What did you do with your Christmas money?
Everyone usually gets some Christmas money. And the big question is “how do I spend it”. Fitness for some of us is our only hobby. We buy equipment, gadgets, and gym memberships. You’ve been thinking about the newest gadget. A fitness tracker, but what kind. You agonized whether you wanted to wear a fitness tracker on your wrist or arm and over its color, you ordered it, you anticipated its arrival, the box arrived, you opened it with excitement and put it on. Now what?
First try it on for size. The first week you have a tracker, don’t exercise.It may seem weird, but don’t jump into a new routine. Instead, just wear the device and do what you normally do. That’s how you get your baseline — a snapshot of how much activity you typically get. It may be less than you expect. That’s OK. Knowing your baseline is your first step toward improving it. Keep your baseline.
Now that you know your starting point, it’s time to get moving. Set a reasonable goal. Your fitness device might have a default goal — often 10,000 steps a day. If your baseline is 3,500 steps a day, that goal is too high. Instead, add 200 to 300 steps a day to increase your week’s total by 2,000. That’s an increase of about a mile a week. Keep building up that way until you get to 10,000.
When you look at calories burned, a reasonable goal is to increase by 250 calories a day. You can get that from 30 minutes of mild to moderate exercise. Or you could burn that amount doing some extra moving during the day. Grocery shopping for an hour burns about 100 calories an hour for a 175-pound person. Mopping for an hour burns almost 200 calories. You could have the cleanest floors in town and lose weight at the same time!
If you need more sleep, a reachable sleep goal is to go to bed earlier in 15-minute increments. Stay on track, and you’ll keep dropping and the amount should average out over time.
Get the message. Create a positive feedback loop. Your tracker gives you feedback on your activity constantly — either on the device or on your phone or computer.
Pay attention to how the numbers make you feel. On a day when you walk 1,000 more steps than usual, you may notice you feel great. You’ll want that good feeling again the next day. That’s how fitness trackers reinforce good behavior and drive you forward. Plus, your device will motivate you with online points and fun badges when you hit certain step or distance milestones or other achievements. Relish the moment!
Certain devices let you set goals. If you accept push notifications, you can also get notes to tell you how close you are to the target you’ve set. Talk about motivation!
Be ready to go. Transform wasted time into steps. Once you’re aware of your steps, the most boring parts of your day become an opportunity. On hold with customer service? Pace your house. Waiting for your kid to get out of violin class? Walk instead of sitting.
Write it down. If your goal is to lose weight, using a food tracker app will help you succeed. You can look on your device’s web site to see what’s compatible, or if you have a site you already use, you can check there, too. Tracking your food lets you compare how many calories you’re eating each day compared to how many you’re burning. Remember, to lose 1 pound a week, you need to create a 500-calorie deficit each day. The best way to do this is by eating a little less and moving a little more. Let’s say your goal is to burn 250 more calories a day. If you also set a goal to eat 250 fewer calories a day, you’ve done the work to drop about a pound a week.
That’s an average. Your body doesn’t always react like clockwork. You can follow these guidelines and gain a pound one week, or stay the same, or drop 2 pounds! Stick with it and your losses will average out over time.
Dive deep into your data. Go beyond the obvious numbers. Check out some of the nifty charts and graphs on your device’s app or site. For instance, some apps show your activity throughout the day, revealing times when you’re very inactive. If you’re usually watching TV at that time, use that as motivation to work in a little activity while you watch your favorite show.
You can share data on the web site with friends who have the same devices. With some sites, you see a weekly ranking of who’s ahead. The more friends you have there, the more fun it is to compete. Get others interested in doing what you do. All of you will stay motivated.
Fitness trackers aren’t just about physical activity. Some show how your exercise is connected to everything else — like your diet and sleep. If your don’t getting 8 hours sleep your body doesn’t have enough time to regenerate. You won’t lose weight.
A fitness tracker can change your life, it will keep you organized. Look for the connection between exercise and food, that’s the key. “I noticed on weeks when I hit 14,000 steps a day, I always lost weight regardless of what I ate.” So I upped my step target. “It’s a lot easier for me to go for an extra walk than avoid a chocolate bar.”
You can also use the tracker for sleep. Proper amount of sleep is important to losing weight.
