{"id":55904,"date":"2017-02-06T11:15:12","date_gmt":"2017-02-06T16:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=55904"},"modified":"2017-02-06T11:24:23","modified_gmt":"2017-02-06T16:24:23","slug":"fitness-tracking-possible-track-too-much","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/tech\/fitness-tracking-possible-track-too-much\/","title":{"rendered":"Is It Possible That You’re Tracking Too Much?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Are
Photo: Twenty20<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you\u2019re looking to lose weight<\/a> or boost your endurance, there\u2019s a tool out there that\u2019s begging to help you reach your goals. From phone apps<\/a> to wearable devices<\/a>, it\u2019s possible to track every aspect of your existence these days. But all this measuring can be too much of a good thing.<\/p>\n

Double-tap if you\u2019ve been here before: You diligently enter every ingredient of your smoothie<\/a>, salad and stir-fry \u2014 only to be kept up at night ruminating whether you correctly entered that heaping tablespoon of almond butter into your calorie count. For some, tracking can bring out the worst in us, including our obsessive-compulsive tendencies and their passive aggressive cousin. (You know, the one that thinks, \u201cMy Fitbit has no idea<\/em> what kind of day I\u2019ve had. I just don\u2019t feel like walking to the other end of the parking lot.\u201d)<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>The Surprising Reason You’re Not Losing Weight<\/a><\/p>\n

What’s more: New research<\/a> published in the Journal of the American Medical Association<\/em> finds that too much tracking might even sabotage long-term weight loss goals<\/a>. But why? Read on to find out what and how much\u00a0to keep tracking \u2014 and what\u2019s OK to let fall by the wayside.<\/p>\n

The Curse of the Nudge<\/h2>\n

In the study, researchers followed 471 adults ages 18 to 35 over 24 months and found that those assigned a \u201cwearable technology device\u201d lost less weight than those who didn\u2019t. \u201cWe were surprised because we thought it would make a difference,\u201d says co-author Renee J. Rogers, Ph.D., director of the Physical Activity and Weight Management Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh. \u201cHaving an electronic tool that would give you real-time feedback seems like a good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trackers are indeed helpful to understand how many calories you\u2019re burning<\/a> so you can tinker with your diet or adjust your fitness routine. The problem, says Rogers, is that all those gentle reminders designed to be motivating can quickly become discouraging. \u201cWhat happens when you get a notification at 8:30 p.m. that you\u2019re only halfway to your exercise goal for the day? When are you going to get those extra steps?\u201d says Rogers. \u201cWhen is this prompting going to help you?\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> How to Make Better Use of Your Tracking Data<\/a><\/p>\n

In other words, if you\u2019re being constantly reminded of what you\u2019re not <\/em>doing, it\u2019s tempting to want to tune out such notifications \u2014 or chuck your tracker completely.<\/p>\n

Trackers also don\u2019t take into account the ups and downs of real life. \u201cThe technology is limited,\u201d says Rogers. \u201cAll it knows is to tell you how many steps you need each day<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

But not all hope is lost. Check out our tips on how to reap the benefits of self-monitoring \u2014 without going insane.<\/p>\n

5 Tips to\u00a0Make Tracking Work for You<\/h2>\n

1. Use trackers as teaching tools.<\/h3>\n

“At the end of the day, we\u2019re not machines. We\u2019re people.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Want to know what a serving of quinoa looks like? Or how long it takes to cycle 20 miles outside of a spinning studio<\/a>? Trackers are incredibly useful to gain a quick learning curve. But they shouldn\u2019t be electronic leashes. \u201cI encourage my clients to use them for a couple of weeks,\u201d says Jennifer Gibson, head of nutrition for the personalized coaching app Vida Health. \u201cThat\u2019s long enough to give people a sense of what they need to do. If you need to cut back on calories, these trackers can help you understand what 250 calories looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Mix in other kinds of low-tech tracking.<\/h3>\n

Remember food diaries, like the kind you wrote down on actual paper? Such tried-and-true tools can help you stay accountable when keeping up with your fancy electronic tracker becomes too tedious. (We’re also loving the Bullet Journal<\/a> trend, if getting crafty is your thing.) Or, take photos of your meals to give you a visual snapshot of what you\u2019re eating. \u201cIt helps people see their portion sizes,\u201d Gibson says.\u00a0By integrating other kinds of information, you\u2019ll realize how trackers offer just one snapshot of your health.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>15 Genius Meal Prep Ideas from Top Trainers<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Focus on enjoying exercise rather than meeting quotas.<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s so easy to get caught up in the details of your device that you forget to have fun. \u201cThe motivation to stick to your fitness routine has to come from the inside out,\u201d explains David Zulberg, fitness coach and author of The Mind Body Synergy \u201cDiet.\u201d<\/em> \u201cWe get so focused thinking \u2018I need to do this amount of exercise\u2019 that we\u2019re concentrating on external things. At the end of the day, we\u2019re not machines. We\u2019re people.\u201d The bottom line: When you enjoy doing something, you\u2019re more likely to make it a habit.<\/p>\n

4. Don\u2019t get stuck on steps.<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re wearing a device that calculates steps, you might forget there are other kinds of exercise out there. Gibson\u2019s husband became so focused on meeting his daily step quota that he gave up his high-intensity workouts<\/a> in favor of lower-intensity routines in which he could log more steps. \u201cHe would skip his spin classes to fit in more steps because he was in a competition with his friends, and his cholesterol crept up,\u201d she says. As soon as he incorporated aerobic exercise back into his routine, his cholesterol<\/a> came back down. Moral of the story: Don\u2019t lose sight of what you <\/em>need to do for your big-picture health.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>Is 10,000 Steps a Day Really the Secret to Better Health?<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Trust your gut.<\/h3>\n

When it comes to food, there\u2019s something to be said for cultivating an awareness of your body\u2019s internal cues. Promise, you won\u2019t (and shouldn\u2019t have to) measure out every serving of quinoa for the rest of your life. Eventually, you\u2019ll just know how much you should eat by how it feels in your body. That means logging off your tracker every once in a while so you don\u2019t become too dependent on it, says Zulberg. And if you feel full, don\u2019t keep eating because you already accounted for the calories. \u201cThe key to weight loss is getting back in touch with your natural instincts and re-programming your habits<\/a>,\u201d he says. \u201cYou want to change your approach to food and not just calculate numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We can track our steps, snacks and sleep. But too much monitoring can backfire. Learn how to find balance between technology and common sense. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":55938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,25,10,16],"tags":[287,288,322,133,104,103,108,341,421,167,283,319,285],"class_list":["post-55904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apps","category-gear-gadgets","category-tech","category-tracking","tag-apps","tag-cardio","tag-gadget","tag-gear","tag-goals","tag-motivation","tag-running","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2health-tech","tag-technology","tag-tracking","tag-walking","tag-weight-loss"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55904\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}