Episode 199: Tech Your Weight Off: Digital Tools That Transform Your Health Journey

[00:00:00] Welcome back to the Back on Track Achieving Healthy Weight Loss, where I help you get on track and stay on track with your weight loss journey. I'm your host, Dr. Alicia Shelly. So let's get started.

[00:00:28] Welcome to the Back on Track Achieving Healthy Weight Loss podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Alicia Shelly. So today we're going to be diving into a fun futuristic topic called digital tech tools that can help you lose weight loss. Wait, that's right. I'm talking about your phone, your watch, even your bed could be supporting your health journey.

[00:00:51] We're going to go over the pros and cons of fitness trackers, smart scales, heart meters, glucose meters, and even sleep tech. Because yes, better sleep can help you lose weight too. So let's get into it. I'm sure you're familiar with fitness trackers. Now fitness trackers are like your personal cheerleader. These trackers can be like your Fitbit, your Apple Watch, your Garmin, and whoop. And they're like basically a mini coach on your wrist.

[00:01:19] Some of the pros include real time tracking of your steps, calories burned, heart rate, and even sleep. I used to love getting the Fitbit where I could just clip onto my clothes and I kind of knew my steps. And it kind of gave me a sense of how many calories I was burning in the day, especially if I couldn't necessarily go to the gym or go work out. I at least could see what I was doing. The one thing I love about the Apple Watch is that it has like the little circles that you can kind of see. Am I closing my rings today?

[00:01:48] So I can see if I'm walking enough, am I burning enough calories throughout the day. The Garmin I love to use like when I was training for Ironman or my triathlons. Well, they're all were waterproof, but the Garmin just seemed a little bit more sturdy to me. And I was able to, when I was swimming, kind of see how many miles per minute I was getting in the water. So it was very, very helpful. But for each one that you decide, you just have to figure out whether it works for you.

[00:02:17] Some other pros about the fitness trackers is that they can help you set track and stay accountable to your goals. So if you want to lose more than 500 calories a day, it'll help you do that. So, or if you want to lose less, it will help you do that. And you can set it as well. Some of these apps, our fitness trackers do have like mindfulness, breathing time where they'll say, Hey, it's time for you to stop and just take a deep breath or become grounded in where you are. Also, sometimes they can check your stress.

[00:02:47] I have a friend who likes to look at her Apple watch to see how was her stress today, seeing if her job kind of caused her levels to get higher. But there are some cons with everything. And so some of the cons are is that the data isn't always 100% accurate, especially with the cheaper models of the fitness tracker. But you can do the best you can and you kind of get a good sense of it. Also, sometimes that battery life can be a hassle where you need to charge your Apple watch, charge your Fitbit almost daily.

[00:03:14] I know when I was having the Fitbit, this was back in the day. Sometimes, you know, it would stop working. So I had to send it in for them to send me a new one. So definitely that can be a problem. But the con is, is that sometimes with all this data, you can get obsessed with it, especially if you're so focused on hitting your numbers. So it is important to kind of have a balance, especially when you're using these fitness trackers. With the Fitbit I like because you can put your food in there too. So they kind of have a good tally.

[00:03:43] But a lot of times with the Apple watch Garmin, they'll work with other apps so that they can log your food as well. So the fitness trackers are usually best for people who love seeing progress and want daily motivation to stay active. Now let's talk about heart rate monitors. Like they said, train smart, but not just hard. So with the heart rate monitors, these can be on your wrist.

[00:04:06] These can be like on your chest, like the Polar H10 or Garmin HRM, where they're just more chest straps, where you can be able to see your actual heart. What's great about them is that you can train in a specific heart zone for fat burn or endurance. So you can be able to see, am I in that fat burning zone or am I in an endurance zone? So you can kind of see how much effort am I really, really putting out right now. Also, you kind of know when to increase it or when to slow down.

[00:04:34] And it can be helpful if you're trying to do interval training or hit or even long runs, because you can kind of see what zone you're in. And I know when I was training for the Ironman, we were trying to go long distance. The goal was to be in that endurance realm and get your body used to it. So it just depends on what you're trying to do. But some of the cons can be is that, you know, with the chest strap, it can be uncomfortable, get sweaty, especially under your chest.

[00:05:00] Also, sometimes the wrist sensors might lag, especially during intense workout. I noticed with the wrist sensors that I use that my heart rate may be a little bit high, even though that I'm sitting down after working out. So sometimes there is a little bit of a lag. And then also it takes a little bit of learning to understand what heart rate zones are best for you and what you're trying to achieve. Now, the heart rate monitors are perfect if you're trying to train for a specific goal,

[00:05:28] like I mentioned a triathlon or a certain race, or just kind of love those structured workouts. So number three, let's talk about smart scales. So there are lots of lots of smart scales out there like Whiffings, Renfo, Eufy, Omro. I mean, there's so many that are out there and they sometimes go beyond your weight. They measure your body fat percentage, your muscle mass, water, and even bone mass for some scales.

[00:05:55] Why people love them is that they give them a bigger picture of their health, not just the number on the scale, but they'll love to see, are you losing body fat? Are you losing muscle mass? Like, you know, you kind of can use that to kind of gauge on a weekly basis. Also, it can help track or gain your muscle gain versus fat loss. So you make sure you're gaining muscle versus losing muscle. Also, the smart scales can kind of sync with others' apps, like the ones I mentioned before, so that you can kind of trend where your weight is and how much you're losing.

