Do fitness trackers really help in losing weight? Are they worth the money?
If you’re asking yourself all these questions, you may find this guide extremely helpful.
Q. Do I need a fitness tracker?
Depends. Have you been working out all your life without any problems? If yes, then you definitely do not need a fitness tracker. However, if you’re not happy with your current results, fitness trackers are a must. Backed with a lot of data, fitness trackers do a very good job of telling you what you are doing right or wrong. A bit of discipline and commitment and you'll start seeing results in your activity levels within weeks! We did a 'before and after' and noticed we were significantly more motivated to workout with the band on our wrist.
Q. Why should I spend so much money on something that only tells me steps taken?
There’s much more to fitness bands than just steps taken. It tells you distance walked, calories burnt, speed, elevation stats, the intensity of your workouts and most important of all analyse your sleep pattern and heart rate. Heck, some of them even show you precise details of your swimming strokes, laps completed, distance covered while cycling! Most of them will have an app which will let you log your food and water consumption, scan bar codes of packaged food to give you an idea of how many calories you’re actually consuming. Garmin & Fitbit have Auto Goals which readjust on basis of your performance so that you’re always pushing your limits. You can see what your friends and peers are doing and challenge them, compare and compete with them. They make fitness actually a lot of fun. Need more reasons? Keep reading.
Q. Do Fitness trackers help manage stress?
There’s nothing that busts stress more than a good night’s sleep. With the trackers you can see your deep sleep time, how many times you woke up in the night, did you toss and turn a lot? These insights really help in figuring out why your sleep is disturbed. Could it be over usage of TV/Phone/iPad before you go to sleep? Late dinner? Too much caffeine in your system? The first step is to figure out that your sleep is suffering and fitness trackers do that for you. In fact some of them, like Jawbone, even have smart alarms that see when your sleep is the lightest and wake you up accordingly. Isn’t that just awesome?
Q. But they look so ugly!
Not true! So many of them are working on getting a sleeker design. For instance, Misfit’s whole value proposition is that their fitness trackers can actually be worn like a piece of jewellery - a bracelet or a pendant. Jawbone ones don’t look so bad either and Fitbit Alta comes with accessory bands that you can change depending on the occasion.
Q. I don’t want to complicate my fitness with so much data. I’ll just ‘move more and eat less’
How do you measure more? How do you measure less? Trust us when we say - you do need all the data you can get hands on. Data is what stands between misconceptions and reality. Traditionally, people who were seriously concerned about weight gain kept logs of their activity and food consumption. Trackers just make being healthy easier. Still not convinced? Let us give you some perspective. Do you know that 1 hour of running burns 400 calories? Do you also know that a single chocolate muffin has 500 calories? Do you sometimes feel entitled to unhealthy food right after a workout? We all do. But working out and then wasting all that effort on a muffin just seems so futile, doesn’t it? Fitness trackers discipline you by keeping you aware of your activity and eating habits and making it very difficult to cheat. If you’re happy not knowing all these things, then obviously fitness tracking is not for you. Nonetheless, we’ve created a small checklist which will help you determine whether you really need one or not.
Do you…
1. Often put on weight but cannot explain why?
2. Workout and yet can’t lose weight?
3. Order-in often if you don’t like what there for lunch? Head out with friends for dinner because you don’t want to eat home food?
4. Love to binge on cheese, chocolate and pizza?
5. Travel and have to eat out socially often?
6. Have problems falling asleep or snore?
7. Have a family history of heart problems/diabetes/pcod?
8. Have heart problems?
9. Prepare for marathons or like to run in general?
10. Like to know more about your workouts like swimming, weight training, yoga, pilates?
If your answer to more than 5 questions is Yes, then it is time to invest in a good fitness tracker. We’ll help you find the one that best suits your need. Click here for more information.
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