Five years ago I wouldn’t be caught dead worrying about my health (unintended pun). The truth is I’m not a kid anymore. Dieting and exercising both suck but I feel like I can’t avoid either any longer.

These apps actually make being good less intolerable by turning pain into a little game. I found that getting good grades and sharing victories work well as that extra incentive I need to keep my record clean(er).

These are three of my favorites:

1- Water your Body ($0.99)

Are you drinking enough water? Probably not, me neither. This app keeps track of your daily water intake and assigns you grades based on your performance. It allows you to set up reminders that will come in handy on those crazy days when the last thing on your mind is water.

Why should you care? Because this could potentially improve your memory, your mood and your motivation.

2- Nike+ GPS ($1.99)

This one is for runners. It’s not new, you probably know it already, but it’s definitely top 3 on my list.

This app makes it easier to setup running lists, power songs, keep track of your route, distance, performance and -best of all- you get to have Lance Armstrong cheer for you.

There’s also the option of racing against friends, but that’s way too advanced for me.

3- My Fitness Pal (free)

My Fitness Pal is basically a calorie counting app. I have just started using it this week and already loving it.

Based on how much weight you want to lose or gain (yeah, right) it tells you how many calories you still have left on your day. So the more you eat, the less calories you have left. Except if you input some exercise in your diary, then you can eat more.

Their food catalog is huge, I haven’t had trouble finding anything yet. If I ever do it seems pretty easy to add something new to it.

I know someone who has lost over 10 pounds in 4 weeks using it. True story.

Photo source: iTunes app store

I dedicate this to my soon-to-be-finished MA thesis.

whatshouldwecallsocialmedia:

WHEN ACCOUNT TELLS THE CLIENT WE CAN “MAKE IT GO VIRAL.”

Found this in the office. Ha. #ancient

Google+ explained.

For the past few months I’ve been getting that dreadful text from AT&T reminding me that I’ve used 100% of my data plan and I’m being billed an additional -ugh!- $15.

I’m always somewhat shocked when I get those because I live on wi-fi and never really make use of the actual data plan except for checking emails and -guess what- Foursquare. Considering that checking emails is part of everyone’s routine I can only conclude that Foursquare is what’s sucking all my data and making me $15 poorer every month.

So I’ve made a decision: delete the Foursquare app from my phone (yeah, you read it right).

If you know me your face should be looking like this right now “:O”. I’ve been sort of addicted to Foursquare since the day I first installed it. Checking in everywhere, getting annoyed if someone stole my mayorship, you know how it goes. I loved that thing! I have to admit though that there was always an uncanny feeling in the back of my mind that I might just be wasting my time with this. And this thing with AT&T was killing me.

So three days ago I decided to quit. Quit and be free. And it was easier than I thought, no withdrawal symptoms or anything. I did think about doing it a couple of times on the first day but not anymore. As simple as that. I feel great.

Sometimes we get involved in doing things we don’t necessarily enjoy that much or get enough from to be worth doing, ya know? And sometimes we do them anyway until we don’t. Get my point?

Update: I’m back on Foursquare.

Yum!

First came the Instagram-for-Android backlash. Today we saw the Facebook-bought-Instagram frenzy. Do we really even care or are we just out of things to talk about?

I say forget Instagram and say hello to Pick, the Japanese version of the photo app that’s 10 times more fun (and I need friends to join).

Main features:

1. You can pick the frames separately from the effects (and there’s a gazillion different patterns to choose from).

2. You can “stamp” your photos with sunglasses, hats, little chihuahuas, bow ties and lots of other useless things (ok, maybe you need to be a girl for this one).

3. Possibly the best one: it lets you log in from your computer (not the app) and see your feed.

See you on Pick!

What? No caramel cone Haagen-Dazs at Walgreens?? #everytime

Both of these apps are free. And they are the most fun you’ll have this weekend with your phone (in public anyway).

Cinemagram is like Instagram minus photos plus cinemagrams (animated gifs originated from video).

It’s really easy to use: record a short clip of anything that moves, mask the area you want action in your gif and done! It can be a little tricky to hide the limits of the mask but the final result is always interesting.

This was my first attempt. Pretty rough, I know, but it’s still kind of funny. One of my friends said to make the mask area larger next time. Will do!

The second one is a game from Captain Morgan’s Rum. I’m usually a little skeptical about brand apps but this one is surprisingly fun and engaging.

You are the captain of a ship and you battle against other ships in your neighborhood to gain $ and experience. The game is connected to Foursquare so if you need to buy or sell resources you can dock your ship at the actual real places on the map.

It really is fun.