What I Learned From Tracking My Health Data for a Month

A little over a month ago, I returned to a daily routine that I had been in and out of for over a decade: I started paying increased attention to my “health data,” tracking my workouts, rest, and calories on my Apple Watch. login and logout in the app, as well as my weight and body composition on the smart scale. I’ve enjoyed doing this kind of thing, off and on, throughout my adult life because it gives me a sense of insight and control, but this time I was wondering if I was spending all day, every day, thinking about my “health” . “It was really, well, great .

Here’s what I learned after another month of data crunching and several conversations with experts.

Workout Tracking: Pros and Cons

What I’m using: Apple Watch Series 8 ($299.99).

The main function I use my new Apple Watch for is tracking my workouts. I teach cycling, so I have good reason to question how effective my classes are since other people are paying to come to them. Beyond that, I just want to really know what I’m actually accomplishing when I spend an hour on the elliptical, half-consciously moving my legs while I enjoy watching Gossip Girl Episode 14.

This has been my most useful tracking attempt so far, because while we know the calories burned data can be a little sketchy , it still helps me visualize (very roughly) how much energy I’ve used up and when I’m likely to be use it. up the most. I do my best when I gamify everyday aspects of my life, so “closing the rings”—that is, completing activity, exercise, and ongoing goals for the day and seeing it reflected in a little icon on my watch—is very motivating for me. Whether I actually burn the 400 calories on the exercise bike that my watch claims doesn’t matter, because without the prospect of no rings to push me at night when I’m feeling tired, I probably won’t do it at all.

Teddy Savage, lead national trainer at Planet Fitness, agrees that wearables or workout tracking apps “add tremendous value to any fitness journey.” In addition to tracking metrics like heart rate or calories burned, he says, using them can increase personal accountability, help you track progress and celebrate milestones, and set achievable goals that will keep you in touch with your “why.” This was definitely true for me. After about a week of tracking my workouts and daily activities, I noticed that I could easily do more, so I increased my daily movement and exercise goals, which made the rings harder to close.

However, there are also disadvantages. As Savage says, “Sometimes overanalyzing can lead to running through quicksand because you start chasing numbers rather than the tangible benefits that you can “feel” that are the most important reasons for moving your body. Charting a path forward by tracking your progress can be very helpful as long as you don’t get lost by focusing too much on the numbers and not enough on your mojo.” I’m guilty of this here too: when I gamify my activities, I do it for the reward of closing rings and getting little “rewards” from my apps. Yes, to do these things I need to engage in healthy activities, but that’s not really my goal when I do them. Healthy foods are a means to an end, and the goal makes my numbers go up, up, up.

Calorie Tracking: Pros and Cons

What I use: MyFitnessPal (free, with in-app purchases)

I used to recommend MyFitnessPal because of its ease of use in tracking the number of calories (or, if you pay for the upgraded version, various macros and nutrients) you eat each day. I first downloaded it in 2012 when I first went on a “fitness journey”, but looking back I realize that I was actually on a short-sighted “weight loss journey” and didn’t care much about my overall health nearly as much as much as me. about my general appearance. I carefully tracked my diet to the point that I clearly remember a friend getting upset because I recorded my intake of one saltine cracker, and that should be enough to point out the two main problems with this kind of data tracking: first. This only works if you actually write down every bite you eat, but secondly, it’s easy to get carried away and develop a deeply unhealthy relationship with food.

Laura Silver , a Brooklyn-based nutritionist who often works with people who fall into the second category, says that while research shows that such tracking can lead to better eating habits and greater accountability, it’s not ideal in many other ways. At the very least, it’s nearly impossible to determine whether the food you’re logging actually meets the nutritional requirements in the app. Let’s look at all the sizes, cuts, and ways to prepare the humble chicken breast. Even if you weigh your food and take into account what you prepared it with, you can’t be sure that the calories and nutrients you actually consumed are reflected in the amount the app says you ate. At worst, you may become obsessive, which leaves no room for a healthy relationship with food or understanding of how your body works. As Silver points out, if you allocate 2,000 calories a day to yourself on the app, you’re making the incorrect assumption that your body will “reboot” at midnight, requiring another 2,000 calories between 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. You’re on your period to fight off a cold, this can affect how much you actually need, and it’s not as linear as the 24-hour application cycle makes it seem. When you restrict too many calories, she adds, your body begins to adapt, learns to function on fewer calories, and your weight loss stalls. If you’ve clicked “obsess” with your tracking, you can then dig deeper.

