Last Updated on April 27, 2016 by Michael Brockbank
I’m a big fan of using fitness record apps such as Exercise.com and Runkeeper. Occasionally, I’ll see an entry from someone that is superhuman. For example, I saw someone record a 10-hour plank. While this may be possible, it started me thinking about how many people will create fake entries in order to look good in front of others. I bet it happens far more often than what some may believe. In fact, I know a few people who do similar things so that others won’t think they are failures. The truth is, you fail once you start doing this.
How Online Fitness Record Apps Work
When you use systems like MyFitnessPal, Exercise.com and Runkeeper, the primary focus of the apps is to help you achieve a healthier lifestyle. While some may add a competitive layer to the system, the objective of all of them is to lose weight and live better. If you’re dishonest about your entries, you’re not using the apps to their full potential. Instead of becoming healthier, you may just be spinning your wheels.
Most of these apps were developed so that you can find your limits and discover your potential for good health. Although most of them incorporate a social element, they’re not meant for showing off. A victory for accomplishing your goals is more hollow if you fake the results than if you were to actually do it. I could say that I ran the 5K last December, but then I wouldn’t know where my limits were. I would be lying to myself as well as everyone else on Runkeeper. I walked it, and have no shame. I know I could never run the 5K in the shape I’m in now. But that’s not the point. The goal is to surpass my personal best.
Developing Confidence
When you’re honest with yourself, it builds onto confidence and self-esteem. When you see progress over time, you can get a sense of pride that can keep you going. Faking the results may make you look better when compared to others on the same system, but it will lack those feelings of personal accomplishment.
To Thine Own Self Be True
Fitness record apps are some of the greatest pieces of health technology of the 21st century. If properly developed, you can find your limits and change your life in profound ways. Just like any other tool, however, fitness record apps are only as good as the person using them. If your not being true to yourself, the numbers will be skewed and the results will be unrealistic.
Use Actual Data at All Times
I know I have issues when it comes to using MyFitnessPal. Personally, I don’t like to see my calorie count go into the red. Instead of not recording anything else I eat that day, I try to burn the calories off to get them back in the green. Unfortunately, not everyone does this. It’s just easier to stop recording or fool yourself into putting in a lower serving size. The problem with doing that is the calories are still in your body regardless of what numbers you enter.
Being true to yourself from a healthy perspective can be tough for many people. A lot of us don’t want to admit that we’re as out of shape or as unhealthy as the world views us. However, you won’t be able to improve your life through fitness if you have a false vision of yourself.
How to Use Fitness Record Apps Correctly
The first thing you need to do in order to use these apps correctly is change your frame of mind. It all starts with your own determination to successfully lose weight or build a stronger body. These systems are meant to give you accessible data regarding your practices regardless of where you are. If you’re honest about your entries, you can begin to build a healthier you.
Setting Goals
Use these apps as they were intended…to find your limitations. Using correct entries, you can easily set goals to surpass every week. If you can only walk 3/4 of a mile per day, then that is what you need to surpass. Don’t worry about the success of others. While you can use the social element for inspiration, you should focus your attention on what you can do as an individual. Knowing who you are and what your capable of can be established by meeting your own expectations.
Record Everything
Personally, I try to record everything I do in the fitness record apps I use. Examples of these include:
- Every morsel of food and drink of water goes into MyFitnessPal.
- Every exercise routine, workout and housework go into Exercise.com.
- Every walk and bike ride is recorded in Runkeeper.
This gives me an overview about who I am and what I can do. Since these only take a few seconds to manage each day, it’s not like I’m spending a great deal of time playing with my phone. Each day, I can then go through and find key areas I need to improve upon. If you’re interested in learning more about the apps I use, you can find them in the My Tools link above.
The only one you’re hurting when you mask your actual progress is you. Although you don’t want to look like a failure among others, keep in mind that most people on these systems are in the same boat as yourself. When you fake your fitness records, you’ll never truly know your potential. If you want to experience a better way of living, be honest with yourself as well as those around you. Truthful entries can help you identify problem areas in order to understand your faults.
Have you ever “faked” an entry in order to look better on a social platform such as MyFitnessPal?
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