Anybody remember the bodymedia fit armband from like 10ish years ago? Anything similar on the market

jonzo21

My life went downhill after bodymedia fit was destroyed by jawbone (RIP). It was scary accurate for me, and It seriously motivated me to track everything and I’d even do spontaneous exercises just to grow my calorie deficit or allow me wiggle room for a treat later. It didn’t bother me to wear it all day although I wonder if this is considered a downside for most people? I lost 50lbs using it. I have such a difficult time now using trackers consistently, nothing has motivated me like that. Does anyone know of anything similar? I have an Apple Watch but don’t feel it’s very accurate.. and I suppose I could just pair it with a heart rate monitor but wanted to see if there’s something out there not just for exercise but overall daily burn and tracking.

John772016

jonzo21 wrote: »

... have an Apple Watch but don’t feel it’s very accurate.. and I suppose I could just pair it with a heart rate monitor but wanted to see if there’s something out there not just for exercise but overall daily burn and tracking.

Do you take your watch off?
Why do you believe it's not accurate?
I don't use Apple (Garmin) but your Apple watch should be pretty good so I'm not sure what the issue is?

AnnPT77

So, what is it that you preferred so strongly about the Bodymedia Fit? If you were more specific, we might be able to be of more help.

Is it the armband? Wahoo and others have armband trackers. I've seen people here say they've found the Wahoo reasonably accurate for them, but I've never tried one. I don't know if a person can wear it (or any of its competitor armbands) all day.

How different is your Apple watch's all-day calorie estimate from what you got from your Bodymedia Fit? Most of these devices rely on similar research to create their estimating algorithms, and use similar technology to track metrics like movements, heart rate, etc. Certainly, other people have posted here that the estimates they get from their Apple watch seem pretty accurate for them.

Personally, I have a Garmin watch. I wear it all day every day. I like it, and use it for calorie estimating some types of exercise, but I don't use it for all-day calorie burn. I've learned that most of the standard algorithms dramatically underestimate my calorie needs, and that goes for MFP as well as my device. (I'd point out that the exact same Garmin model estimates accurately for other people who've posted about it here. It's not so much that the device isn't accurate, it's that I'm somehow not very average.)

So, what features are you looking for? And what makes you think your Apple watch is inaccurate?

Corina1143

According to a quick internet search, it was not only very accurate, but offered very detailed information.

jonzo21

AnnPT77 wrote: »

So, what is it that you preferred so strongly about the Bodymedia Fit? If you were more specific, we might be able to be of more help.

Is it the armband? Wahoo and others have armband trackers. I've seen people here say they've found the Wahoo reasonably accurate for them, but I've never tried one. I don't know if a person can wear it (or any of its competitor armbands) all day.

How different is your Apple watch's all-day calorie estimate from what you got from your Bodymedia Fit? Most of these devices rely on similar research to create their estimating algorithms, and use similar technology to track metrics like movements, heart rate, etc. Certainly, other people have posted here that the estimates they get from their Apple watch seem pretty accurate for them.

Personally, I have a Garmin watch. I wear it all day every day. I like it, and use it for calorie estimating some types of exercise, but I don't use it for all-day calorie burn. I've learned that most of the standard algorithms dramatically underestimate my calorie needs, and that goes for MFP as well as my device. (I'd point out that the exact same Garmin model estimates accurately for other people who've posted about it here. It's not so much that the device isn't accurate, it's that I'm somehow not very average.)

So, what features are you looking for? And what makes you think your Apple watch is inaccurate?

John772016 wrote: »

jonzo21 wrote: »

... have an Apple Watch but don’t feel it’s very accurate.. and I suppose I could just pair it with a heart rate monitor but wanted to see if there’s something out there not just for exercise but overall daily burn and tracking.

Do you take your watch off?
Why do you believe it's not accurate?
I don't use Apple (Garmin) but your Apple watch should be pretty good so I'm not sure what the issue is?

jonzo21

I think I used the quotes wrong not sure how to reply directly to people on here sorry!

I take my watch off at night to charge and put on after shower in the morning. Not sure how the general calorie burn is but I’ve noticed it’ll give me nearly the same calorie burn when I do Zumba whether I go hard or not. If I do an hour of Zumba at home (limited space to really get in the movements and just barely break a sweat) vs being out of breath in a Zumba class I’m surprised there’s not a bigger difference in calories burned.

