ReadWriteBody is an ongoing series where ReadWrite covers networked fitness and the quantified self. This week, it is brought to you by Best Buy.
Three and a half years ago, I got my first modern smartphone. And I discovered that the world of apps it unlocked—the ease of tracking my exercise and nutrition on the go—were the key to finally doing something about my longstanding weight problem.
I had some external motivation—my 20th high-school reunion. Vanity, perhaps driven by social media, played a role—I knew there would be a lot of photos on Facebook. Dropping weight proved easier than I expected, especially when I combined the rigors of logging my food data with the virtuous feedback loop of broadcasting my weight-loss milestones.
Back To The Basics, With New Devices
My struggles with fitness haven’t ended. Earlier this year, I found my weight had crept up to 206 lbs. That coincided with a slipping of my fitness tracking, I noticed—gaps in my food and exercise logs showed a neat correlation with my weight gain.
So the answer was pretty obvious: Get back to the digital routine that had worked so well three years ago. That was the genesis of the ReadWriteBody series, and I hope you’ve been enjoying it.
What makes writing ReadWriteBody so interesting is how much has changed since I first tackled improving my fitness three years ago. Apps and smartphones have gotten smarter in tandem. My 2010-era smartphone didn’t have a built-in accelerometer, for example. Now my phone can track my steps. I also got interested in new pieces of hardware like the treadmill desk I now spend most of my workdays walking on, and the fitness tracker that can record my heart rate and my sleep patterns.
Here’s a look inside my routine:
Video by Ecliptic Pictures for ReadWrite
