Personal fitness is hard to fit in when you are homeschooling and taking care of your family. But, in order for you to continue to love and help them, you need to take care of you too.  Since I can’t afford a personal trainer or coach, I decided to look for some free phone apps that can help me. I want to be able to hang out with me kids and keep up with them.

Some things to remember before you get started:

• Schedule a time to exercise.  The day flies by, doesn’t it? If you plan a time, then you will do it. What is the best time to do it? That is up to you! 🙂
• Start out small. You are more likely to get fit and sticking with a plan if you start out by being successful. Do something for 15 minutes (walk, jog, bike ride, swim, etc.)
• Have a partner. I walked a half marathon a couple of years ago, but without my friend doing it with me, I would have quit. She pushed me when I didn’t want to do it, and vice versa for her.
• Don’t quit! I know things happen and you can’t always exercise, but don’t let that stop you. Start with exercising two days a week and then increase the number of days gradually.
• Find a motivator. I need something to keep me going, otherwise I will stop. Here are two apps that have helped me when I wanted to just stay home and eat a bag of chips.

Do you want to lose weight? I have found an app called My Fitness Pal. You can record all of your calories, water intake, and exercise in this one nifty app. Not sure how many calories your favorite recipe has in it? No problem! You can enter the recipe and it will calculate that for you. It even has graphs to indicate the percentage you have eaten in various categories, for example: protein; carbohydrates, and fats. Another feature it has is that it will sync with a FitBit, Garmin, other apps as well.

Speaking of other apps, My My Fitness is an app that I use daily. Here is the description of this app. Of course, this is talking about the purchased version, which is only a few dollars, but the free version has been fine with me (for now).  “MapMyFitness uses built in GPS technology to provide runners, cyclists and walkers the ability to map, record and track their workouts. In addition, users have access to a searchable database of local routes, online training tools, event listings and more. Users can also Import workouts from over 400 compatible devices, including Jawbone, Garmin, Polar and Fitbit. Get credit for all the calories you burn by linking your MyFitnessPal account with MapMyFitness. Once connected, you’ll be able to view your workout stats, calorie burn and nutrition data within the same dashboard.”