In regards to what I liked about bodymedia, it was so long ago but I think it was having both the calories expended versus consumed as a comparison in a bar kind of visual (it was rewarding for me to grow the bar of expended calories versus consumed). It was simple and somehow motivating for me to just pull up the app and glance where that was at, visually

Sett2023

jonzo21 wrote: »

In regards to what I liked about bodymedia, it was so long ago but I think it was having both the calories expended versus consumed as a comparison in a bar kind of visual (it was rewarding for me to grow the bar of expended calories versus consumed). It was simple and somehow motivating for me to just pull up the app and glance where that was at, visually

I have a Fitbit and there's this. I don't think it's precise, but I find it very useful because I compare the weeks calories in and out, and then the weight average of each week, so I know that it Fitbit says I had a deficit of (for instance) 500 cal/day for a week, the next week my weight will go down of tot (obviously it's an average, than there's water/menstrual cycle etc, it's not linear, but at the end of month/6 weeks everything go in its place). (Note: i consider only week average and not day, because I have different amounts of calories - for instance, on Saturday and Sundays I eat foods way more caloric, as pizza and so on - and ditto for my walking, that is my only exercise, I can go from 10k steps to also 35k if we go in the mountains etc), but obviously you cam look at the single day also.

Sett2023

Ah, and there are the coloured bars (green, red or blue for the calories in/grey for burned, so you immedtiately see if you've eaten too much/not enough).

AnnPT77

jonzo21 wrote: »

I think I used the quotes wrong not sure how to reply directly to people on here sorry!

I take my watch off at night to charge and put on after shower in the morning. Not sure how the general calorie burn is but I’ve noticed it’ll give me nearly the same calorie burn when I do Zumba whether I go hard or not. If I do an hour of Zumba at home (limited space to really get in the movements and just barely break a sweat) vs being out of breath in a Zumba class I’m surprised there’s not a bigger difference in calories burned.

That may not be wrong. Of course we burn more calories at higher intensity, but the difference may not be that huge. For sure, sweat or being out of breath aren't reliable measures of calorie burn rate.

I've trained (sometimes) and worked out (always) with and for a short-endurance cardiovascular sport (on-water rowing, but some machine rowing as well). I've been doing that for over 20 years now.

A thing I've observed is what I'd call a "threshold effect". When I push the intensity, there's a point where it feels much harder, more fatiguing, triggers harder breathing, etc. . . . but my heart rate and the calorie expenditure are just increasing at a gradual rate over that time, not the dramatic change I'm feeling subjectively. (There are some physiological facts behind this effect, but I'm not going to belabor that here.)

In regards to what I liked about bodymedia, it was so long ago but I think it was having both the calories expended versus consumed as a comparison in a bar kind of visual (it was rewarding for me to grow the bar of expended calories versus consumed). It was simple and somehow motivating for me to just pull up the app and glance where that was at, visually

The person above may be right about the Fitbit providing that. (I use a Garmin, and that doesn't integrate food tracking within its own sphere . . . but it does a great job with the training and sport-specific stats I need.)

If you want to get a full picture of calorie burn, I'd suggest a device you can wear 24x7 (except when charging, of course). You're burning calories when you're asleep, among other reasons.

If you link a supported device to MFP, you'll get some statistics about calorie consumption vs. calorie expenditure, but not exactly in the format you're describing. I'd say it's not as visual, but the info is there. There's a list of supported devices somewhere, but it includes the usual Fitbit, Garmin, Apple Watch, and more. The exact nature of how they integrate can be a little different from device to device, but you can ask questions here about that.

jonzo21

That may not be wrong. Of course we burn more calories at higher intensity, but the difference may not be that huge. For sure, sweat or being out of breath aren't reliable measures of calorie burn rate.

I've trained (sometimes) and worked out (always) with and for a short-endurance cardiovascular sport (on-water rowing, but some machine rowing as well). I've been doing that for over 20 years now.

A thing I've observed is what I'd call a "threshold effect". When I push the intensity, there's a point where it feels much harder, more fatiguing, triggers harder breathing, etc. . . . but my heart rate and the calorie expenditure are just increasing at a gradual rate over that time, not the dramatic change I'm feeling subjectively. (There are some physiological facts behind this effect, but I'm not going to belabor that here.)

This is interesting, maybe it explains it but feels odd, like I don’t need to work as hard but that goes against what I know lol

The person above may be right about the Fitbit providing that. (I use a Garmin, and that doesn't integrate food tracking within its own sphere . . . but it does a great job with the training and sport-specific stats I need.)

If you want to get a full picture of calorie burn, I'd suggest a device you can wear 24x7 (except when charging, of course). You're burning calories when you're asleep, among other reasons.

If you link a supported device to MFP, you'll get some statistics about calorie consumption vs. calorie expenditure, but not exactly in the format you're describing. I'd say it's not as visual, but the info is there. There's a list of supported devices somewhere, but it includes the usual Fitbit, Garmin, Apple Watch, and more. The exact nature of how they integrate can be a little different from device to device, but you can ask questions here about that.

