Why I Stopped Depending on Fitness Trackers…and You Should Too.
As a former fitness tracker/wearable enthusiast, I'm surprised it's come to this. I've had FitBits, Whoop, MyFitnessPal; you name it, I had it. I tracked everything from calories and steps to sleep cycles and HRV because what gets measured gets managed, right? When it comes to the human body, I think not.
Yes, when considering artificial systems, measurement prompts management. But we are not manufactured. We are not business metrics or Fortune 500 companies; we are human and complex. When it comes to your health and performance, measurement is not obligatory for management, although it can be favorable. I am hesitant to mention any favorability because, as evidenced by these apps' and devices' popularity, people will consider them necessary even when they're only marginally helpful. Nonetheless, not all measurement is created equal; but I will explain that later.
Having fashioned these devices for years, declaring myself a "data gal," I've learned a lot about my body through the lens of "performance" metrics (and otherwise). The one lesson that proved most valuable was that no tracker or app would ever analyze or understand me better than me. Between the calorie counting and sleep cycle tracking, I found myself often loss without these metrics. Hungry with little to no calories left. High energy, despite less than optimal deep sleep. I didn't trust myself. No, these technologies convinced me that I couldn't.
In attempting to understand the evolution of this distrust, there is one impending question that we need to ask and answer: Who convinced us to track, and why? My first hypothesis is that we (humans) like to prove things. As a technology-driven society, it's easy to see how much we prefer evidence and data, or "the numbers," as some say. Perhaps we find comfort in absolutes, often attempting to define the undefinable. Want to lose weight? Just track calories. Want to run faster? Just track time. Want to sleep better? You get the point. As black and white as this can seem, weight loss, running, sleep, and other performance metrics are much more nuanced than that. Although these trackers tell you the what, they don't address the why.
My second hypothesis is that people want to be like elite athletes. Let's call it the "Serena Williams" hypothesis. When it comes to health and performance, tracking specific metrics may give top athletes an edge, helping them understand and possibly reconsider their recovery, stress management, or nutrition. Fitness enthusiasts fail to realize that we are not elite athletes; we are not Serena Williams. Our professions don't call for us to dissect our health and performance to have a slight edge at Wimbledon.
I do not intend to antagonize fitness enthusiasts or gym buffs but rather expose this ludicrous idea; we don't need to take extreme measures to make marginal improvements. We should design our health and performance programs for optimal quality of life respective to our lifestyles. Even if your goal is to improve your lob or backcourt game, I'll venture to say that tracking your HRV and calories is superfluous.
My final hypothesis is summarized wholly by Jim Rohn, "A lot of people don't do well simply because they major in minor things." Rather than considering food quality, portion sizing, or your relationship with food in an attempt to lose weight or even build muscle, fitness trackers tell us to track macronutrient profiles and calories. Brands use their superb marketing skills to tell us that majoring in minor things is essential for progress. And, while fast and easy is the selling point, it's also the problem.
So, we still have a question to answer, "Who convinced us to track, and why?" Well, we convinced ourselves. Why? Because we lack self-awareness, self-understanding, and self-regulation and we cover those shortcomings with our bureaucratic qualities (see hypothesis 1), jock dreams (see hypothesis 2), and fascination with seeing the forest for the trees (see hypothesis 3).
I'm unconvinced we substantially lack any of those qualities independently. However, I do believe we lack them in an integrated sense, unable to bridge the gaps between self-awareness, self-understanding, and self-regulation. I can hear you inhaling sharply, "how do we bridge those gaps." We learn ourselves slowly through design, testing, failure, and retesting. It may not be sexy, but it's true. By relying on these technologies, we evade this process; the longer we delay it, the wider the gaps.
The one tactical strategy I've found most beneficial in resigning my title as "data gal" is to approach goals directly yet holistically. This strategy goes against the route most take, and it is why I believe most fail. Many fitness professionals tell people to identify their "why," "why do I want to run faster?" "Why do I want to lose weight?" The answer to that question doesn't provide any helpful information for a trainer/coach. Maybe you want to run faster for an upcoming race or because you want to keep up with your dog during your morning run.
I believe this "why" question is relatively inconsequential and is the wrong question to ask. Some goals call for a why question, calling for a holistic approach, while others can be approaching more directly. I believe these sorts of questions derived from the absurd belief that trainers/coaches are just glorified gym therapists. It's time we lay this idea to rest. Don't get me wrong; you may need to call upon your "why" for motivation when feeling discouraged, but again I'm a major proponent of trainer/coaches leading and guiding, not motivating and convincing.
Aforementioned earlier, not all measurements are created equal. If a goal calls for you to track, there are only four data points worth noting. For most people, tracking anything in addition to these data is a wasted effort: sleep, weight, pace, and steps.
Unfortunately, we continue to neglect sleep as "hustle" culture continues to consume us. Sleep is not for the weak but the strong. Tracking your nightly rest will give your a deep understanding of your body's needs and capacity. The goal here is to find a balance between what's optimal and feasible (tip: naps are incredible).
Tracking your weight has become somewhat taboo in recent years, thanks to diet culture. Gurus and influencers demonize the scale and glorify other forms of measurement like calorie counting and macronutrient tracking. The only measurement you need to determine whether or not you're losing weight is your weight. Track it but don't allow it to define you; it's just data.
How you track pace will be dependent upon your specific performance goal(s). For example, if you want to decrease your mile pace by two minutes, track it. In monitoring your sleep, weight, and pace, you can then begin approaching your goals quite simply. Assuming you've already set a goal and strategized a plan, you will find that the thing holding you back from reaching your goals is usually a cause, or result, of deficits within one or all of those three measurements.
The final data point worth tracking is your daily steps. With COVID-19, we are more sedentary than ever. Many of us no longer commute to work, walk around the office, or even go out for a lunchtime stroll. While this does affect our weight and daily caloric expenditure, more importantly, it affects our metabolism, cardiovascular health, circadian rhythm, nutrient partitioning, to name a few. A great goal for most is 10,000 steps/day (on average).
Unable to lose weight? Direct approach: Track your weight, increase daily steps to 10,000, and optimize sleep. Holistic approach: consider food quality, portion sizing, eating habits, sleep habits, daily activity habits, weight loss ideology, etc. See the difference? Both approaches are valuable; the first, drawing the sketch, the other, giving it color.
(Additional notes: If you're sleeping is suboptimal, every goal will suffer. Sleep deprivation puts you in a less than ideal position to make any substantial performance gains. The only requirements of holistic simplification are honesty and consistency.)
