Fit Bit or Body Media

abrnchood

Hi all,

I bought the Fit Bit about three weeks ago....and just lost it somewhere in transit between my car rental and flight in Oakland CA (I live all the way across the country). As it is lost for good, I wonder if anyone would weigh in (no pun intended) on whether I should buy the Fit Bit or Body Media? The FB synced with my phone really easily, but it did not acknowledge anaerobic activities such as weight lifting, which I do three times a week. I don't like the idea of wearing the band around my arm but obviously wearing a monitor on my pants loop wasn't too smart either. I hate to put the money into another one so soon, but I really did like getting a more accurate calorie count for my daily activity. It has helped me a lot with wrapping my mind around eating more.

heybales

Body Media is movement based calorie burn estimate too, with possibility of slight improvement if sensors work well for you, but for lifting still won't be enough. For some it saw the difference in temp for a few hours later.

BMF has subscription fee too.

Both base non-moving time on calculated BMR based on age, weight. height, gender, with BMF possibly adjusting that based on sleeping temps, if sensors work well in your case.

BMF can further adjust non-moving awake time on higher temps and metobalism (RMR) if sensors work.
FitBit still uses BMR for awake non-moving.

Calorie burn during the movement times seems to be about the same from the reviews I've seen where they got specific. Underestimated on the things they both admit don't log well, cycling, rowing, lifting, ect.

abrnchood

Thanks hey bales. Do you use either one? Or none? I really liked that I didn't have to put the FIt Bit on my arm. I really don't want to pay a monthly fee, so that was another reason for the Fit Bit.

heybales

I used the BMF for about 4 months.
FitBit was a lot of research from others, and use of their accounts sometimes.

The other nice thing with the FitBit, you can replace their unit logged calorie burn with your own better estimate, say from HRM.

For the BMF, you had to actually remove it, and then manually log off-arm activity.

MFP sync makes that a tad better, but it still doesn't replace the time on BMF site, mere adjusts the end results.

abrnchood

Thanks. Maybe I will stick with the FB. And thank you for all of your hard work with the spreadsheet, etc and response to everyone....I use the spreadsheet a lot and I have been using that in conjunction with the FB (all I seem to be doing right now is gaining, but I assume progress will come when I start to cut). And I read your responses to everyone--very, very helpful.

athenalove46

I got a Fitbit Ultra that I use. I also use my HRM during workouts because the Fitbit was really underestimating my daily burn (well, it really didn't show much of a burn) since I do weight lifting. I just wear the HRM while working out, plug that into MFP and it syncs nicely with my Fitbit.

mzthang77

As a side note...email Fitbits customer service that you lost yours. They might send you a replacement. I am on my fourth replacement!! They are amazing!

abrnchood

Thanks. I actually did email them and I think they are going to replace it! I only got to use it for 13 days and lost it in travel transit....maybe they felt bad for me?!

I also ordered the FitBit bracelet--I can send it back if I get a replacement, but I wondered if the bracelet might work better. It says that it is waterproof.

GoGoGadgetMum

I have the one and love it!! Check out this group on mfp there were a few posts about the flex, I think some people prefer the one or even ultra.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/1307-fitbit-users

melissa44

I have used both for some time now I have used the Body Media body bugg aka Core, although it was a bit bulky for my taste, it was extremely accurate, with so much more to monitor. I had a gastric bypass over 10 years ago and it requires me to be able to adjust my macros, therefore despite having to pay for their monthly service I was much happier with the results it gave me.

My subscription ran out, but I did not want to resubscribe, as the new wireless CORE 2 is coming out in Fall (anytime now!) and I heard that the subscription would be included in the offer, so I am holding out.

I have been using my fitbit for 2 weeks now, and I have been more frustrated, if you perspire a lot when working out it interferes with the tracking, I do 3 DVD's a day and I am glistening. My husband uses his fitbit everyday with great results. He has had a few of them replaced FREE by the company, I must say they have awesome customer service.

For me and my need to be more precise with my monitoring I choose Body Media but Fitbit is definately a second runner in my book. I also have a Garmin 910XT (500 dollar watch) that I use for swimming miles, but other than that I still prefer the body media.