Wearable Fitness Devices - interesting article

Super interesting article.  The name made me go "obviously?" but the rest of the content was fascinating.  

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/20/upshot/wearable-fitness-d evices-dont-seem-to-make-you-more-fit.html?_r=0

Interesting...It says the info was gathered 2010-2012. Devices probably "do" a lot more tech things now, but I'd say the basics are the same...

Either you are going to follow a healthy LIFESTYLE, the majority of the time, or you're not. No magic pills or gadgets can do it for us...Believe me, I have tried everything I could get my hands on:)

I love my Fitbit Alta, but it was a gift. I don't think I ever would have bought it for myself. I wear it all the time. Mostly I like the reminders to move my butt, and the weekly reports about activity, sleep, etc. And I like that it tells me who is calling or texting so I know if it's worth getting up, to find my phone! Awesome!

I have a Jawbone tracker and I specifically got it to track my sleep. It breaks it down between deep, light, and REM sleep as well as tracking my heart rate throughout the night. Sleep is something we can work on to improve, just like adjusting our diet. For example, I have decreased the amount of time I stay awake when I do wake up at 2:34 am by being more aware and doing a meditation to fall back asleep. Diet, hydration, and exercise all affect our sleep. Good sleep is vital to our health. 

I am a fitness tracker nut and have tried most of them.  Bought the MOOV with their first crowdfunding and have been incredibly disappointed in it. The app is clunky and the coaching is just awful.  I workout better without it.  Just FYI.

I find the sleep tracking helpful for points where I'm not awake enough to realize it. 

I'd be skeptical about the accuracy of a head-mounted tracker. I dunno about anybody else, but my headbands tend to slide around like crazy when I ride.

I have a Moov Now that I use to track cycling cadence. It's an OK gadget, but the app is awful.

I know I am more active because I have the fitbit. after a week or 2 of showing me I am "a slug", a very slow slug...i get motivation to do something about it.

I do like the sleep tracking portion.  Its helps me understand what is going on in my body.  Restless sleep - as there something I ate ? or my BS dropped in middle of the night and my body woke me up? Sleep pattern combined with HR monitor is very valuable tool for me to manage my adrenal issues, my thyroids, and...my vitamins, hydration, etc etc etc.  Things are connected... 

when I don't get enough sleep - I am more prone to get low BS, and i may need to increase my cortisol to prevent that... or  grab a snack for lunch and have a 45 nap instead of lunch.  If I can do that.. a 30-45 min nap would be much better for me that and extra coffee..

Knowledge is power... knowing what to do with the knowledge is even better... 

i.e. when my BP drops and my HR drops - I know i need more salt and potassium...  with added water...

I agree 100%! 

I don't really look at my fitbit numbers very often now (I still wear it everyday, tho) but it was a huge motivator when I bought it a year ago.  At that time, I worked from home and some days I would only get like 1000 steps.  That was horrible! It encouraged me to move more and I really like the HR monitor also so I can see my HR during my work outs and see when I am in my peak zone and just a fat burn zone. 

I think the sleep feature is neat but don't really use the info too much.  Just think its cool to see. :-) 

I'm sure some people find use for them, but honestly I think they are pointless.

You are either going to do the exercise you know you need to do, or you're not (and then make excuses why).

I've been carefully instructed on what, how much, and how often I need to eat to lose weight. I've been instructed on how much exercise I need to help weight loss and become a healthier person. So either I am going to do what needs to be done, or I am not. An expensive, pointless tech toy on my arm is not going change that.