Are Fitness Trackers Accurate?

My beloved Apple iWatch

Take a look at the people around you.  If I had to guess, three out of five of them are wearing some sort of fitness tracking device whether it be an Apple Watch, FitBit, Android Watch, etc.

You may have thought about purchasing one out of curiosity.  But the question of how accurate these devices really are remains.  

While there are many different opinions/research on each device, the consensus is almost the same across the board with most - the calorie burn tracking is not 100% accurate.  However, it can give one an idea of their general activity and a general estimate.  For example, when I set up my Apple Watch for the first time, it asked for items such as my height, weight, etc.  This allowed the device to calculate a fairly accurate Basic Metabolic Rate (also known as BMR).

Based on my heart rate throughout the day and during my workouts, my watch is able to estimate my calorie burn for the day.  Even when I take it off when I sleep, it adds some calories burned based on my BMR to give me a total calorie burn for the day.

Fitness trackers do give great accuracy (in most cases) of steps taken, running, and walking distances (when equipped with GPS).

Final determination? I am rarely without my watch on.  Maybe my calorie burn isn't 100% exact but it gives me a little push each day to burn more than the previous day.

Crash and Fad Diets

 

image source

While you may not know the exact definition to a crash or fad diet, I bet you can name a few. 

Let's start with the definition:  a simple diet that are often short-term, weight loss intensive and potentially dangerous when extended (source).  Note the phrase potentially dangerous here.  

Why are they potentially dangerous? Because most of them involve starving yourself of basic daily caloric needs or a sufficient amount of necessary nutrients.  That's in addition to the yo-yo dieting effect.  This is when you diet for a short term, drop weight/fat, and then start eating like you used to which results in even MORE weight/fat added.  Your body doesn't know what is going on (to put it simply).

They even cause you to lose muscle! Why? Because your body has nothing to use for fuel so it goes to whatever sources it can find - which is often muscle.  Who wants to destroy their hard earned muscle gains?

A few popular crash/fad diets include:

• Beverly Hills Diet
• Blood Type Diet
• Cabbage Soup Diet
• Grapefruit Diet
• Israeli Army Diet
• Junk Food Diet
• Master Cleanse Diet
• Subway Diet
• Zone Diet

Just google a few of these and I am sure you will think of other diets that are similar in nature.  

The best way to lose weight/fat is by a lifestyle change.  We teach our clients how to still enjoy the foods they love while changing their mindset about food.  

What crash/fad diets have you tried successfully or unsuccessfully?