One of the things you may be able to gather if you’ve read my blog, This Mom’s Wired, for awhile is that I like to be connected. I’m pretty much never without my iPhone and I love finding new apps that do cool things that either enrich, entertain or make my life easier.

Today, I want to mention a few apps in the health/fitness genre (unless otherwise noted, I have purchased these apps on my own):

• Couch to 5K (Felt Tip Inc., $2.99)
  Have you wanted to make a new habit of running? I’d always wanted to try running, but inevitably I’d start off too fast out of the gate, was tired within a few minutes and then decide, “Y’know: maybe I’m not cut out to be a runner.” C25K makes it pretty easy – you ease your way in with a mixture of walking and jogging and eventually, you’ll be able to run 5K. It works. This non-runner now runs.
• Lose It (Fit Now, FREE)
  On a mission to lose a few pounds? Perhaps you just want to track your calorie intake and expenditure? This app makes it pretty easy (and it’s free – so the price is most definitely right). The directory of food and exercise is pretty thorough, but if your activity or meal isn’t listed, it’s pretty easy to add your own. Also – a pretty neat feature is the recipe category: you can type in all the ingredients of your recipe, how many servings it creates, and it breaks it down for you calorie wise. This app will recommend how many calories to take in in order to maintain or meet your weight goal. (As always, be smart – don’t use the app to replace your doc’s advice!)
• The Merck Manual – Home Edition (Agile Partners, $9.99)
  Yep, this app is kind of pricey – but was sent to me for review purposes. This app is a very thorough app – and it’s taken me awhile to learn to navigate the app, however, it’s already proven to be pretty helpful.  I’ve been able to research quirky medical things (like that lipoma on my mom’s ankle) and email links to Merck’s site to others. There’s a lot of information to be found here.
• Pediatric SymptomMD (Self Care Decisions, $1.99)
  I have two young children and so this is definitely one of my most-used apps. This lets you search your child’s symptom and makes recommendations about when to call the doctor, self care (if applicable), care advice and a summary. Again, don’t ignore your parental instincts – when in doubt, call the doc. I also really love the “Dosage” category which tells you the recommended dosage of common medications (We’re talking acetaminophen, ibuprofen and the like) for your child’s age and weight. Definitely a handy app.

Do you have a favorite Health or Fitness iPhone/iPod Touch app? What other types of apps would you like me to explore and review for you?

Photo source: Sir Mighty Mac