January is a peak time for downloading health and fitness apps and putting those Christmas present fitness trackers to work. But do they actually help you keep to it?
After the Christmas fulfillment of delicious food comes the New Year’s decision to get fit, lose weight, and eat more healthily. But while 65% of us decide to lose weight, only 12% successfully keep to it. Can tech help?
When Sarah, 34, a law professor from Australia, wanted to lose weight last year, she took the unusual approach of placing bets that she would achieve her exercise goals. Breast cancer had stopped her exercise routine, and she’d gained weight during a year which included three operations, she says. “I was returning to exercise by hiking and trying to lose some of the weight I’d put on while being sitting for long,” she says. She began a new exercise routine eight weeks after finishing the surgery. With a wearable activity tracker, she could see how many steps she took each day and how many calories she burned.
But she also motivated herself with an app, Step Bet, that let her know whether she would achieve her exercise goals. “I did three one-month bets and three six-month bets, and lost 7kg—10% of my body weight,” says Sarah. She also says she made £358. “I like losing fat. I don’t like losing money. The effect? Motivation!” she explains.
For the data-minded, tracking your progress with lots of measurements is enough to stay motivated.
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