How fitness apps and pedometer helped me reduce weight
I am one of those who are very inconsistent with their fitness programs. Between 2007 and 2010, I had accumulated 10 kilograms of weight, my tummy bulged and in 2012, I was declared fat! My family was concerned about my lack of physical activity and my growing weight, my increasing appetite (I could gulp food that two or three eat for lunch) and still have space for more. My BMI was 26.8 (Overweight). When I purchased the Galaxy S3 few years ago, one of my plans was to use the phone as a good fitness instructor. I had tried couple of fitness apps like Endomondo, Runtastic etc., preset program applications for weight loss etc. When I saw friends using GetActive Pedometer, I got one for myself. I even used the build in apps like (Health app on iOS and Google Fit on Android).
The first time I got serious about workouts was when I installed Endomondo. The ability to share the stats on social networks made me go for morning walk (or speed walk) for more than a few days and then it stopped. I had to go out of town for a week and after coming back, it was business as usual. Eat, sit, shit and sleep.
I was still stuck in ‘overweight’ BMI zone and I got serious again in 2014. This time, I wanted to be a bit more serious so I installed ‘Zombies, Run’ app on my Mi3 and then it went well for two weeks. Had to skip workouts for few days due to some work and I was back to square one. Unfortunately, the story continued in 2015. This year, I got a GetActive pedometer and thanks to the online community and the virtual treks, virtual walkathons, I got serious (again). This time, I was able to continue for a month. Then I lost the device (didn’t know that it was in my trouser’s pockets that was lying in the bottom of soiled clothes bin). After I lost the device, I lost interest in walking again.
This year, the cycle had started (again) but this time, it was different and as of today, my BMI is 24.7 (Normal weight) and it is coming down slowly. Was I determined this time to reduce weight? Yes, the same way I was the past few times. It all started with turning into eggtarian. No meat means less pizza, no deep fried chicken, no burgers (who eats veg burgers!). After few months, I reduced the quantity I eat for lunch and then I stopped eating rice or fatty food at night. I shifted from rice to roti and then to cooked broken wheat for dinner. Fortunately, I am early riser (cannot sleep after 6:30) and I started going to gym every day and go to a jogging track on weekends and I made this a habit. The end result is absolutely satisfying!
Which apps did I use? None! This time, I relied on instructions from personnel and a wall clock. No pedometers, no workout applications. Sometimes, the less we rely on tech, the better we perform! In my case, getting rid of pedometers and smartphone applications did the trick.
