Since first [writing about Apple Watch](https://loopinsight.com/2015/06/16/apple-watch-my-most-personal-review-ever/), and the [follow-up](https://loopinsight.com/2015/06/18/follow-up-to-how-i-lost-over-40-pounds-using-healthkit-and-apple-watch/) on my weight loss using the device, I’ve been answering questions from readers about my progress. I thought I’d take a minute and give you an update.
I wasn’t sure what would happen after [I reached the crazy weight loss goal](https://loopinsight.com/2015/07/31/remember-that-ridiculous-weight-loss-goal-i-had/) that I had set a year earlier, but I’m happy to report that I’m still using the Apple Watch and HealthKit everyday.
I’ve never been a fitness nut, and I’m still not a completely healthy person, but I’m getting there one day at a time. That slow, steady progress is how I lost 50 pounds, so I’m sticking with it.
I thought about why I find it so easy to keep using the Apple Watch. I mean, it wasn’t the first device on the market to help with fitness goals, so why does this work so well for me.
I realized that part of it is about how subtle Apple Watch is in alerting me to how things are going each day. It’s not screaming at me to exercise or eat properly, it’s simply giving me information that I can use to make the best decisions possible.
To be clear, I don’t always make the best decisions. However, with the information I have, I understand that each decision I make has consequences.
I still go out with friends, have a few beer, a burger, fries and really enjoy myself. By now, everyone is aware of my weight loss, and my philosophy of losing weight, so I don’t worry about having to explain myself.
My philosophy hasn’t really changed. If I have the information from the watch and HealthKit, I can make the decisions I need to make. If I have a busy day and can’t do my walk, I’m okay with that. I’ll try again tomorrow.
Having that information is so important. Knowing how each decision will affect your goals gives you everything you need to make the right decision. You won’t always make the best decision, but that’s okay—as long as you understand the consequences when you make that decision.
I am conscious about what I eat. I try to buy the right types of food and not sneak too many unhealthy snacks in during the day.
I know I am never going to be the perfectly toned person you see in commercials, but I’m okay with that. I’m much healthier than I was a year ago—and much thinner.
I still try to walk a couple of miles a day, and I still do some weightlifting a few times a week. It’s help strengthen my upper body, which I’m really happy about.
I gain a few pounds, I lose a few pounds. I tend to go with the flow and do the best I can. That’s where I am.
The amount of people that have written or come up to me in the street to say thank you for those original weight loss articles has been amazing. I never thought I would be an inspiration for so many people to lose weight, but I, like Apple, misjudged how many people like me there are in the world. We’re not all perfect specimens of health and fitness, but we can all benefit from what Apple Watch and HealthKit have to offer.
I said back in June that Apple Watch changed my life, and it has. It continues to be a tremendous value and something I can’t imagine doing without. Are you ready for Apple Watch to change your life? I bet you are.
Topness abounds! Gym dalrymple
Great work. Keep it up!
Great work, Jim! One quibble (more question, really):
“I never thought I would be an inspiration for so many people to lose weight, but I, like Apple, misjudged how many people like me there are in the world.”
Do you think Apple actually misjudged how many of us there were?
I think Apple misjudged how many “normal” people could benefit from using the watch. They seem to target people that are already fit.
Oh, in their marketing? Yes, I can agree with that. You and I realized what it would do, but Apple could have called it out. And they’re still not, that I’ve seen…
Congrats Jim! Apple Watch has helped me too, with a very similar approach. I’ve lost 25lbs. & counting so far.
Jim, thanks to your original post about this mentioning MyFitnessPal and your success I started to use that in combination with the Apple Watch and I’ve now lost 62lbs so far.
For sure it’s the convenience of tracking both what I eat and the ease of the Watch giving me a little boost to be active every day that I’ve made this change.
Unfortunately, as we all know, marketing that is effective isn’t always based in reality. It’d be nice to see Apple use someone out of shape and focus some attention on them getting in shape because of the Apple Watch.
Jim has their “commercial” all ready to go.
Think different, right?
Good work, Jim! Keep it going, man.
I have had the same happen to me but not at your numbers (which I know is ok). I’ve lost 35 lbs. since using the Apple Watch to prod me to notice my actions. I stand up more, I go for longer walks, I take stairs and engage in actual workouts regularly. For me, it’s almost like making being healthy like a video game, I want to keep up a consistent score and I’m looking for the “level-ups” – when the health app notices I’ve consistently been beating my calorie burn and if I want to up the minimum count.
It’s a fantastic feeling and I wish you good health and progress.
Congratulations on losing that much weight. That is really, really something to be proud of, and it is enough weight loss that you likely significantly improved your lifespan. That means more Beard for everyone in your life and all of your readers. That is a win-win-win.
Am I ready for an Apple Watch? No. If it had a home screen with Music, Fitness, Time, and More on it, and you could go into one of those and then get back by pushing the crown, I would buy one and never use the Time or More part. As the device is right now, it feels to me like one of those landline-style business phones that is on the desk when you go to work at a big company, and they send you to a class to learn how to use it, and even after that, you still hang up on people when you try to transfer them to another phone. I just can’t get up the enthusiasm. I want my current Apple devices to go back to being simple and easy and reliable, I don’t want another complicated device in my life. But I recognize that it is different for some people.
Recently (like, in the last 15 minutes) encountered an app that makes me want to get the Watch, for logging my blood sugar test results. That alone is worth ten stop-and-pull-out-my-phone instances a day.