Well, this week marked a big change, hopefully for the better…In an ADHD-fueled mania, I decided to try out an Apple Watch on a Strength Training workout and as of today have chosen to continue and sort of retire my sad old Garmin.
Storytime kids.
I am a technology and fitness enthusiast. So where those paths meet – I tend to be overly enthusiastic. I have had a fitness watch since 2015 and have probably not missed a single day of wearing one since. I have gone from Fitbit (gifted to me by my father on my 30th birthday) to Garmin back to Fitbit back to Garmin and now to Apple. From 2015 to 2020, I used my Fitbit religiously. The only exception was for outdoor runs, for which I used the Garmin Forerunner 220 because at the time Fitbit did not have GPS. I switched to a Garmin Vivoactive in July 2020 to get a better picture of my running stats as I was making a push for faster, farther, better runs and felt it was a good choice. Unfortunately, I soon found out that the strength training capabilities of the Garmin were piss poor. I also discovered that there is a drastic difference in the calorie burn algorithm between the two companies. My first bout with the Vivoactive was short-lived. By December 2020, I was back on the Fitbit platform.
Slowly though, my love for Fitbit began to wane. They were acquired by Google in 2019 and the acquisition was finalized in 2021. From there began the in-app ads, premium feature locking, and overall shitification of the product. In November of 2022, I returned to my Garmin and never looked back. Overall, the product has treated me well, but it has never inspired me like the Fitbit did. My focus was always on calories burned, although I understand that is foolish as it is inherently inaccurate – but who cares? It is a silly number that goes up when I move and can make little fireworks happen on my watch when it hits a special number. Garmin is undoubtedly geared towards ATHLETES. Not average people looking to lose weight, maintain fitness, and be happy. The UI on the app (which changed earlier this year) is abhorrent. Always was. It looks like what I imagine the visual version of torture is. I feel like I’m being punished when I look at it. Not quite inspiring. Regardless, I kept on.
In 2022, while in and out of chemotherapy, my husband recognized that my dad continuously complained that his phone wasn’t keeping accurate counts of his steps. He would often shake his phone back and forth as either a method to artificially increase his steps or because he was also ADHD-minded and fidgeted. This caused his numbers to be a little less accurate than we would’ve liked. So, my husband encouraged me to get my father a Fitbit for Christmas. I was hesitant but trusted his judgment. And of course, he was right – as usual. My father became obsessed. He would proudly tell me about his step achievements and daily improvements. I think he liked the kudos and knowing there was a metric available for me to look at to know he did something and to get off his back.
I made sure to get him a smaller watch in case he went back to work. As an automotive mechanic, it would need to be small so it wouldn’t be destroyed in seconds. Unfortunately, it turned out to eventually be too small for his aging eyes. In addition, the premium feature locking and “PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO PRO” got a little ridiculous. So I began shopping around for a new option for him. In February of 2024, we were on our second trip to the hospital of the year and discovered there were new significant concerns for my father regarding Afib and his deteriorating heart health. This trip convinced me an Apple Watch was the way to go. So on February 18th, I gave him an Apple Watch SE for his birthday. He didn’t love it. Like I mean, almost immediately. He did that thing parents do where he was like “Wow, this is great. If you think it’s good for me, I love it!” Yeah, I wasn’t buying it. His mouth said one thing, his eyes said “WTF is this!?”. It was complicated, overwhelming, and overall too challenging to understand for someone who was struggling with brain cancer and the severe side effects of brain radiation. He never really got going with the watch before he passed.
Geez, I really miss him and helping him with his fitness, activity, and health.
Well when he passed, I considered clearing the watch and selling it to a friend. I didn’t and instead let it sit on my counter for two months staring at me. Until this week…
Frustrated by Garmin’s inability to motivate my neurotic overweight ass, I decided to give the watch a chance.
I can see why he struggled. Even without his numerous health conditions working against me, the learning curve was certainly there. So far though, it is doing exactly what I thought it might. I am more motivated now than I have been in years. The gastritis is healing and I have been getting in some serious workouts again. Yesterday, I had probably the best strength training session that I’ve had in, gosh I don’t know…years?
I did do a little active research, 1) because as I mentioned I love the intersection of tech and fitness and 2) because thanks to my ADHD I have an incredible ability to fall into analysis paralysis. About everything. Oh also, I almost pursued an M.S. in Sports and Exercise research – so yeah that’s a thing. Here is the result of my two-day research experiment (lol, n=2) in which I wore BOTH watches. Like a weirdo.
| Garmin | Apple Watch | |
| Steps | 31,409 | 32,485 |
| Active Calories | 1,314 | 1,312 |
| Total Calories | 4,976 | 5,510 |
| Strength Training Cals | 138 | 161 |
| Run Cals | 244 | 278 |
| Sleep | Failed one night, 8 hr 8m | 6 hr 38 8 hr 9m |
The results were pretty similar. But between the amount of information available, options, and the fact that my watch face is rotating pictures of my dad, husband, and I – it’s just far more motivational for me. My long-term goal is to use the Apple Watch until I successfully reach my weight loss goal and if my running has improved and is more focal – I will be looking to switch to a newer Garmin for the analytics.
Oh yeah, so this week I crushed it. The gastritis made it pretty difficult to eat for a few days. But currently, I am at 7 days alcohol-free and starting to feel better mentally. My stomach is improving and yesterday I finally felt “hunger” again. Weight isn’t moving much (just a few ounces up or down) but I know that it will. Once my body catches up the scale certainly will follow. As of today, I am 5,441 calories clear of my maintenance calories. So if I can cut another 1,559 between today and tomorrow that would theoretically be 2 pounds. But we’ll see – Sundays can get a little crazy and Saturdays a little…not. Anyway, positive things are ahead for sure.
TLDR: ADHD mania triggered a watch change to Apple from Garmin. Gastritis healing. Calories eaten low, burned high. The scale didn’t move, but positivity reigns supreme.