SlimKicker: A New Way to Motivate Healthy Habits

One of my readers, who is way more tech-savvy than I, has just started a new site and app to help people motivate themselves to increase their healthy habits, particularly when it comes to exercise. I've checked it out and it looks really good--and it's free! There are already lots of users. You can peruse it, too, at http://www.slimkicker.com/?tag=beta1.

This is her philosophy:

"For me, I think the problem with being healthy is motivation. It's an abstract, overwhelming goal. I think the best way to counter this is to have concrete, winnable games and small victories.

So, this app will makes living healthy, and fitness into a RPG game, where users earn points, and "level up' as they achieve their goals. Everytime they eat something healthy like vegetables, they earn points. Everytime they complete a workout, they earn points. Each level will present different challenges.

The challenges will follow a certain structure. First will come changing your environment such as getting rid of junk food. Then, reducing stress, as stress leads to eating comfort food. Then concrete goals like keeping track of everything you eat, or taking the stairs for a week. Small, concrete goals rather than abstract ones like "be healthy" or "exercise more".

The whole point is to create a holistic framework/game so people will rely less on willpower, and more on fun, achievement, and changing our environment."