There’s no shortage of apps and wearable devices to help us monitor our bodies.
I believe they can be useful for developing awareness about the amount of movement and the types of foods we eat during the day.
That said, I think apps and devices can offer a short-term solution to jump start healthier habits rather than a way of living.
Where’s the joy in counting each step we take and every morsel of food we eat? Again, this can be helpful when we’re first learning to balance caloric intake with caloric expenditure. But long term I believe constant monitoring fosters anxiousness and addiction.
Instead, or at least in addition to using apps and devices, we can begin tuning into sensations in the body.
Pause throughout the day and notice—warmth, coolness, tightness, hunger, thirst, fatigue, stiffness, pain, and relaxation. Your body will let you know if you need to move, eat, rest, or sleep.
Over time you can learn to befriend your body and trust in its innate intelligence.