Dr. Jacobs suggests Health Tip of the Day, which offers easy-to-follow tips on how to be just a little bit healthier each and every day. By following one of these daily tips, you can live a healthier lifestyle and feel better.
Cost: Free
iPhone
Take a Break!
Dr. Jacobs says she recently downloaded the Take a Break meditation app. The app includes a meditation podcast and gives you the option to listen to relaxing music and nature sounds.
Cost: Free
iPhone
Map My Run
Tristin Adie, APRN, Fletcher Allen
Tristin Adie suggests Map My Run, an app that lets you record your workout details, including duration, distance, pace, speed, elevation, calories burned and route traveled on an interactive map.
Cost: Free
Android, Blackberry and iPhone
Gratitude Journal
Write down at least five good things that happened to you on a daily basis. Add photos, rate your day and record the weather. Do this every day for a month and see your attitude change.
Cost: 99 cents
iPhone
