Did you know that people who track their physical activity are more successful at losing weight?? A fitness device like FitBit, Jawbone, or FuelBand could be exactly what you need to support your weight loss goals. Some wearable devices are trackers on steroids — monitoring your workouts, counting calories, evaluating your sleep, and tracking your progress as you slim down.

You can use your device to see how close you get to your target goal each day, or if you crushed it! Or, set a smaller, shorter-term goal so you’ll feel successful right away. Doing so will help you to stay focused. Most devices have a feature that sends reminders to move if you’ve been sitting too long, an excellent way to give yourself a jolt.

Remember, some devices are less accurate at tracking certain exercises, such as strength training, yoga or biking, so you’ll need to record them differently. Most fitness devices let you enter the info into your tracker’s app manually — the type of exercise, how long you did it, and how hard you pushed yourself.

Even if you are an established exerciser, the fitness tracker can help you. I first began using a tracker about 3 years ago when I was conducting a fitness challenge at work.  After the challenge I kept using the tracker to manage my physical activity in the winter.  During the summer, with its longer days and warmer weather, I was active most of the time, walking the dog, biking, hiking and working in the yard.  Even with a regular gym schedule, some outdoor activity and, of course, dog walking, I found my activity level to be a bit lower in the winter.  My tracker helped me to see how much lower and balance my food intake and physical activity much more effectively.

One caveat:  don’t let the device rule your world.  If you spend too much time obsessing over your stats, watching your device, or sacrificing quality of life to meet the demands of your tracker, it might be time to take it off for awhile.  All things in moderation…

Andrea Groth Wellbeing Detective

Andrea wants to live in a world where the neighborhoods are walkable, bike lanes are plentiful, and the food is fresh, delicious and readily available.

A 20-year veteran of the health and wellness industry, she started her career in the fitness industry while earning a master’s degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion, and then on to the burgeoning field of worksite wellness. Andrea has competed in collegiate level soccer, worked as a personal trainer, fitness instructor, wellness coach, and master trainer, climbed 14ers, and completed cycling centuries and metric centuries. All of these experiences give her the opportunity to view well-being from many different perspectives.
When she’s not helping others to be their healthiest self, you can find her at a farm to table restaurant, down dogging at the yoga studio, or experiencing the Colorado landscape on a bicycle, snowshoes, cross country skis or on foot.