January is the peak time for gym membership. After the Christmas and New Year excess most of us are keen to ditch the extra pounds and get back into a fitness routine. However, diet clubs and gyms can be expensive and you don’t always get to exercise when and how it suits you. Many gyms lock you into an annual contract, which can be difficult to break and research has shown that unused memberships are costing us a small fortune.
So, if you’re looking for an alternative, cheaper way to improve your health and fitness – one that is engaging and fits in with your lifestyle – not vice versa, there are several new trends and products on the market worth investigating.
What Is MiLife?
MiLife is the first personalised online coaching system. It consists of an activity band (MiBand), scales and software, which are used together to analyse your fitness levels (as a personal coach would). Research has shown that it can change behaviour patterns and increase activity levels by over two hours a week.
How It Works
You wear the activity band on your wrist or ankle throughout the day and it records your physical activity. It also stores information about your weight, BMI and long-term fitness goals. The information is then transferred via Bluetooth technology to your computer (Mac or PC) and analysed to give you feedback and create weekly targets. You have your own personal page on the MiLife website, which allows you to review your progress and chat to other users. It is fun and easy to use and takes around 10 minutes a week to upload the data. What’s motivating is that the band monitors all of your activity – everything counts – clearing up after the kids, running for the bus giving you a complete picture of your current fitness levels and suggesting ways to improve them.
What Do The Experts Think?
MiLife have published three expert trials to date showing that 8/10 members who lost weight were as fit a year later. The weight loss achieved matched that of gyms and diet clubs yet it is less expensive than these methods. The activity band, smart scales and a year’s membership costs £99 (£149 for couples).
John P Foreyt, Director at the Behavioural Medicine Research Centre in Houston, Texas commented: ‘MiLife is an engaging, evidence-based weight management tool. It has been shown to help individuals eat better, exercise more, and lose weight. Highly recommended’.
