Fitness Trackers
- Admin
- May 15, 2018
- 6 min read
Fitness trackers are like gym memberships. When they're all shiny and new, it's easy to think they're going to change our lives and help us wave goodbye to our unhealthy lifestyle.
Then, three months later the novelty wears and reality hits. You haven't suddenly developed the bikini body you hoped for and little by little you've simply stopped caring.
We know all about the stats that suggest many who buy a fitness wearable (whether that's a Fitbit, Garmin, Apple Watch or something similar) and then stop using it within six months.
When I got my first fitness tracker, I do admit that happened to me. I lost excitement, and the numbers became meaningless to me. Now I use mine every day religiously to challenge myself, track my progress, and look back on my accomplishments to keep myself motivated every day!
So how do you make sure you don't become one of the statistics? Here's some tips to help you turn your fitness tracker into a tool for LIFE...
It’s not a magic wand. Just because you've strapped a tracker to your wrist doesn't mean you're going to get fit. What you've got is a TOOL, and if used correctly, it can be a brilliant aid for motivation. But it's not a replacement for your own desire to succeed. Just like the treadmill or weights you bought, if you don't interact with it, it won't help. If you accept from the beginning that the hard work and habit changing is still up to you, you'll have more success.
Take the calorie count with a grain of salt. Fitness tracker calorie counts are inaccurate. Most of them base your readings only on a few vital stats like age, gender, height and weight. This means the results you get aren't representative of what's actually being burnt in your body. Pairing your device with a heart rate monitor or choosing a tracker with a bpm sensor built in, can help to improve results but you need to approach the numbers with caution. Avoid using your fitness band to calculate how many calories you should consume each day, and certainly don't add treats to your diet based on the idea you've burned more than the average calorie quota for your age/weight/height/gender.
Set your own goals. Most fitness trackers come with preset step/calorie/exercise goals. Your current lifestyle might mean you can hit these targets with ease, but it may not. Be realistic at first and challenge yourself little by little. Use the tracker for a week and see how you compare and then change your goals to be more demanding. For example, if you currently walk 2,000 steps a day… jumping to a 10,000-step goal if going to be discouraging. On the other hand, if you currently walk 10,000 steps a day… you need to up that goal to- let’s say- 12,000! Make a list of the times during your day when you realistically have the opportunity to add in more activity. This will help you understand where you might need to make bigger changes for greater impact.
Make small challenges for yourself. Once you've made your list, it's time to work out how to change your behavior. One big problem with fitness trackers is that they'll sit there recording what you do all day but won't actually have any effect on your daily habits. One way to change that is to create smaller challenges for yourself during the day. Walk more steps on the way to work or on your lunch break. Challenge yourself to walk at least 100 steps per hour. These small targets and goals help you focus during the day rather than just drifting to an-end-of-day total.
Focus on regular movement rather than just steps. In order to boost fitness and stay healthy, it's important to avoid being sedentary for long periods of time. Moving for five minutes every hour has been proven to aid overall wellbeing. Many of the latest fitness trackers come with handy reminders. Make sure these are set to on and don't ignore them. Take a quick walk around your classroom to check on all of your kiddos, rather than just watching them from a distance. Run around outside with your class rather than just standing off to the side.
Try not to take it off. If you already own a fitness tracker you might recognize this situation. You notice the battery is running low so you charge your tracker while you're in the shower in the morning. Then the next time you think about it, you're half way to work, your tracker is still docked somewhere at home and you've lost a day's stats. Fall into this trap more than once in a month and all of sudden your data feels like it has too many gaps to be useful. Bit by bit you start to question why you're bothering and before you know it the fitness band is back in its box. How do you fix this? Buying a tracker that doesn't need charging all that often or make it a routine to charge it while you sleep but place it right next to your phone. That way you won't forget it in the morning. Hopefully.
Reward your daily achievements. After the novelty of your new fitness toy has worn off, those numbers on your wrist can start to lack any real world meaning. Keep the stats relevant but rewarding yourself every time you hit your daily or micro goals. To help see the progress your making, get yourself a big jar and pop $1 into it each time you achieve your targets. After a month, treat yourself!
Get social. Once the warm fuzzy feeling you get from winning a few badges and beating your target for the seventh consecutive day wears off, you're going to need something to keep that fitness band interesting. By far the best way is to dive head first into the social and community that comes with most devices, or get friends and family involved. Having other people invested in your progress has been shown to help people stick to long term fitness plans. It's not just the encouragement and support you get, it helps bring out a competitive edge that can make fitness a lot less lonely and far more fun.
Picking the right fitness tracker is also key. Do your research. I had 2 fitness trackers that worked for a little while for me, but I eventually found that it wasn’t doing the things I needed it to do to keep my interest. I sold them and bought a new one and since I have had this one… I have been lightyears more effective and consistent. So be sure to do your research BEFORE you buy to save yourself some time, money, and frustration.
Some Fitness Tracker Options...
For those that are curious… the fitness tracker I have now is the Apple Watch. I LOVE this one because of the way it tracks goals (and because it syncs with all of my other "smart" devices and Apple stuff). It focuses on “active calories,” exercise, and hourly movement (rather than steps). This is perfect for me because my goals are to move more, consistently exercise and to get up and move every hour (as I work at a desk most of my day). I found that the motivation to “close my rings” every day is really pushed when I see my progress every time I look at the time! I even have reminders to drink water every hour, get up every hour, and can go on runs without my phone (phone & music built in to my watch). It’s not the right choice for everyone, but I found it works for me. So like I said before, do some research before you pick a fitness tracker… don’t just pick one for looks or because your friend has the same one, pick the one that is right for you and what your specific goals are!
So how did I go from one of the statistics to where I am at now? I used my fitness tracker as a tool. I used the calorie count as a guide but did not let it control my nutrition decisions. I set my own goals based on where I was at the beginning and adjusted them as I grew. I challenged myself throughout the day- walk 250 steps an hour, take a half hour walk on my lunch break, walk my dogs for an hour after work, etc. I used the hourly reminders so that I was never sitting for too long, I was being active throughout the day, not only after work. I routinely charge my fitness tracker every night and put it back on before I get out of bed in the morning. I reward myself for my achievements- every time I hit my goal 7 days in a row, I get Chipotle :) I haven’t had anyone to “get social” with yet, I’ve been doing it on my own… so I need your help! Get yourself a fitness tracker and join me!
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