Technology Guaranteed to Help You Lose Weight!

If you're like most Americans -- and not yet jaded by years of failed miracle diets -- you're still searching for that magic bullet, diet-in-a-box approach to weight loss and good health. But let's be honest, the only way to lose weight is to manage the bottom line (calories in, preferably with whole foods, as opposed to processed) while increasing the top line (calories out, also known as exercise). It won't sell books, videos or heavily processed "diet" meals, but it's a simple equation that works.

To that end, the tech world offers a cornucopia of devices to help us get off our butts and melt away those cream cheese smeared bagels we crammed into our pie holes while checking email this morning. A recent Wired News article illustrates how more and more consumers are using handheld devices and software to take control of their health, including a list of five offerings that serve as personal digital trainers for our otherwise undisciplined, sedentary ways:

Garmin Forerunner 310XT: This is a wristwatch-like device ($350) that's waterproof and GPS-enabled. In addition to the standard stopwatch, it's loaded with software that can be connected to a heart rate monitor or foot pod sensors. Its killer app is the ability to wirelessly transmit exercise data to a desktop computer, allowing users to track progress.

Training Peaks 3.0: Residing on the desktop, this is training software (most plans offer a free trial, while the premium version costs $119 per year) that takes in a wide variety of data from other devices. The training dashboard allows users to log in meals and workouts, track weekly goals, track metrics and connect with other users.

RunKeeper Pro: This is a mobile download ($10) that runs exclusively on the iPhone, using its GPS chip to track speed and distance. Its funcionality is similar to that of the Garmin device.

WeEndure: Kind of like a social networking application for workouts, this connects users with a shared interest in exercising. For $20 a year, users can log their exercise data and comment (hopefully with encouragement and not trash talk) on each others' healthy endeavors.

SMHeart Link: Linking to all sorts of exercise gear, including heart rate monitors and treadmills, this gadget collects data and sends it to an iPod Touch or iPhone wirelessly.

Okay, so let's put down those bogus diet books (and put down that Krispy Kreme while you're at it) and start walking (or running, or biking, or swimming, or ...).