Can a watch make me healthier?

Life Health & Fitness
1

I got a Garmin fitness watch Xmas present.
Do they make owners exercise more?

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2

Do you mean activity tracker or an actual sports watch? If the first, then I donā€™t think so. I guess it might be interesting to see what your heart rate does throughout the day. But the whole steps per day thing is silly, imo.

If itā€™s a sports watch, then mine has made me work out harder but probably not more. Iā€™ve always had time goals and the watch made me even more silly about the stats. I also like to see what my heart did during my weekly run up a mountain by my house.

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3

If I remember to wear my apple watch and remember to turn it on to time my swim or bike ride it can be useful to see what the max heart rate and distance travelled and elapsed time was

But I donā€™t think it encouraged me to do more exercising just having that info

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4

it depends on your mood and attitude towards working out.
if using the watch makes you realize that you are a slob with a sedentary life style and pushes you to work out - yes, it will make you healthier.
If you already know that you are a couch hugging slob, and dont care about it, a watch will only show you the time.

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5

I like when mine gives me a congratulations for hitting the step count or ā€˜fastest kmā€™

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6

I just read a study saying typically lose 2lb in weight over 6 months, so for me be 7 years if Iā€™m the typical type.
I have done a fast walk around Daan park using the fitness tracker interesting reading, so maybe if I donā€™t bore of it, I can try to improve.

7

I donā€™t know how the Garmin watch works, but the Apple Watch has rings that you try to close each day. I find it helps. If Iā€™m already going swimming or cycling Iā€™ll close the rings no problem anyway, but the desire to keep a streak going will make me get off the sofa and exercise on a rainy day, or make sure to walk up the stairs to my apartment for example.

So it does help push me on marginal days, to keep me at a moderately healthy minimum.

Mind you, I donā€™t know if that makes much difference to actual health.

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8

Yes, just being aware of your activity levels makes you more active.

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9

Same. Iā€™ve became so OCD to get those monthly badges and close all the rings every day that Iā€™ve even ditched the scooter for my local commute and started walking everywhere around Linkou.

I was beer drinking, car driving, exercise averse couch potato for most of my life until I got the first Fitbit couple years ago, and this summer Iā€™ve participated in my first 11k run and nailed it in less than an hour.
Iā€™d say Fitbit and later Apple Watch had major contribution to this lifestyle change for me and now I like running so much that even rain or snow & sub-zero temperature is not an excuse for me to skip my routine

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Thatā€™s a good time for 11k. And I love the no excuses approach. I try to do that as much as possible.

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11

I have a Garmin and aside from the shit battery life, I love it. It queued me in to my shit sleep quality. Some nights my ā€œbody batteryā€ actually decreases instead of increases. It also has better visibility in sunshine than other watches and an altimeter. Better than 99% of other watches. be thankful. Itā€™s a great gift.
Also had a built in EZ Card. Gorrilla glassā€¦ Really a superior watch. Someone did their homework

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12

You bought it, now you have to buy into it.

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13

A. Itā€™s not a watch.

B. Itā€™s an activity tracker and possibly a reminder for motivation.

Love my Xiaomi band. Quit glance I can see so much about my current life or I can set up to give me reminders or track statistics.

I put mine on the opposite side of my watch hand because it serves a different purpose entirely.

14

IMO theyā€™re a complete waste of money unless youā€™re already a gym bunny. I was considering getting a low-end one to track my run time/distance, but itā€™s a nice-to-have, not an essential item. I really donā€™t think gadgets are likely to motivate you to exercise if you lack that motivation in the first place. Iā€™m saying that with a certain amount of experience; Iā€™m in the industry, we have our own app, and itā€™s as completely shite as all the other apps.

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15

Mine has definitely got me working out more. Unfortunately, mine ( a cheapo) runs a little fast. It has gained about 6 minutes this year, and I donā€™t know how to reset it. If this continues, in the year 2032 Iā€™ll have to move to Japan.

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16

Only you make yourself healthier. Any gadget or thought process could help motivate you :slight_smile: I have a bunch of friends that have those step watches and it more or less reminds them to stop being lazy. But it was still them, in the end, that decided to not be lazy. The gadget didnā€™t move the muscles.

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17

You can make humans with your penis. Anything is possible.

18

Well it does display the time of day. I say it is a watch and fitness tracker.

19

I bought some bread. Didnā€™t make me want to become a baker.

20

Does the watch know what you eat? Because your diet is far more important than exercise to be healthier.

I gifted a Garmin watch to my wife and most days the watch doesnā€™t leave home.

I donā€™t have one, but I think I ride a bit more because of my Bryton and Strava than Iā€™d ride otherwise.

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