Technology is changing the way we remain in shape..

imjenniecamp

Living longer and living healthy and living in shape is the ultimate goal for all of us.

I am a mother of 2 and for me keeping in shape is a great challenge. I have been following a strict regime all through year in order to shed off the extra calories in order to remain in shape.

I was amazed to read a recent Digitalistmag article that said "Some of the scariest words a person can hear from their physician are the words cancer or diabetes. In the case of diabetes, I can almost guarantee that every person reading this either has a family member with diabetes or knows someone who does."

How true are the above words.... Just ask yourself and we all have the answers within us.

My question is - Is technology helping in some way or the other to assist us in keeping shape or does it making us obese?

I am sure, the answer is contradictory and a lot of debate is going to happen. Let's start !

I am in favor of technology and feel that technology is surely helping us shed off weight because we have apps, we have wearable devices, we have internet and we have personal coaching devices.
Do you agree?

My goal is to reduce my weight by upto 5 Kgs by June 2016. What's yours?

poirot0153

That's an interesting and thought-provoking question. For me, technology is definitely a help in remaining fit. I have lost over 40 lbs since 2014 and have maintained for about a year. I've recaptured my early college figure! whoo-hoo! :-)

Fitness apps (Nike Running, myfitnesspal, Fitbit) and various wearable devices (Nike Fuel Band, Fitbit One & Charge HR, Garmin multisport watch, etc.) have been the cornerstone for my transformation back to the old me of my youth. They give me the real-time feedback and motivation to move more and manage the thermodynamic equation (calories in < calories out). I can totally understand that technology usage is not everyone's cup of tea, nor is it the only path to success. I am a "compulsive" measurer and tracker...I was born that way. It's how my mind works which is probably why I studied Chemical Engineering in college and work in Research & Development. I love analyzing data and implementing effective action plans to achieve deliverables and goals. It's what I do in my work time and my play time.

My 2016 goal is to lose another 10-15 vanity lbs. I am an amateur competitive ballroom dancer. Those skimpy ballroom gowns don't leave much to the imagination and I want to look my best. My technology tools are even more critical now. My 2016 competition season has begun so I have to train hard and fuel properly to support that. Eating for performance doesn't allow for a large calorie deficit. My fitness tracking gadgets are even more critical at this stage of fitness journey. I don't have much margin for error.

Dory_42

I am similar. I use MFP and my polar hr monitor and activity tracker as a toy/tool which motivates me as I love numbers and data. It has helped me get beyond anything I imagined I could do. The ability to see at a glance how hard I am pushing in my training has helped me in many different ways.

I'm also looking to drop the last 5 kgs or so this year, but for me it is to get to a fighting weight for the division I want to be in as I have my first Brazilian Jui Jitsu competition this year, and maybe a Judo one as well! I need to be within a specific weight, with my gi (my bjj one weighs 2 kgs and the judo ones are heavier!!) As mentioned, the closer you get to goal, the less margin for error...

47Jacqueline

Technology is changing the way we track our fitness goals. The way we do it is the same as ever; move more. All those devices can provide reminders and history, but none of them will do the work for you. Additionally, the technology is sorely lacking in accuracy and most of them, although it's not noted, are in beta.

All the data in the world will never replace getting off the couch, or pushing yourself away from the table.

BernieMBurke

Mine is just to maintain right now. I just entered true maintenance last week. I purchased a Fitbit Charge HR in November 2015 and am loving it. I love numbers and it is right up my alley.

lorrpb

It certainly helps. The step and activity trackers make it easier & more fun. Food logging is sooooo much easier. I first counted calories in 1975. There were no nutrition labels on food products, no electronic databases, the printed databases were very limited and never brand-specific, no restaraunt calories, etc. so much easier now.

LivingtheLeanDream

I have to agree as this is first time I've lost weight and kept it off (maintaining 2 1/2 yrs) and its mostly down to logging food here and having a Fitbit. These apps/gadgets just take the guess work out of eating/exercising. Also I have learned so much from MFP.

VeryCarrie6969

47Jacqueline wrote: »

Technology is changing the way we track our fitness goals. The way we do it is the same as ever; move more. All those devices can provide reminders and history, but none of them will do the work for you. Additionally, the technology is sorely lacking in accuracy and most of them, although it's not noted, are in beta.

All the data in the world will never replace getting off the couch, or pushing yourself away from the table.

Exactly!!

Francl27

Eh I'd say that in most cases, we wouldn't be that overweight in the first place if there was no technology... I'd probably have spent more time walking around with my friends as a teen if I hadn't spent so much time playing video games.

Just saying.

Ibeachlover

I agree with FrancI27 that overall technology has probably led us to be less physically active..one just needs to look at children today. We use to gather to play baseball, football, ride bikes...just don't see that type of thing today, unless organized. As far as technological devices helping with fitness..without question. Tests can be done at home, with far more accuracy, blood pressure, sugar levels etc. Also we have internet tools, such as this site, where one can readily have access to information, calculators, and such that give us an advantage on monitoring our fitness and eating habits. I think one aspect that might be negative related to new fitness devices, is that I can see some people always being "on"...kinda like with cell phones...always looking at device and always fretting about the numbers. Overall though, if used with common sense, I think technology is great.

robertw486

Francl27 wrote: »

Eh I'd say that in most cases, we wouldn't be that overweight in the first place if there was no technology... I'd probably have spent more time walking around with my friends as a teen if I hadn't spent so much time playing video games.

