Game Changers-Accountability Through Fitness Tracking Devices

Being unhealthy is not as much an informationproblem, as it is a motivation problem. By changing how and what you think about, you have the ability to change your life! If you just learn what to do, you have only added to list of things you already know you "should" be doing. Don't "should" on yourself! It is time to change the way you play the game.

Learning more about what is actually happening to your body, on a day to day, moment to moment basis, can be just the motivation needed to make the critical difference. There are many products available to help you track your health and fitness, so many that it can be overwhelming.

One basic product would be a pedometer. These devises are simple, cheap and effective. They track the number of steps you take. The recommendation for good health is 10,000 steps a day. Most people fall quite short of this goal. The pedometer provides valuable feedback, by creating an awareness of your daily movement. You can then begin to track your progress and make real-time choices based on that information.

Another tool would be a heart rate monitor. These can be used to determine if you are working in your target heart rate zone as well as assessing your recovery heart rate. Knowing this information can push you to work smarter not harder. Heart rate monitoring is important for making improvement in the way your heart and lungs function. This affects your endurance and stamina.

Products such as the BodyBugg and fitbit are comfortable, convenient, continuous body-monitoring products that can measure physical activity and calories burned with a high level of accuracy. Different from the pedometer, these are lifestyle and calorie management systems.

What are these contraptions, and are they worth it? As one user stated, “Absolutely, it is worth it! It is not super cheap, but the long term cost of extending your life IS worth it.” When you consider the other things you spend money on such as haircuts, manicures, tanning, eating out, and health and beauty products, the price of $100 to $300 is not that unreasonable IF you use it to change your life.

How do they work? Well, you wear them as an armband or clipped to your clothes. They have sensors that gather information and measure the calories you are burning. This allows you to see the number of hours you are sedentary and active, which can be sobering information. The devise is uploaded to your computer and saved in an online profile.

When you login, you are able to see exactly how many calories you burn during specific activities. It also keeps a running total, making you aware of the number of calories you have burned for the day, along with your number of steps.

You will see how many calories you need to burn to counteract your calorie intake. Knowing how close or how far you are from your goals, allows you to make more plan-focused choices. You are in control and get instant feedback on the results of your choices.

Most people know what to do, but simply don't hold themselves accountable to do it. The instant feedback provided by this kind of technology can make your weight loss and fitness efforts more tangible. You can stay on track without wondering if what you are doing works or not. 

Before you decide to buy one of these devises consider that you need to be consistent. They work best when you take the time to enter your food intake in the on-line menu. If you want to improve your eating habits, it is necessary to keep track of the calories you are eating. It can be time consuming, but knowing the results of your efforts should make it worth it.

On average it takes about 5-15 minutes daily, depending on your speed with the menus. When you eat the same things often, it will become even easier. You can track only exercise or calories burned, but the nutrition aspect gives you the best picture of your progress.

I am currently using the fitbit. At $99 it is an amazing tool that even monitors my quality of sleep. It has been a huge wake-up call for me. You can purchase these online and they come with everything you need to get started. I recommend them to all of my health coaching clients. It allows me to see what is really going on in the client’s situation.

The bottom line is, if you need accountability and something to help you see the fruits of your labor, then I highly recommend you try one of these devises to help you stay on track. The instant feedback and accountability could be the difference that makes all the difference!