A friend, by social media standards, was requesting a fitbit. You know, if someone had lying around. She promised that she would put it to good use.
After all, it's that time of year. The time when people commit — or recommit — to eating healthier, exercising more and losing weight. Before I go any further, let me be clear: I have no problem with New Year's resolutions. I think they can be great. Heck, my journey started in 2005 with a New Year's resolution.
The problem? The idea that one needs a tracker to lose weight.
Why?
First and foremost, a fitness tracker can only do so much. Sure, it tells you how many steps you took, how many calories you burned, when you were most active, how much you slept. What it doesn't do? It doesn't get you off the couch. It doesn't drive you to the gym or put in an exercise DVD. It doesn't cook you healthy dinners or put an apple in your mouth instead of a piece of cake.
The fitness tracker cannot and will not do the work. It is up to the person. Period.
Other grievances:
By the numbers. The science of losing weight is often simplified to calories in, calories out but there is a key component to the process. KNOWLEDGE. Fitness trackers can give you a lot of numbers but don't necessarily tell you how to interpret them. A friend of mine purchased a fitbit, by my suggestion actually, when she was stuck in her weight loss. It told her she burned far more calories than she anticipated, and it left her confused as to how much to eat. Should she be eating 1,800 calories instead of 1,500 or stay at 1,500? She used the a piece of gym equipment but it didn't register. Should she go for an extra walk to hit 10,000 steps?
You are what you eat. Exercise and, in general, moving more are key to weight loss but diet plays a significant role. Though many of the trackers do sync with food diary apps, the emphasis is on things that are measured through heart rate and movement. In a way, it takes food out of the picture. Also, some people might see that they burned 500 calories on the treadmill and use it as a "reason" to make a less-than-ideal choice.
Commitment before reward. I have seen many people go out and buy all.the.things when they show interest in a new activity or pursuit. The idea is that they should have everything they might need during the journey so that they can feel supported and ready. However, it is my belief that gear should be earned — not given. When I started Couch to 5K in 2009, I used a $10 stopwatch for Target. It wasn't until after I successfully completed the 9-week program and was half-way through an extended plan for the Flying Pig that I asked for a Garmin 305. It seemed silly to invest that money in a watch if I didn't know whether running would stick. Same goes for fitness. Start by tracking on free sites, such as MyFitnessPal. If you want to be accountable for your exercise, choose an affordable heart rate monitor. Use the fitness tracker as a reward once hitting a certain milestone rather than something to start with.
Don't get me wrong — I think there are benefits to wearing a tracker but I don't think it is the be all, end all of weight loss. It is not a $100 insurance policy for success.
What are your thoughts?
Love this! As you know I'm currently wearing TWO fitness trackers which feels ridiculous. I agree with everything you said pretty much. I read an article once about someone who was complaining that they weren't losing weight because when they got an activity tracker that they started eating MORE because it told them they could. It just doesn't work like that. I think that it's another "tool" and people need to look at it that way. It's a TOOL, not a gimmee.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm particularly spiteful about this because I actually contributed half the price of a heart rate monitor to said friend. I think it was used for a week, via social media, for a couple weeks. Haven't seen it since. But, if she had a fitbit, you know it would all work out.
DeleteNote: I am easily agitated when pregnant. I need to hide somewhere.
For awhile I was wearing 2 of these suckers too. Now I wear none. I think they're fun. I especially like the sleep stats, but I soon got a feel for what 10k steps feels like. I don't need a tracker to tell me when I'm too sedentary. The Fitbit would entice me to go up and down more stairs, but that is all.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your perspective. It is up to the person and sometimes a fitness tracker clouds the picture with useless info.
ReplyDeleteI like this. And just the idea that you don't need all the things. And to earn gear.
ReplyDeleteI like your point that fitness gear should be earned, not given. Definitely keeps the motivation high!
ReplyDeleteHi Kimberly.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. Nothing to add to this, you nailed it. Well, except that these things aren't that accurate either. And for someone with a heart condition or diabetes, for example, the discrepancies a fitness bands shows up may lead to serious consequences than for "normal" people.
Thanks for the post.
I think most of people these days use it in place of watch and as a fashion.and the heart rate and pulse rate readings are not accurate when compared to clinical Blood Presure and heart rate monitors
ReplyDeleteBest Fitness Trackers 2019
Nice Blog Thank You.
ReplyDeletePlease Write some thing about Fitness Band with Heart Rate Monitor
Hey nice product. Thanks for sharing this. But if you guys are looking for smart fitness band ThinkRace H11 is the best. It monitors heart race, step taken, distance traveled, calories burned. A health wristband that tracks your sleep time and quality! Equipped with standout features like multi-sport tracking, call, text, calendar alerts, large OLED screen, long battery life and much more.
ReplyDeletePRECISE AND RELIABLE - Quickly determine your SpO2 (blood oxygen saturation levels), Fast SpO2 readings, pulse measurements and display it conveniently on a large digital LED display. This device is for Sports & Aviation use only and not intended for medical use
ReplyDeleteFinger Pulse Oximeter
A fitness tracker is the perfect way to monitor your activity and health effortlessly and with unmatched accuracy. Think of it as an electronic finger on the pulse, constantly measuring your vitals, quality of sleep and step count.
ReplyDeleteToday's fitness band market is stuffed with fantastic devices, most of which can do a pretty good job at the basics of tracking. But frankly, we're only interested in the best, and you should be too.
We won't be looking at all the techiest wristwear here - check out our best smartwatch guide for that, which includes the Apple Watch 3, LG Watch Style and Samsung Gear Sport.
You also won't find the Fitbit Ionic or Fitbit Versa here either, which despite the brand name are both toted as smartwatches and are priced accordingly.
On a budget? Here are the best cheap fitness trackers
Want a Fitbit? Best Fitbit 2019 or best Fitbit fitness bands
Plus here are seven of the best fitness tracker tips to get you started
This guide will show you the best of the best activity trackers money can buy and show you how each ranks in terms of stand-out features, specs, price, design, the quality of the software you'll be using on your phone and much more.
The Moov Now is officially our favorite fitness band in the world right now. It's cheap, offers everything you'll want in an everyday tracker and there's a phenomenal six month long battery life.
The Moov Now isn't just designed for step tracking though - it comes with boxing and rep-based training, as well as a swimming mode on top of run coaching and sleep monitoring features. That's a lot to get stuck in with.
You won't get GPS or some of the more complex fitness trackers in dubai features that others on this list offer, but if you're looking for a great everyday tracker that doesn't cost a lot of money the Moov Now will suit you perfectly.