He found a way to excel in his weight loss journey.
Michael Hicks, a senior editor at Android Central, shares the tech tools that helped him go from 225 pounds to 190 pounds in the past year.
“I’ve lost 30 pounds by walking a few extra miles every day, using technology like smart scales and smartwatches to track my activity and weight trends, focusing on healthy portion control with food and drinks, and recording my progress in a Google Doc where I prioritize monthly goals over daily activity rings,” Hicks wrote this week on androidcentral.com.
A scale with body composition data
Hicks tipped the balance in his favor by weighing himself twice a week: on Wednesday or Thursday and on Saturday or Sunday.
He said the bi-weekly frequency allowed him to monitor his body fat, muscle and hydration without getting too discouraged by natural fluctuations.
“Weighing daily puts too much obsessive emphasis on everything you do in a day,” Hicks explained. “But weighing once a week leaves you without context as to whether that data is accurate or just a fluke.”
Hicks said he uses Withings Body Smart ($99.95 on Amazon), a scale with an “eyes-closed” feature that lets you hide your measurements while you weigh yourself.
Three Withings products, including the Body Smart, are on The Post’s list of the eight best smart scales.
A smartwatch to log steps
Hicks said he gained pounds despite running 670 miles in 2023. His first month of weight loss was last August, when he averaged more than 10,000 steps a day.
“Daily walks resulted in me spending about 1.5 to 2 hours of my day walking, showering, and replenishing my water supply, when I would normally spend sitting and snacking,” Hicks wrote for Android Central.
“For people with sedentary lifestyles and a lot of weight to carry around, long walks provide both a mental distraction from food cravings and a low-impact physical activity that means you’re not too tired to exercise the next day,” he added.
Hicks noted that since starting his weight loss in July 2023, he’s averaged just 7,829 daily steps.
Research is divided on how many steps you need for optimal health. 10,000 steps (about 5 miles) per day has long been the gold standard, but studies have shown that far fewer steps can be sufficient.
No matter how far you walk, Hicks recommends wearing a Fitbit Charge 6 ($159.95 at Amazon), which connects to YouTube Music, Google Maps and Google Wallet and gives you a stress management and sleep score.
A Google Doc to track progress
Hicks says he tracks the miles he runs, walks or hikes, the exercises he does and his progress on his other goals in a Google Doc called “2024 Resolutions.”
He thinks the doctor is better than an app, which might stop working if the user doesn’t want to be reprimanded for skipping school after exercising.
“When I didn’t meet my walking goals in February because of the cold, I put that lazy month in an orange ‘fail’ box and then picked myself up in March and exceeded my goals,” Hicks explains. “I’ve never let a setback demotivate me to the point of giving up completely, because the Google Doc shows me how many chances I still have to meet my goals this year.”
Hicks said he also saw the pounds drop off when he switched from high-calorie treats like crackers and chips to hearty snacks like bagels or protein bars to feel fuller. He also drank less alcohol on the days he did that and ordered less takeout.