I’ll definitely look into the Fitbit for that visual, sounds like what I might like. I do have my Apple Watch paired with MFP but seeing numbers isn’t enough (I work with numbers and data at work so I feel like this method feels too much like “work” for me) which is why I’m hoping for like a bar/color simple comparison.

jonzo21

Sett2023 wrote: »

Ah, and there are the coloured bars (green, red or blue for the calories in/grey for burned, so you immedtiately see if you've eaten too much/not enough).

I’ll look into this thanks! Do you wear it all day?

Sett2023

jonzo21 wrote: »

Sett2023 wrote: »

Ah, and there are the coloured bars (green, red or blue for the calories in/grey for burned, so you immedtiately see if you've eaten too much/not enough).

I’ll look into this thanks! Do you wear it all day?

Yes, day and night, so it gives me also the details of sleep and heart (it has a button you can click to "obscure" it so it doesn't wake you with the light) and I use it also as alarm for the morning (it's weird, it only vibrates but strangely it's very efficient, and I find it very useful because it wakes only me and not my partner, as it doesn't produce noise). I keep it even in the shower, so in the meantime I wash it. Basically I didn't remove it since from December 2019, when I bought it (apart from when I weigh myself in the morning :-D). My model is an Inspire HR, very lean: obviously you see very little on the display of the watch itself (there are also big models, I thought of them but in the end I prefer a discreet device, and the price was also very different!), but both the app and the website are very rich (and they show also some different things, so it's useful having installed both).
PS: obviously I remove it also for charging, but it's a quick thing (apart from the first time that I remember loooong), about once every two-three days.

ninerbuff

I had a BodyBugg years ago. In fact my pics will show me wearing it. My daughter was like 5 at the time and she's 19 now. Thing was the rave at the time, but many wrist units will give you an adequate reading of your work and heartrate.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

jonzo21

Yes, day and night, so it gives me also the details of sleep and heart (it has a button you can click to "obscure" it so it doesn't wake you with the light) and I use it also as alarm for the morning (it's weird, it only vibrates but strangely it's very efficient, and I find it very useful because it wakes only me and not my partner, as it doesn't produce noise). I keep it even in the shower, so in the meantime I wash it. Basically I didn't remove it since from December 2019, when I bought it (apart from when I weigh myself in the morning :-D). My model is an Inspire HR, very lean: obviously you see very little on the display of the watch itself (there are also big models, I thought of them but in the end I prefer a discreet device, and the price was also very different!), but both the app and the website are very rich (and they show also some different things, so it's useful having installed both).
PS: obviously I remove it also for charging, but it's a quick thing (apart from the first time that I remember loooong), about once every two-three days.

Nice, I have that feature on my Apple Watch too (Tap alarm) it’s nice to not wake your partner! Also I’m trying to look up an image of the dashboard to see how it looks but I’m seeing a lot of half circle (instead of colored bars) and seeing examples of exercise tracking but not just overall daily burn compared to food intake. Is there an image I can look at that’s similar to what you’re describing?

Sett2023

This is from my Fitbit. Note 1: as I said, I bought it at the end of 2019. I don't know if the current model features the same layout. Note 2: differently that in MFP, Fitbit updates burnt calories as the day goes on, so in the morning you'll be always over your budget because the BM is low.

jonzo21

This is from my Fitbit. Note 1: as I said, I bought it at the end of 2019. I don't know if the current model features the same layout. Note 2: differently that in MFP, Fitbit updates burnt calories as the day goes on, so in the morning you'll be always over your budget because the BM is low.

Thank you!

MovinNow

I have a Fitbit Luxe that I wear all the time. Love how it syncs to MFP, and that it is very slim. I have bought some different straps that are readily available. Changing straps is just a quick click. Be sure to look at the features of the different FitBits before you buy, some have more than others.

Mouse_Potato

I had a Bodymedia. I was so upset when Jawbone bought them and destroyed it! Literally overnight all the information became worthless. I ended up buying a Fitbit Charge HR 2 and I'm still using it 8 years later. I've tried the newer models, but didn't care for them, so I will be using this one until it breaks or the software quits working or something like that. I don't know how accurate it is, but it is consistent, so if I don't seem to be losing as expected it's pretty easy to adjust my intake.

yirara

Garmin also has some nice stats, and has some smartwatches that actually look like watches. Check out the Garmin Lily. Please note that functionality is a bit more limited compared to a big, fat sports watch and battery life probably a bit lower than a simple band, but maybe that's also something to look into.