Is your fitness tracker giving you anxiety?
Let me start by saying I have a smart watch. I don't hate smart watches, and I don't want you to feel bad if you, too, use one. However, I hope this article helps you take a pulse check (not literally with the watch) on how your usage might be impacting your overall health.
Recently, fitness trackers came up in conversation with a 20-something college student. I shared how I'd received a smart watch for Christmas and, before even trying it on, I shut off all of the fitness/health tracking functions. Yes, you can do this, and 10/10 recommend. She chimed in right away sharing how she has found herself obsessing over her fitness tracker and has had to take breaks from the watch because her anxiety and body image started to suffer. She shared how she would obsess about calories, steps, timed workouts and more, and if she was unable to push through these arbitrary watch settings, she would experience shame and disappointment, blaming her body and calling herself weak. Her words to me (and she is so fucking spot on with this, y'all): "That's not health!"
No, my friend, that's not health. If the way we eat, the way we move, the way we communicate with ourselves, causes stress, anxiety, body shame, etc., we are not participating in health producing behaviors. I say it all the time: Long before weighing you, a good doctor will ask about your stress level, support system, what your internal dialogue is like. There are many, many, many people on this earth who live in a thin body but are struggling with stress, anxiety and lack of connection. Did you know humans are hard-wired for connection? It's hard for us to do anything else without feeling a sense of belonging and connection to those around us (and to ourselves).
And speaking of ourselves, that's another challenge with fitness trackers. They encourage us to dismiss our internal que's and our body's knowing. We then push beyond our limits, risking injury, exhaustion, undernourishment and more (also not health producing behaviors).
If you're curious about your usage, review the below statements:
- I rely on a fitness tracker for workouts.
- I feel anxious or irritable if I cannot wear my watch to workout.
- If I had to go a whole week without my fitness tracker, it would stress me out.
- I have skipped gatherings with people I love or neglected responsibilities I have in order to keep a gym "streak" or achieve my steps.
- I feel shame if I'm unable to hit my fitness tracker goals.
If these statements resonated with you, it may be good to do a little reflection on your usage and consider making some changes. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
- Start cutting back by setting limits. (I will check this watch 2x/day)
- Find other ways to spend your time that don't involve tracking. (Socialize or take up a new hobby.)
- Challenge yourself to skip days wearing the watch.
- Remove fitness tracking apps from your phone/watch.
In conclusion, let me just say this. There are people on this planet working on cures for cancer and Alzheimer's. People who have built robots, electric cars, etc. And despite what the diet and fitness industries want us to believe, our brains are absolutely sophisticated enough to know how to nourish and move our bodies without the use of a fitness tracker. That isn't to say it won't be hard to no longer rely on one if that's what you are used to. But it is possible. If it seems too difficult to dial it back on your own, it might be time to seek support. You can find more information about iMove here or the (Re)Connect Series here.
