How I Use Apple Watch to Maintain My Weight

I have purchased three Apple Watches so far, all entry-level models. The first was S1, but I bought it in the third year after Apple Watch launched, when S3 was the latest. The second was S3, and it was with this one that I started losing weight. Now I use the SE cellular version.

When I bought the S1, it was more out of curiosity. I had no plans to lose weight and almost no exercise habits, so I mostly used it for notifications. I wasn’t used to wearing a watch, so it ended up collecting dust 😂. Charging it daily was a hassle, and the watch was eventually abandoned.

In 2018, I started losing weight. My S1 was already broken, so I first bought a Xiaomi band. The band is smaller and lasts over a week on a single charge, but it requires a phone to record workouts and supports limited exercise types. At first, I ran with my phone, but as my pace improved, carrying a phone became inconvenient. I like listening to music while running, but the band didn’t support it, so I decided to buy a new Apple Watch.

Now, after three years of using Apple Watch for exercise, I find it a great health-focused smart device with many useful features. Here are the ones I use most.

Activity Rings

The Fitness app icon in iOS is three rings. When opened, you see three colored rings representing three dimensions of daily activity: calories burned, exercise minutes, and standing hours. The rings’ progress shows your completion for the day, and you can adjust the goals anytime on the Apple Watch. With these rings, you can instantly see your daily activity. I even set the rings as my watch face to remind myself to stay active.

But there’s a downside: “Ring Syndrome.” If you miss closing the rings due to unavoidable reasons, you may feel anxious and think you didn’t meet your health goals. I’ve experienced this, but over time, I’ve learned to let go 😂. The rings only reflect daily activity and don’t define health. Apple Watch only reminds you if you miss closing the rings for a week. Missing a day or two isn’t a big deal; you can make up for it later. Apple Watch also sends notifications to encourage you when you exceed or finish your goals early.

Workout Reminders

Apple Watch can detect when you’re exercising. If you’re working out but haven’t started a workout record, after a while, Apple Watch will ask if you’re exercising and if you want to open the Workout App. The recorded start time is when you began exercising, not when the reminder was sent. The duration varies by activity type—usually, you’ll get a reminder after walking for about 10 minutes, but for more intense activities like running or HIIT, you’ll get a reminder within 1–2 minutes.

This feature is especially helpful for walking. I often get reminders during my morning commute when walking from the subway to my office (over a kilometer away 😭).

Stand Reminders

Apple Watch encourages you to stand and move for at least one minute every hour. If you haven’t stood up within an hour, you’ll usually get a reminder at the 50-minute mark. On workdays, I use this as a cue to take a break, get some water, and go to the restroom.

Monthly Challenges

At the beginning of each month, you’ll get a personalized monthly challenge based on your previous month’s activity data. Each month is different, with slightly increased difficulty. Completing the challenge earns you a badge, and there are many other beautiful badges, but I don’t care much about them.

There’s a small issue with monthly challenges: sometimes the goals are extreme. For example, I’ve received goals to burn over 30,000 calories in a month, averaging over 1,000 calories per day. For an office worker, that’s tough—if you have to work overtime one day and miss your goal, you’ll need to burn over 2,000 calories on weekends to catch up. For such extreme challenges, I just ignore them.

Workout Trends

Workout trends compare your average data from the past three months to the previous year, showing whether your activity is increasing or decreasing, with clear arrows.

This way, you see not just today’s data but your recent performance, compared to your own past data. If you’ve been lazy recently, it’s obvious, rather than comforting yourself with a few days of effort.