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 itâs 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 youâre 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 youâre trying to lose weight, results arenât always as obvious or quick as you might like. If youâre 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 youâre growing both in the short term and over a longer period of time. By tracking your fitness, youâll be able to see a real-time record of how and where youâre improving in comparison to previous workouts â whether thatâs 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 isnât 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 dayâs exercise. While the way most of us are attached to our phones isnât wholly positive, that constant contact with our devices does offer some real benefits pertaining to fitness and weight loss â namely, that itâs tough to miss those virtual notifications and reminders as they pop up. âForgettingâ about a scheduled workout is one thing if you can convince yourself that you didnât know you were missing it, but passively skipping out on your plan becomes a little more difficult when thereâs 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 isnât just good for reflecting on how far youâve come. Looking back is a great way to look ahead to where youâre 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 thatâs not too ambitious, but also not too easy. While itâs important that you push yourself, itâs just as important that you set yourself up for success â especially when youâre just starting out. Consistently failing to reach a goal can (understandably) be discouraging, and looking back at the fitness data youâve been keeping track of over time will ensure that you donât 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, thereâs something about being the one who chooses and is in control of your aspirations that is empowering. Using Noomâs fitness tracker to set personal goals makes this possible even if you donât have any sort of formal training or experience.
Targeted Focus
Letâs face it: When youâre 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 theyâre doing. And when youâre 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, itâs easier to focus inward and concentrate on your goals, rather than on the woman two treadmills down. Once youâve decided on a goal, a fitness tracker allows you to carefully track your progress toward it. If you know youâre doing what you set out to do, itâs easier to avoid the voice in your head thatâs urging you to watch other people or imagine what they might be thinking of you. (Take it from us, theyâre worrying about themselves, just like you!)
 This article is sponsored by Noom as part of a paid partnership.