Ultimately, she advises, “We are not machines.” Bodies are not as easy to define in numbers and absolutes as they seem in applications. I’d be throwing stones out of a glass house if I advised you to avoid tracking food with an app altogether, but at least think about why you want to do it before you start. If you want to carefully record when you tend to eat certain types and amounts of food, make better food choices, and visualize your habits, these apps are good, science-based tools. Otherwise, however, consider talking to an expert, be it a nutritionist like Silver or a trainer like Savage, to determine your body’s unique needs and how being conscious about your diet can help (or hinder) your personal goals. Silver, for example, is an advocate of intuitive eating rather than compulsive tracking.

As for me, after another month of MFP specials, I think I’ll give it up. This week I felt the urge to write down a single Ferrero-Rocher candy after eating it, which momentarily took the fun out of my Christmas cheer. The whole point of data tracking is to become better; Reducing your chocolate confectionery intake by 72 calories may be a way to preserve your nutritional supply, but it’s not a way to stay happy, so it’s not really a path to real improvement at all.

Weight Tracking: Pros and Cons

What I use: iHealth Nexus smart scale ($39.99).

My relationship with this device is controversial. The day I unpacked it, I jumped on it, wanting to get information on not only my weight, but also my BMI, body fat percentage, body water percentage, muscle mass, and bone mass, and immediately enter that information to my Apple Health. and various other tracking apps that the scale easily syncs with. I reminded myself that BMI is not a bad indicator of overall health and that research has shown that, despite all the hype, these numbers are not always very accurate at measuring body composition . However, I was demoralized by my results on all seven dimensions. To be clear, the data I received on the first night left me horrified, which doesn’t really help the situation. Silver cautions against calorie-tracking apps because it’s easy to stop using them once that first burst of determination wears off or you start to feel bad about something. The same can be said about smart scales. After I stopped moping, I vowed to show the scale who’s boss and work hard to achieve better results in future measurements. This kind of thinking is unsustainable; It’s much better to have measured, long-term goals that promote your own improvement rather than beating a machine or reaching a certain number.

In the weeks I’ve been using it, I’ve stopped paying attention to body composition stats altogether, realizing that they’re most likely garbage and just another number to obsess over. This definitely reduces most of the device’s usefulness, but not all. I also began to resist the urge to constantly weigh myself, knowing that weight fluctuates throughout the day depending on a number of factors . Now I do this once in the morning, and this is where the only real advantage of smart scales comes in: not only does it share my data with the apps I’ve given permission to, but it also creates a little graph for me to track my weight changes. over time. I’m a visual person, so I really like it. Little changes from day to day, but over the course of a week or month, the drop or upward turn of the line becomes more significant. If anything, the smart scale reminds me that change and better health are long-term events made up of small changes in habits. It took me weeks to come up with this motivational outlook after my disastrous first night with the machine, so if you’re thinking of starting to track your weight (or other metrics) this way, keep this in mind.

Savage says the same thing: “Smart scales allow you to put all the pieces of the puzzle together to get a clearer picture of the bigger picture when it comes to weight management.”

Monthly tracking data in review

After spending four weeks with my devices and daily routine, the following definitely happened:

• I started paying more attention to the nutritional value of food.

• I’ve lost a little weight.

• I was more consistent in going to the gym or riding Peloton.

• I forced myself to walk more and take the bus less.

• I got too caught up in the numbers game and had to remind myself to relax.

I recommend tracking data if you want to visualize your habits and behaviors and then make meaningful changes based on your new ideas, but not if you easily get caught up in minutiae, obsessions, or quick dopamine hits. achieving a daily goal without worrying about long-term progress. Honestly, these things make it too easy to get carried away if you’re not careful. I continue to use the watch and the scale (although I ignore most of what the scale says about me), but will probably delete MyFitnessPal. If you plan to install some tracking software or hardware of your own, consider keeping a log with it and tracking how you feel after a workout, after dinner, and after using the devices. Save your data details! And if you have negative feelings about any of this, re-evaluate and consider getting rid of anything you don’t like. Being more aware of your body and habits is great, but feeling like you need to write down everything you consume or go to the gym on a day when you just don’t have time is not.

“Fitness is about making exercise personalized and enjoyable,” Savage says. “The more you learn about yourself, the more you can create the most beneficial and holistic training program for both your physical and mental health. As you add wearables and fitness apps to your routine and track data, it’s important to remind yourself that numbers should only be viewed as breadcrumbs that will lead you to the next step in your fitness journey, and should never become the end goal. be all your efforts and successes.”

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