Ditching the Fitness Trackers
As an actuary and self-described data geek, I absolutely love data. So when I learned about pedometers about 15 years ago, I had to have one. A small device to wear on my belt (yeah, I feel old just typing this) that counts the number of steps I take each day? Yes, please! I could track my steps and try to hit that magic 10,000 number every day (which is a completely made up number in case you didn’t know). I remember seeing the bodybugg tracker on The Biggest Loser - something I’m ashamed to admit I watched in its heyday - I wanted one so bad but couldn’t bring myself to spend the money.
So when FitBit came out with their first tracker at a much more affordable price point, I had to have one. As my friends and family also bought it, we started competing against one another and talking trash about how many steps we were each getting - it was so much fun. I even had a friend who my dad accidentally “friended” - someone he had never met - and they would each call me and complain about the other one taking over their leaderboard when they would do some kind of endurance event or just have a busy day at work walking around.
I refused to take my tracker off unless I absolutely had to. If it wasn’t waterproof, it would literally only be off for the 10 minutes or so I was in the shower, otherwise I was making sure every single step counted. Enter 2015 when the Apple Watch was introduced - naturally, I had to have it. I became obsessed with closing those circles every day, hoping for that month-long streak award, or seeing how high I could get my streak for closing circles (my longest streak was 327 days, for the record). Not only did this thing track my fitness activities, but I could also get text and notification alerts on my wrist? Yes, please!
Over the years I went back and forth between using my Apple Watch and Garmin for tracking steps, fitness, sleep, etc., all while having something on my wrist that would share notifications from my phone. Eventually though, I started to wonder if my obsession was healthy. I mean, it was motivating me to work out or get steps in, so it had to be, right? If I wasn’t feeling well, I would still try to get a workout in so I could close those circles and keep the streak going. Injure myself on a run or aggravate my back? Didn’t matter, I had to close those damn circles. I was also constantly bombarded with news alerts, social media alerts, texts, and emails. Yes, I know I could have just turned off those notifications, but for some reason that never really crossed my mind.
I honestly don’t totally remember the exact day, but sometime last year in 2023, I took off my Apple Watch and put it away. And that was it. I was free. I went for a walk without my watch, and you know what? It still “counted” as something good for me, even if I didn’t have a record of it. I’ll be the first to admit that it was difficult to wrap my head around that. I was 100% obsessed with seeing the numbers, streaks, and data, and it was hard to just move without having “proof” that I had exercised. But each day it got a little easier and I really started to enjoy being free. I listened to my body and rested when I needed rest and pushed myself when I felt like pushing myself. I was much more in tune with what my body needed without the watch.
Not getting phone notifications was an adjustment as well, because I leave my phone on silent 24/7, so I have to physically look at my phone to see if anyone has called or texted. To be honest, this means I probably look at my phone more than I’d like, but at least I’m in control of when I want to do that. I’m working on further distancing myself from my phone, but that’s another conversation for another day. Ditching the watch at least helped me move in the right direction and put me back in the driver's seat.
I do still grab my Garmin if I go outside for a run on a route I’m not 100% familiar with, just so I know how far I’ve run, but I’ve tried to let go of tracking my speed, heart rate, VO2Max, elevation, etc. when I do go run. If I want to run slow, I run slow. If I want to run fast, I run fast. If I run 1 mile and feel terrible, I stop and walk. If I plan to run 3, but feel great at 3, I keep going. I make an effort to get up and stand and walk around throughout the day without my watch pinging me at 10 til the hour every hour. I’m probably in the best shape I’ve been in, and feel great.
I’m not saying everyone needs to ditch fitness trackers - especially those that aren’t as obsessed as I was - but I do think it’s worth trying, if for no other reason than to disconnect from technology in an age where we are constantly connected. The idea behind fitness trackers is that we’ll move more if we’re reminded or working toward a goal or competing with friends, which can be true, but I would argue that’s not a sustainable approach and focuses on short-term wins rather than long-term lifestyle changes that are needed in order to live a long, healthy life. We need to focus more on finding ways to move that feel good and serve us in the stage we’re currently in, rather than constantly working to get a (let’s face it) meaningless badge or move more than our friends did that day. Learning how to be in tune with your body is not something that comes naturally for many of us, and these fitness trackers can encourage us to ignore our body and focus on external validation rather than what’s actually good for us.