Fitness trackers are pretty useful for keeping tabs on your daily activity, but they’re not as all-knowing as they seem. While they’re great at counting steps and reminding you to move, there’s a lot they don’t tell you about your overall health and fitness. These devices can give you a nice overview, but they definitely have some blind spots that you might not realize. So, before you put all your trust in those numbers on your wrist, here’s what you should know about what your tracker isn’t showing you.
The Quality of Your Workouts
Fitness trackers count steps and measure heart rate, but they can’t tell if your workouts are effective. You might hit your step goal with a casual stroll, but that doesn’t compare to a high-intensity workout. Quality matters, not just quantity.
Your Actual Calorie Burn
Those calorie burn numbers are more like guesstimates. Trackers often miss factors like muscle mass, metabolism, and effort level, meaning you might not be burning as many (or as few) calories as it says. Don’t take those numbers as gospel.
Your Rest and Recovery Needs
Trackers can measure your sleep, but they don’t know if your body is fully recovered. Overtraining is real, and a tracker won’t warn you when to take it easy. Listening to your body is still the best way to avoid burnout and injury.
Your Mental Health
Your tracker may know your steps, but it has no clue about your stress levels. Physical health is important, but mental health plays a huge role too. Trackers can’t measure how exercise impacts your mood or if you’re exercising to the point of exhaustion.
Nutrient Intake
Calories burned? Check. Nutrients consumed? Not so much. Trackers can’t tell if you’re getting enough protein, fiber, or essential vitamins. Eating the right food matters just as much as burning those calories.
The Importance of Flexibility and Mobility
Sure, trackers focus on cardio, but they often skip the importance of flexibility and mobility exercises. Stretching, yoga, and mobility work are key to staying injury-free and maintaining long-term health, but you won’t find those in your tracker’s daily goals.
The Impact of Non-Exercise Activity
Fitness trackers usually miss the little things like walking to the kitchen, doing laundry, or even fidgeting. These non-exercise activities can add up and impact your daily calorie burn, but most trackers won’t give you credit for them.
How Your Data Is Used
Trackers collect tons of data, but they don’t always tell you how it’s used. Your workout habits, health stats, and location data could be valuable to marketers or third parties. Always check the privacy policy—because your data is worth something to someone.
Eat These 13 Foods Before or After Your Workout To Feel Your Best
Figuring out what to eat before or after your workout isn’t as easy as it sounds. You want something that will fuel the energy you’re about to spend or replenish what you just lost. But at the same time, you want to keep things light and not make your stomach work extra hard on digestion. Selecting the right foods is key to a getting the most out of your exercise. Here’s a great list to choose from.
Read it Here: Eat These 13 Foods Before or After Your Workout To Feel Your Best
15 Fitness Myths That Are Keeping You Unhealthy
We all have that friend who swears by certain fitness rules, but guess what? Some of those “rules” are total myths! From outdated advice to plain old misconceptions, it’s time to set the record straight. We’re breaking down some of the most common fitness myths that might be keeping you from reaching your goals.
Read it Here: 15 Fitness Myths That Are Keeping You Unhealthy
*Select images provided by Depositphotos.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
