The cruel fitbit hoax
“You have done TEN THOUSAND STEPS today, great job!!!!!”
“Your heartrate was in the fat-burning zone for 23 minutes, great job!”
Why is it then that the mirror is not reflecting the image you want to see and your doctor shakes their head when looking over your labwork?
I will tell you why, its because the Fitbit and other fitness trackers have figured out that the way to get rich is to tell people what they want to hear, and what they want to hear is that walking around Walmart instead of using the mobility cart makes them an Olympic athlete. Everyone gets a blue first prize ribbon! Yipee! Fitness trackers have convinced the masses that they are getting "plenty of cardio" which is what they want to hear.
First, don't get me wrong. Fitness trackers are great for overweight people who get winded just walking. Its also great for elderly people. For the rest of us, we do not need an expensive smartphone to tell us what good cardio is because common sense is your guide. I dont care what your heartrate is or what your FitBit says, washing your car is NOT good cardio. Drinking two cans of RedBull gets your heart into the "fat loss zone" but that is not going to help you lose weight. If you are dripping sweat and have trouble talking normally because you are breathing so hard, THAT is good cardio. If you want to get lean and stay lean then "cardio" needs to be a part of your everyday life. Incorporate self-locomotion into everyday life. Walk or ride your bike rather than drive. Hike with friends every Saturday.
REALITY CHECK
THE MIRROR IS ALWAYS RIGHT. I don't care that fitbit claims you are getting great cardio and myfitnesspal claims you are eating at a 20% caloric reduction, if the mirror claims you are not losing weight then YOU ARE NOT. You do not have some disease, you are simply eating too much and not exercising enough.
YOUR DOCTOR IS RIGHT. I don't care if fitbit claims that washing your car is great cardio, if your doctor tells you that you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar then you need to get rid of your fitbit and learn what a healthy lifestyle is.
YOUR BODY IS RIGHT. You do not need a stupid app to tell you how you slept. If you wake up without an alarm refreshed then you slept well - pretty simple. The problem most Americans have is not sleep quality but sleep quantity as we are a nation of the sleep deprived. Turn your alarm off and go to bed early enough that you will naturally wake up when you need to.
Please stop believing the little white lies that your FitBit is telling you and start believing the mirror and your doctor.
I think these devices are meant to make you feel like you're getting some super deep insight into how your body works but often end up backfiring and just making you more disconnected from yourself. You stop doing what actually makes you feel good and start doing whatever makes the machine print out the number you're told is good...it's a bit creepy and depressing now that I think about it, actually.
I found fitbit to be useful in the beginning just to get a better idea of how much I was actually exercising and moving. It was a bit of a wakeup call, but as you say, once you have a clearer understanding of where you're at, the constant monitoring isn't really necessary. And the data on calorie burn certainly isn't accurate!