When it comes down to it, weight loss is about two things: the energy you take in (food) and the energy you expend (exercise). Tracking that energy expenditure to ensure it’s enough in comparison to your caloric intake is an essential part of any effective weight loss journey. While it might initially seem a bit cumbersome to record your daily fitness, if you’re diligent the benefits will quickly become apparent. Read on for the main ways a fitness tracker, like the one offered by weight loss and wellness program Noom, can help you reach your goals.
Constant Motivation
When you’re trying to lose weight, results aren’t always as obvious or quick as you might like. If you’re diligent about the work you put in, though, small but important changes are happening all the time. Recording your exercise will allow you to see where you’re growing both in the short term and over a longer period of time. By tracking your fitness, you’ll be able to see a real-time record of how and where you’re improving in comparison to previous workouts — whether that’s more reps, heavier weights, a longer run, or a quicker pace. If you start to feel down about your progress, a surefire way to make yourself feel better is to simply look at where you were a few months ago. If you were able to make those changes, after all, chances are pretty good that you will continue to develop.
Quick Accountability
Staying on track with a workout plan isn’t easy, but the quick reminders provided by an online fitness tracker offered by a program like Noom can help you keep moving toward your goals even when your instinct might be to skip the day’s exercise. While the way most of us are attached to our phones isn’t wholly positive, that constant contact with our devices does offer some real benefits pertaining to fitness and weight loss — namely, that it’s tough to miss those virtual notifications and reminders as they pop up. “Forgetting” about a scheduled workout is one thing if you can convince yourself that you didn’t know you were missing it, but passively skipping out on your plan becomes a little more difficult when there’s a reminder right there on your phone. Hey, if a mild guilt trip via iPhone is what it takes to keep you on your fitness game, so be it!
Individualized Goals
Having an easily accessible record of all your past workouts isn’t just good for reflecting on how far you’ve come. Looking back is a great way to look ahead to where you’re going, as it allows you to set goals that are based on actual data. Instead of just picking a length of run or number of reps that sounds good to you, take a few minutes to browse through your records. This will help you figure out a goal that’s not too ambitious, but also not too easy. While it’s important that you push yourself, it’s just as important that you set yourself up for success — especially when you’re just starting out. Consistently failing to reach a goal can (understandably) be discouraging, and looking back at the fitness data you’ve been keeping track of over time will ensure that you don’t set your aims unattainably high. Personal goal setting is also important because it gives you a sense of power and investment in your own process. While a professional trainer would certainly be capable of setting a goal for you, there’s something about being the one who chooses and is in control of your aspirations that is empowering. Using Noom’s fitness tracker to set personal goals makes this possible even if you don’t have any sort of formal training or experience.
Targeted Focus
Let’s face it: When you’re just beginning, working out is hard, and not just physically. As a newcomer, your confidence can be low, especially when it feels like everyone else in the gym knows what they’re doing. And when you’re not feeling secure in yourself, the easiest and most natural place to go is to that devil known as comparison. But with a fitness tracker, instead of paying attention to what everyone else is doing, it’s easier to focus inward and concentrate on your goals, rather than on the woman two treadmills down. Once you’ve decided on a goal, a fitness tracker allows you to carefully track your progress toward it. If you know you’re doing what you set out to do, it’s easier to avoid the voice in your head that’s urging you to watch other people or imagine what they might be thinking of you. (Take it from us, they’re worrying about themselves, just like you!)
This article is sponsored by Noom as part of a paid partnership.