[00:06:25] So some of the cons include the measurements can vary based on hydration or time of day. So I always recommend for people to weigh themselves first thing in the morning before they eat without any clothes on just so you can get a more accurate number. Also, estimates aren't as accurate as clinical scans. You know, these scales aren't going to be as accurate as maybe a bone density or MRI or another test that kind of looks at where you are.

[00:06:51] But if you can track your weight, you can track the other things during your journey, which makes it a little bit easier. Also, sometimes you can feel discouraged if you don't understand that normal body fluctuations, especially if you're weighing yourself different times of the day and you're getting discouraged because you're not seeing that weight loss. But it may just be you need to weigh yourself first thing in the morning. And so the smart scales are best for people who want to have a broader or long term view of their progress.

[00:07:17] So number four, continuous glucose monitors or CGMs. So these are monitors that you wear that can actually tell you what your blood sugars are running. Some of the brands that are out there are Freestyle Libre, Dexcom, Stello. Stello is a CGM that you can pay for versus going through your insurance and you don't have to have diabetes or anything for it. It could just be anybody who wants to monitor their sugar.

[00:07:44] Whereas usually that Freestyle Libre and Dexcom usually have to have that type two diabetes. Now, what makes them so powerful is that they show you different foods that spike your blood sugar. So when you eat them, you can see your sugar going straight up. And so with that being said, you can kind of avoid those certain foods. Also, they can help reduce cravings by keeping your glucose stable. So by knowing which foods aren't spiking it, you can kind of eat the right foods and it makes it a little bit easier for you to keep your sugar stable.

[00:08:13] Also, it kind of encourages mindful eating because you can see. But if you know which food that's spiking your sugar, you're going to be more mindful about the food choices that you decide to eat. But here are some of the challenges. Sometimes it could be pretty costly, especially if not covered by insurance, especially when you're paying out of pocket. And sometimes they're not always comfortable to wear. They can be a little itchy. I've had patients where they accidentally knocked it off, you know, so for some of them, it can be a little uncomfortable.

[00:08:41] Also, you have to learn how to interpret the data and what it all means. And so the CGMs are usually going to be for people who have insulin resistance, who have PCOS, type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes. Or those who are just looking to kind of personalize their nutrition and kind of figure out which foods are spiking my sugar and making it more difficult for me to lose weight. So number five, let's talk about all these streaming fitness apps.

[00:09:06] I'm sure you're probably getting lots of apps when you're on social media or lots of advertisement that advertises these apps. What's helpful about them, these apps like Peloton, Apple Fitness Plus, Nike Training Club can kind of allow you to work out at any time, anywhere. So you can do a wide variety of workouts from five minutes to 60 minutes. So whatever time you have, you can do something. Also, there's no equipment that's really needed for majority of these programs.

[00:09:33] You can do more body weight exercises if you don't have the weights with you. Also, if you're at home or traveling, you can use these apps to kind of still stay active. But, you know, it's not like you're having to go to a gym. The problem is some of the drawbacks is that subscriptions can cost, can be costly and can add up, especially if you add multiple all at once. And there's no in-person accountability or checks and balances.

[00:09:59] So you have to be the person who's accountable and making sure that you are doing the exercises. Also, it does require some self-discipline. You know, you have to be ready to go and be motivated in order to make this more beneficial for you. Now, the last thing I want to say is the sleep tech. This is probably the most overlooked part of weight loss, sleep. Poor sleep increases your hunger hormones like ghrelin and lowers your energy and messes with your metabolism.

[00:10:27] So let's look at some of the smart tech that can help you sleep better. Now, you have the Oura Ring, which tracks your REM or deep sleep, your HRV and temperature. It kind of gives you a readiness score every morning. So you can see, am I fresh and ready to go? Or was last night a little bit rough? The only problem is it can be expensive and there's no quote unquote screen. You have to go to the app in order to see how things went.

[00:10:51] The other one is that Google Nest Hub with second generation that tracks your sleep contactlessly with sensors for movement, breathing and sound. So it kind of offers suggestions for a better sleep. One of the cons is that you have to have it positioned near the bed so that they can be able to look at you. And sometimes it can not be quite ideal if you have a sheer bed or have pets in your bed. You also have that sleep number 360 smart bed that adjusts the firmness of the bed and tracks the sleep quality.

[00:11:21] And even for some of the features, they include foot warming to help you sleep faster. But that can be super pricey. And, you know, it only works best with that full ecosystem that comes with the package. There are apps like Calm or Sleep Cycle that can give you guided meditation, sleep stories or snore tracking. But the problem is to get that premium version, you have to pay a little bit extra. So sleep tech is a game changer, especially if poor sleep is holding you back your energy or your recovery.

[00:11:51] So definitely look it out. Look out for it. So with many of these tools, they can sink into platforms like Apple Health, Google Fit or My Fitness Pal. So you can use a lot of these tools in one place. You don't have to go to each different app to find out what's going on. The more you're connected to your data, the more you can understand how these tools can help you with sleeping better, monitoring your steps, food and fitness together. So one pro tip I would say definitely smart.

[00:12:18] Start small with whatever you decide to do. Pick one or two tools based on your biggest challenges, whether it's moving more or eating more or sleeping more. And then utilize this to the best of your ability so that it can help you with losing weight. So digital health tools aren't magic. They still require you to show up, but they can make the journey easier, smarter and more sustainable. Which tools do you want to try? Do you have one you already love?

[00:12:46] Well, send me a DM on Instagram at DrShellionD. I'd love to hear what's working for you. If this episode encouraged you, please share it with a friend or somebody who needs to hear it. Don't forget to leave a review so we can keep reaching more people on their journey. But until next time, stay strong, stay committed and stay consistent. And I'll see you next time.