Don’t Let Your Activity Tracker Drive You Bonkers

Yesterday, Kara wrote about why she broke up with her Fitbit. When she submitted her post, she hipped me to Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks. Anyone who’s ever worn an activity tracker has probably found themselves at some point either a) doing something ridiculous to make sure their steps are counted…

via GIPHY
… or b) walking laps in the hallway brushing their teeth to try to get in a last few hundred to hit their 10,000 step goal. Not that I know from experience or anything.

via GIPHY

I’m still at the deeply in love stage with my TomTom fitness watch. I wear it all the time and have even learned more about what it can do for my workouts since I reviewed it. (The interval settings are great for my run/walk training for my half.) I’m not giving it up anytime soon, but because it is really easy to get wrapped up in the activity tracker portion of your fitness device, I’ve got some tips so you don’t let it drive you bonkers.

How to Use an Activity Tracker and Stay Sane

Let it motivate you but don’t be a slave. Use it as a guide, but don’t let those numbers drive you insane. A couple of hundred or even thousand steps here and there aren’t going to make or break your health. If you see you only take 1,000 steps a day: Walk more. But if you make it to 7,000, be happy with it instead of going to bed feeling defeated.

Trust it. Have some faith in your technology. Most trackers have a 3-axis accelerometer, which measures your motion however you move. According to Fitbit, there is an algorithm designed to look for motion patterns that indicate walking. So yes, while it might miss some steps here and there, it also likely counts motions as steps on occasion when they’re not. In my opinion? It all evens out, so trust the general trend your tracker shows.

Use it for stats. Steps? Who cares! Focus on the more important parts of the tracker, where these pieces of technology really shine. Heart rate monitoring, the ability to set personalized workouts and tracking pace and distance are way more useful than any step count will be.

Turn off notifications or goals. If “encouraging” notifications are driving you crazy, turn them off. If it drives you bonkers when you don’t hit a 10,000-step goal, either decrease the daily goal, or shut off that feature. You don’t HAVE to walk 10,000 steps in order to be fit!

Put on a real piece of jewelry. Remind yourself of what it was like to wear a shiny piece of silver or gold instead of black. Try just wearing your tracker for workouts.

Bathe without it. It may be waterproof, but you can do without those 15 shuffles you’ll do in the shower.

Take a break. If you find yourself stepping like a fool — like when you’re waiting for food at a restaurant, tucking your kids in at night or chatting with your neighbor in the front yard — you might need to lay off. Go tracker-free at least once a week — or more — as needed!

Have you been able to maintain a healthy relationship with your fitness tracker or do you need a break? —Erin