Just saying.

Probably so.

And really without all this data and technology, most people could still control weight if they really wanted to. People have had human scales and means of measure for a long time.

Technology makes a lot of things quicker and easier, but it doesn't make us eat right or exercise more.

cwolfman13

Tech is just changing the way we track things.

Also, tech can make people more sedentary...kids playing video games instead of playing outside, processes that used to require manual labor now just require a push of a button, etc.

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RoxieDawn

I can say this, a fitness tracker would not be helping me to stay on the couch. I am most def moving around more since I have one. I make stupid goals for myself daily with my tracker. I did not exercise one minute before MFP or my tracker.

So wearable devices, fitness and food apps def help with loosing weight, maintaining weight and with exercising. In some cases of people with OCD, this may complicate things a bit, but for the mass majority it helps.

I think the tools that we have at our disposal are just that. And the technology, hardware, software is only as good as the data behind it. So if the data is lacking, the technology can be simply useless crap. But we have learn to use the tools and even input our data when necessary or rely on other peoples data or who writes all this code that goes into our apps, computer hardware and software.

With that said, tech can be a blessing and a curse. If you use it and you get what you need from it.. that's a plus.

What is the saying, "there's an app for that"!

ipastorsally

I recall very few obese people from my chilhood. I can visualize very few people who do not need to lose weight today. Technology encourages me to sit more to watch many more tv channels than I need or desire, lose myself in the black hole of the internet, or sit here typing on a smart phone a reply.

Year's ago, seditary meant porch sitting in the evening with my grandparents to catch up on the news as people took evening walks with families, reading long novels, or doing puzzles.

TV channels changed only by getting up and sitting back down, weather changes meant getting up to reposition the tv antenna, the clothes dryer was the clothesline, and dinner sides were picked from the garden from April thru October.

2 years ago Harvey, the Easter Bunny, brought my grandson a length of rope in his egg basket. Cayden was confused, but a hammer and a good arm slung it over a high tree limb. With a couple of good knots tying the ends together, Cayden had a toe swing. His friends were afraid to use it. Cayden asked Harvey for a new length of rope last Easter and gets a lot of exercise climbing, swinging, and twisting on it. Friends still chicken our though. In my youth, all my friends would have swung over the creek on my toe swing Dad hung for me.

Yes, technology helped my slim down to a healthy weigh by more accurate and easy calorie counting. No, technology doesn't help when it creates lethargy with a ever refilling snack bowl in arms reach. Like almost everthing, there are the pluses and minuses.

akboy58

I find MFP and my Fitbit Charge HR incredibly useful tools. I don't think I could have lost the weight without the one, and maintaining would be hugely more difficult without the other. But like some of the other posters, I'm a compulsive tracker, and these gadgets feed into that. I really enjoy logging my daily calories, and don't see any reason to stop doing it now that I'm at goal weight -- just like I can't imagine not doing crossword puzzles. And now, with the Fitbit and its synched Aria scale, I find that I can zhuzh my weight up or down a pound or two without huge effort, just by adjusting portion sizes over a few days, and moving a bit more. When I was fat, I didn't feel in control of what I ate, and had no idea what the calorie consequences of my eating habits were. With these widgets that has all changed, and I find it very empowering: not only do I have a better idea of what I'm eating, I also have control -- or FEEL like I have control -- over my diet choices.

snowflake930

Frankly, technology saved my live, or at the very least, extended it. So yes, technology is a wonderful thing. I only wish we had this around when I was younger. I am 64 years old and have been on MFP for almost 4 years. I have had a fitbit since February 2013. Without these two tools, it is possible that I would not be here right now. I have lost over 1/2 of my body weight. Went from being out of breath walking up a flight of stairs, to spending an hour in the gym every day, for the first time in my life I joined a gym. I know that ultimately, I did this myself, but the technology was what kept me motivated, especially the inspirational success stories here on MFP. Everything to be successful is at our fingertips. Websites with healthy recipes, exercises, and other people that can relate to what you are going through, and all of the support and encouragement you could hope for. It is kind of a miracle, and I am truly grateful.

xmichaelyx

Technology facilitates information delivery. If you are information literate and want to improve yourself (physically or otherwise), there's never been a better, easier time to do that than right now.

try2again

I read somewhere recently that the saddest shift we have seen in fitness is that people view "exercise" as a separate activity they must perform so many minutes a week as opposed to just leading an active life. I think this is the result of technology. There are a lot of technological "toys" for weight loss, but I lost just fine in the past counting calories & macros in a notebook. It took longer to log, but I probably burned more calories doing it that way! I also probably didn't sit in front of the computer for 10 minutes afterward responding to threads