Summer is upon us and it has finally stopped raining, which means it’s time to hit the roads and get your fitness on in the open air. But I understand that even in this great weather, getting started and staying motivated can be difficult. Below are some of my favorite apps that have helped keep me focused and motivated, and I’m sure they’ll do the same for you in your fitness and weight loss goals.

Couch to 5K

I am starting this list off with an app that is designed to help people start off their fitness. My brother, who is not generally what you would consider “fit,” used this app to start running and had excellent results. He lost weight, had more energy, and was much happier.Couch to 5K is an excellent little app with a supportive community and tools to help your track your progress.

Runkeeper

I have been using Runkeeper for a while now. It was instrumental in my fitness preparation before I joined the Navy and it has been an excellent tool in maintaining that fitness since I’ve been home. It is a classic app that has undergone several interface changes in recent years, but it has retained its user-friendliness.Runkeeper tracks all of the essentials while you work out – distance, time, pace, even calories burned – and lets you log notes about your workouts when you’re finished. Runkeeper also lets you set and track goals ranging from weight loss, to distance, to pace, and more.

Charity Miles

I just discovered Charity Miles the other day and since then I have been trying to figure how I can adequately use both it and Runkeeper without burning the ever-closer-to-dying battery in my iPhone 6.The way Charity Miles works is that corporate sponsors such as Timex and Humana donate money to charity based on how many miles you run, walk, or bike. For each mile done running or walking, you earn 25 cents – for biking, 10 cents. This money will go to any one of 37 partnered charities, including The Michael J. Fox Foundation, ASPCA, The Ironman Foundation, and obviously many more.

Calm

Not all of fitness is about going hard all day, every day. It’s important to slow things down when you can and reconnect with yourself in a stress-free and/or spiritual way. Meditation is key to staying calm and focused on the important things in life, and Calm is here to help you learn the practice. The Calm app offers a one-week guided meditation series to start, as well as various others for specific needs such as reducing anxiety and having more restful sleep.On a fun sidenote, Runkeeper even tracks meditation as an exercise, so if you’re like me and you’re hyped up about numbers, meditating with Calm is a great tool for beefing up those “workouts per week” and “calories burned” statistics.

Lose It

The last and arguably most important part of a health and fitness regimen is the diet, and Lose It is a solid tool for helping you keep that under control. It features a food database that will help you track the calories you’re consuming, you can add your own foods by hand or by scanning a UPC, and you can even share your own recipes with the community.Best part? It syncs with other fitness apps (like Runkeeper) so you can track calories in and calories out even easier.Starting and staying with a regular fitness and weight loss routines can be difficult, but the above tools will help you on your way. And for your other fitness and weight loss needs, stay tuned here at My Path Wellness.