The Sassonomics Guide to Fitness Part 2 – Do Fitness Tracker Apps Really Work?
Part of the Sassonomics Guide to Fitness Series. Ever wanted to know if those fitness tracker apps actually help get you to your goal? Let’s take a look!
I would wager that everyone one of us has had moments in our lives where we are SUPER COMMITTED to working out and eating right, and moments where that enthusiasm fizzles. Unfortunately, consistency is what leads to the best health, fitness and weight loss outcomes, so our motivational swings are more of a nuisance.
But there is a simple thing that helps us keep committed towards a goal: monitoring our progress with a fitness tracker app.
Does Monitoring With a Fitness Tracker App Actually Work?
Research in Psychology has found that tracking progress towards a goal improves behaviours that support that goal – and therefore supports the likelihood of attaining the goal.
A meta-analysis on goal achievement (a meta-analysis is a kind of big study of all the literature on one topic that aggregates existing research so you can see what multiple studies have found all together) shows that the more frequently progress is tracked, the more likely there will be success.
If only this worked
Researchers found an important distinction in goal achievement tracking: monitoring the behaviour change versus monitoring the outcome. Here’s an example. Let’s say your goal is to lose weight through running (which seems logical). You start tracking your running. Doing so will improve your commitment to running, but not necessarily lead to losing weight (you can easily offset calories lost on a run with consuming an extra donut). Bottom line: track the outcome you want to change.
What are some fitness-related outcomes that you could measure with a fitness tracker app?
- Weight
- BMI
- Your measurements
- Clothing size
Here’s another accelerator – progress is more likely to happen when monitoring occurs publicly. For example, being in a weight loss Facebook group, or having someone you report to about progress. BUT be careful! Make sure to do so in an environment that won’t prompt feelings of shame or discouragement. Luckily, self-weighing (in private) has not been found to relate to any negative psychological outcomes (like feeling depressed, anxious, etc.), so if you can’t find the right group with which to share, monitoring yourself at least poses little risk to your psychological well-being.
Bottom line: supersize your gains by making your tracking public.
You might be asking yourself if monitoring is so effective in helping people towards goals, why isn’t everyone doing it all the time?
Ah, yes. The gap between what one could have tracked and what one didn’t track… it has a name. It’s called the Ostrich Problem. There is a tendency to avoid or reject information that would help monitor progress, and in turn help with self-regulation towards a goal. Researchers have a suggested an explanation for this – the person might be having some internal conflict between wanting to achieve a goal (ex. weight loss) and wanting to protect their self-esteem (i.e., feeling bad about not losing weight). I think we can all relate to standing on the weight scale and thinking “OH MY GOODNESS” and not in a good way.
Let’s learn to take back control
There are two different ‘strategies’ to get information about your progress: active monitoring (i.e. recording in an exercise log) or passive monitoring (i.e. information kind of just finds its way to you – like your pants fit looser). The idea here is that even though it might be cheap and easy to monitor progress, some people just don’t. And the reason could be to protect themselves from feeling bad. Unfortunately, it can really harpoon our goals.
How can you avoid the Ostrich Problem?
- Take the long view. Think about the longer-term goal and the journey, rather than just the results of your monitoring today. Progress is very rarely linear. It’s nothing to beat yourself up over!
- Be careful of the stories you tell yourself. One tiny piece of evidence of failure (i.e., a setback!!!) can feel bad, but be careful you don’t extrapolate that evidence into a story of failure, or that you can’t lose any more weight, it's impossible, etc. Question the story you are telling yourself and ask if maybe it’s more reasonable to assume you are on the right track, and the data will be there to back that up in general.
- Encourage others. What would you say to a friend who was beating themselves up? Probably not the same unkind things you’d say to yourself. You can get a sense of showing yourself the same grace by showing it to other people in the first place. So get out there and encourage a friend!
What Are The Best Fitness Tracker Apps?
My Fitness Pal
I tried this app and I really liked it! You can track a whole manner of things – calories, exercise, bodily functions, etc. The food journaling is really easy on this platform. You can sync it with your devices for more accurate tracking. You can also make it social and join communities.
Strava
Working on iOS and Android, this is a great app to track running or cycling, and sharing that data with your friends.
Nike Training Club
Excellent community features, and great encouraging messaging, I really liked using the Nike Training app. There are also classes on there, and extra features for paid members. There are good free features on this app that provide an excellent experience!
Foodility
Food and exercise tracking – but done simple. This platform acts like a great fitness journal, keeping track of everything in one place.
Apps, Apps, Apps! Do they work?
So we know the psychological reasons why fitness tracking works, so do fitness apps actually work?
Research says yes. Fitness apps help to promote positive behavioural change. Research has found that current app users tend to be more active than non-app users or former app users, and are more likely to exercise in their leisure time.
I couldn’t find anything about outcomes (i.e., do people who use fitness apps lose more weight?) which features are most effective for who, etc. So if you are a researcher in this area, let me know. But everyone seems to be in agreement that fitness apps can help make exercise accessible and has the potential to lead to behaviour change if used properly.
How I Track My Fitness
My friend and I have a private group where we message our ‘outcomes’ to each other and encourage each other to keep going. Outcomes I measure include weight and measurements. I also post my daily exercise there. I find it very encouraging!
What we haven’t tracked yet is calories. I’m feeling a bit too Ostrich for that one, after having some rough times tracking calories for skating. And you know what, I’m okay with that, because I’m determined to keep this process positive for me. To each their own!
My Next Three Tips for Fitness Success in 2021:
4. Set a goal – and be deliberate if you want it to be behaviour-based or outcome-based.
5. Track your progress. Pick a method to do so that you’ll stick to (fitness journal, app, group, etc.).
6. Share your progress. And be kind to yourself about it all. It’s a marathon (perhaps literally) not a sprint (but… you might find yourself sprinting? This metaphor is breaking down!).
With sweat,
