With every holiday season comes a glut of, well, gluttony as we strive to make merry amid calorie-laden food and drink for weeks on end.  Then there’s the predictable diet and fitness-focused New Year resolutions that, however genuinely and well-intended at the onset, can be easy to make—but even easier to break. With this understanding, throngs of tech and online companies are finding innovative ways to keep people engaged and motivated throughout the holiday season and beyond as they endeavor to get fit and healthy…and stay that way.  However, with such an extensive and comprehensive field of modern-day health-tech options, it can be overwhelming to hone in on which are worthy of working into your daily lifestyle.  With that in mind, here are six savvy digital diet and fitness solutions that are sure to help you better survive the holiday revelry, shed those stubborn pounds, tone those muscles and increase your endurance easier, more effectively and with increased sustainability.

Tonal Intelligent Home Gym (www.Tonal.com)

Created by former Apple, Nest and GoPro engineers and designers, Tonal is the world’s first machine learning-powered strength training system. This intelligent home gym pairs on-demand workouts and personal coaching with a first-of-its-kind, at-home, wall-mounted fitness system that you really do need to see to fully understand and appreciate. So, hitting the website to watch the intro video is worthwhile. It’s like having a personal trainer plus an entire gym in the convenience of your home—but one that is super-sleek, taking up very little space and boasting a “wow” factor unlike any other all-in-one I’ve seen. It features digital weights to help you achieve your goal, whatever that may be: to lose weight, gain strength, build muscle, boost energy, improve your performance or maintain your fitness. As a virtual personal trainer, expert-led programs and full body workouts are availed on this device’s digital display.  Virtual coaches will guide you step by step. Tonal supports hundreds of moves and 200 pounds of resistance so you can skip the gym without compromising your workout. Additionally, its artificial intelligence capabilities take the guesswork out of strength training. This device actually learns from your body and adapts guidance in real-time, so you see results faster. Service-wise, similar to Spotify music’s family plan, with Tonal, you can have unlimited users per household so everyone from mom and dad, to teens and even visiting friends and grandparents can strength train.

BINGE Networks’ Fitness Channel (www.BingeNetworks.tv)

BINGE is a broadcasting platform offering a convenient way to find all of a variety of fitness classes all in one place.  They feature an array of fitness, health and life coaching shows allowing you to do yoga, pilates, weight training and even get your mind in shape. With BINGE Networks, you can work out where and when you want with expert-driven programs that you can do at home, and that also travel with you.  Users can stream the content from a SmartTV, tablet, smartphone or laptop from over 90 premium platforms like Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google Play, Sony, Samsung, Sharp, Tivo, Philips, Sanyo, Panasonic, JVC and Toshiba. The first week of access to the BINGE Fitness platform is free using code “FIT” and then access to the service and its content thereafter costs $24.95 per year.

HealthyWage App Weight-Loss Cash Incentives (www.healthywage.com)

No matter what kind of fitness or diet regime—or technology facilitators—you choose, the HealthyWage app actually PAYS you for losing weight! With the HealthyWage app, you determine how much weight you want to lose, how long you want to take to lose it and how much you want to wager each month. If you successfully reach your goal by the end date of your challenge, you win your prize. The average HealthyWager prize is over $1,200! You can also join team, jackpot and step challenges through the app. And, this gamification approach is well-proven. Multiple studies show that monetary incentives serve to enhance the effectiveness of, and duly complement, weight-loss programs of any and all sorts—especially when paid out quickly like HealthyWage’s various programs. In fact, according to a company spokesperson, the average HealthyWager participant “more than doubles their investment if they are successful at achieving their goal,” so the financial upside potential is impressive. In 2018, alone, program participants collectively lost over 1,000,000 pounds and gained $13,000,000 in kind. Since the company’s inception, over $20,000,000 has been paid to HealthyWager winners.

Some or all of the accommodations(s), experience(s), item(s) and/or service(s) detailed above may have been provided or arranged at no cost to accommodate this review, but all opinions expressed are entirely those of Merilee Kern and have not been influenced in any way.

Photo courtesy of www.healthywage.com