When you want to get heathy and lose weight or just feel better and don’t know were to start, think about a fitness tracker. There’s hundreds of different kinds, maybe that’s a little much, but look at a website like Amazon and you’ll see what I mean. Make sure your buying the right one for you.
First try it on for size. The first week you have a tracker, don’t exercise.It may seem weird, but don’t jump into a new routine. Instead, just wear the device and do what you normally do. That’s how you get your baseline — a snapshot of how much activity you typically get. It may be less than you expect. That’s OK. Knowing your baseline is your first step toward improving it. Keep your baseline.
Now that you know your starting point, it’s time to get moving. Set a reasonable goal. Your fitness device might have a default goal — often 10,000 steps a day. If your baseline is 3,500 steps a day, that goal is too high. Instead, add 200 to 300 steps a day to increase your week’s total by 2,000. That’s an increase of about a mile a week. Keep building up that way until you get to 10,000.
When you look at calories burned, a reasonable goal is to increase by 250 calories a day. You can get that from 30 minutes of mild to moderate exercise. Or you could burn that amount doing some extra moving during the day. Grocery shopping for an hour burns about 100 calories an hour for a 175-pound person. Mopping for an hour burns almost 200 calories. You could have the cleanest floors in town and lose weight at the same time!
If you need more sleep, a reachable sleep goal is to go to bed earlier in 15-minute increments. Stay on track, and you’ll keep dropping and the amount should average out over time.
Get the message. Create a positive feedback loop. Your tracker gives you feedback on your activity constantly — either on the device or on your phone or computer.
Pay attention to how the numbers make you feel. On a day when you walk 1,000 more steps than usual, you may notice you feel great. You’ll want that good feeling again the next day. That’s how fitness trackers reinforce good behavior and drive you forward. Plus, your device will motivate you with online points and fun badges when you hit certain step or distance milestones or other achievements. Relish the moment!
Certain devices let you set goals. If you accept push notifications, you can also get notes to tell you how close you are to the target you’ve set. Talk about motivation!
Be ready to go. Transform wasted time into steps. Once you’re aware of your steps, the most boring parts of your day become an opportunity. On hold with customer service? Pace your house. Waiting for your kid to get out of violin class? Walk instead of sitting.
Write it down. If your goal is to lose weight, using a food tracker app will help you succeed. You can look on your device’s web site to see what’s compatible, or if you have a site you already use, you can check there, too. Tracking your food lets you compare how many calories you’re eating each day compared to how many you’re burning. Remember, to lose 1 pound a week, you need to create a 500-calorie deficit each day. The best way to do this is by eating a little less and moving a little more. Let’s say your goal is to burn 250 more calories a day. If you also set a goal to eat 250 fewer calories a day, you’ve done the work to drop about a pound a week.
That’s an average. Your body doesn’t always react like clockwork. You can follow these guidelines and gain a pound one week, or stay the same, or drop 2 pounds! Stick with it and your losses will average out over time.
Dive deep into your data. Go beyond the obvious numbers. Check out some of the nifty charts and graphs on your device’s app or site. For instance, some apps show your activity throughout the day, revealing times when you’re very inactive. If you’re usually watching TV at that time, use that as motivation to work in a little activity while you watch your favorite show.
You can share data on the web site with friends who have the same devices. With some sites, you see a weekly ranking of who’s ahead. The more friends you have there, the more fun it is to compete. Get others interested in doing what you do. All of you will stay motivated.
Fitness trackers aren’t just about physical activity. Some show how your exercise is connected to everything else — like your diet and sleep. If your don’t getting 8 hours sleep your body doesn’t have enough time to regenerate. You won’t lose weight.
A fitness tracker can change your life, it will keep you organized. Look for the connection between exercise and food, that’s the key. “I noticed on weeks when I hit 14,000 steps a day, I always lost weight regardless of what I ate.” So I upped my step target. “It’s a lot easier for me to go for an extra walk than avoid a chocolate bar.”
You can also use the tracker for sleep. Proper amount of sleep is important to losing weight.
When you want to get heathy and lose weight or just feel better and don’t know were to start, think about a fitness tracker. There’s hundreds of different kinds, maybe that’s a little much, but look at a website like Amazon and you’ll see what I mean. Make sure your buying the right one for you.
Comments