Much as penicillin was discovered in the accidental pursuit of an entirely different outcome, my currently-quantified self resulted from the receipt of a FitBit — a gift that would have a more profound impact than I could ever imagine at the time.

 

My curiosity gene has always been quite well expressed. It is perhaps unsurprising that after dipping my toe in the digital health waters by counting steps, I became increasingly curious about all that I could measure. Today, find myself tracking and monitoring steps, sleep duration and cycles, water and alcohol intake, calories, menstrual cycle, heart rate, active minutes, type of exercise and the links between each. My explorations have provided some useful insights; on average, taking in more than 2500 calories a day with my usual activity levels leads to weight gain; more alcohol in the evening prompts a higher heart rate during sleep and a less-rested feeling. A few days before the start of my cycle, my heart rate goes up by a few beats, as if my uterus is warning me “trouble ahead!”; a lower heart rate at night makes me feel more rested than I do with an additional half hour of sleep. 

 

Technology has given us the power to better log our fitness, track our health, and improve both in the process. These devices are remarkably popular; Statista estimates that in 2016 alone, vendors sold 55.2 million fitness trackers worldwide; analysts expect that number to rise to 105 million by 2022. Similarly, researchers at the Pew Research Center recently conducted a study on the prevalence of health tracking and found that 69% of surveyed adults kept track of at least one health indicator such as weight, diet, exercise, or symptom. 

 

There are apps on the market that make a note of the smallest, most imperceptible details of our daily lives. Vague, “I feel well today,” and “I’m a little out of shape” statements can be expanded and explicated in detail by apps that chart our heart rates, hormonal cycles, food intake, and fitness achievements. Underpinning all is the idea that by quantifying what we do in the day-to-day, we can better understand both what we should celebrate about ourselves and how we can improve our behaviors to become healthier in the long term. 

 

As someone who does track her health regularly, I’ve come to see this practice as a positive one. But sometimes, when I take a few seconds after a dinner to log my calories, wonder – why do I count so much? What are the benefits of doing so, and how can I best utilize the information I gather? 

 

Tracking Makes Us More Aware of Our Wellness.

 

My foray into health tracking began in 2015, when I received a Fitbit during a work meeting. Curious, I started using it to log my steps — and soon found myself checking the numbers more and more. I loved knowing how much I moved; I felt accomplished whenever I had an “active” day. I began to use MyFitnessPal to align my dietary habits with my workout metrics, and found that having a better understanding of what I did and what I wanted to accomplish had a real impact on my day-to-day health and wellness. I’m certainly not alone in that result. According to research shared at the 2017 AMIA Annual Symposium, those who regularly self-track are “significantly more likely to report that tracking has influenced their health management practices.” 

 

Having a wearable motivated me. I set goals for myself; for 2016, I was determined to achieve 10,000 steps a day, every single day, regardless of my schedule. I pushed myself to walk also on weekdays packed full with meetings, on evenings dragged on by business obligations, and even on those afternoons made exhausting by flights and jet lag. It took some planning — but I managed. I reached my high bar in 2016; by December 31st, I had logged over three million steps. For more on that, please read my blog post, 10,000 Steps Each Day, Every day: A Personal Investigation into the Impact of Changing Your Lifestyle.

 

I remember feeling proud, motivated and thrilled by what it taught me in the process: how it made me not only reflect on putting my health first, but giving me practical ways to do so. I remember feeling proud, motivated and thrilled by what it taught me in the process: how it made me not only reflect on putting my health first, but giving me practical ways to do so. Now, practices of self-tracking — counting calories, counting steps, counting hours slept — have become ordinary and welcome building blocks on my self-care routine. 

 

Despite my positivity, however, I have also read about others whose experience is less joyful. Sometimes people have allowed tracking to take over their life to the point that they needed to get professional help to take back control. When tracking behaviors spiral into compulsion, they can turn toxic. Rather than giving us insights into our bodies, they warp our perceptions and compel unhealthy responses to food and exercise. That made me think into what I could do to more concretely manage that risk.

 

How to ensure that tracking stays healthy

 

Like any other routine action, health tracking needs to have purpose and bring some element of joy, kindness, or self-awareness into your life. For me, the numbers on my FitBit allow me to be more purposeful about my health; they empower me to achieve fitness goals and stay in touch with my body. I believe that’s the ideal outcome that these tools provide: a greater understanding of and care for one’s physical and mental self. 

 

Anyone who tracks their health needs to have a full understanding of why they do it, and then act accordingly. After my initial curiosity phase with my FitBit, I wanted to understand some correlations better; I wanted to know my optimal calorie intake and understand my sleeping patterns better, and to know how both might help me be as fit as I could be. That led to a phase where I used and analyzed tracking more. Now, after having found the answers to my queries, I can eat, sleep, and exercise in a way that I know will make me feel my best, and only use the data for additional monitoring every once in a while. Being deliberate about when and why I used tracking allowed me to limit my regulating to a healthy limit. 

 

Now, the findings I gained from tracking my health help me let loose in a more controlled way. No one is a machine, and neither am I; I have days when I eat too much chocolate, and those when I recognize that I can have a glass of wine with friends. For me, having a good understanding of my body and health makes those choices easier, and I do not feel bad for my decisions as I hear others say. I see my data collection as an aspect of mental hygiene; I might log my calories after a meal much like others might brush their teeth. This empowers me to be more purposeful in my daily lives and pushes me to be more thoughtful about how I eat, move, and live.

 

The main reason I will keep on tracking is simple. I feel calmer and more focused during the day, and can keep a smile on my face also during stressful times because I know exactly what my body needs during these times. I know when I need to ensure 8 hours of sleep, when to prioritize work outs, and when not to have a glass of wine. Hence, quantifying myself has become a pillar for my strategic acts of selfishness. 

 

My main lesson learned however is that the discipline and insights that tracking provides must be tempered by self-kindness and understanding — always. Then it truly becomes a quantified act of strategic selfishness.