Bodymedia armband or Fitbit is it worth it?

Mongognom

I'm considering getting an activity tracker and I was wondering if anyone here have experience with them. Is it worth the money? Are the cheaper models as good as the more expensive?

yarwell

I picked up an older Fitbit on Ebay, I like the activity monitoring as it reminds me to get up and down some stairs etc every day.

Hezzietiger1

totally and the fitbix flex is super cool.. its a wrist band and uploads to your phone or blue tooth device throughout the day.. shows u where u are most active, lets u set a step goal, calories, and track sleep patterns.

Becca_Smith1552

I have both of them and I like both of them The BodyMedia gives you a little more info. than the FitBit, but either of them are great motivators for moving more!

Vicky_Sinclair

I have the Fitbit One and I really like it. Makes me want to get up and move a lot more than I did before.

triskaidekaphile13

I absolutely love my FitBit. It's changed my life. I have the older Ultra version that clips on to my waistband. Depending on where you are in the world they've just launched a new wristband version called Force to replace the Flex with a better display. Yesterday I didn't want to exercise in the morning and had a lazy day and was left with 8,000 steps to do before I went to bed. I was determined to get them and did the 10,000th step just after 10:10pm. It makes me so much more aware of my levels of activity and I sync my activities to Earnd It and spend them on charity donations. Win all round. I also like my calorie goal on MFP rising as I do more.

blueboxgeek

So how do these actually work? You wear them all day and they track your activity right? Does it show you calories burned during exercise? I was considering getting a heart rate monitor for exercise, but one of these might encourage me to do more general activity during the day.

warriorsal

My wife and I have fitbits. Ours is the Flex, so it goes around our wrist and keeps track of steps taken. It also gives you a rough idea of calories burnt. The best part about it is that we can check on each other to see who is leading in steps for the day. In that regard, it is very motivating to get up and move!

coffee4me57

I have the Fitbit Zip and love it. Good for tracking how many steps in a day and the treadmill.

ktsmom430

I have a fitbit one. It is the single best motivator I have. It challenges me to get up and move. I don't think it is accurate on calories burned, but that is not an issue for me. I need the challenge it gives me to get up and get those extra steps every day.

Boofuls

I have a fitbit zip and prefer it to more expensive fitbits. It's easily hidden, I just wear it in my bra.

It's been life changing for me. I have had lazy sundays where I literally take about 1200 steps. On those days it deducts around 200 calories from what I can eat. Very instructive!

Willbenchforcupcakes

I have the zip as well and love it. It's been very instructive on how much I move almost every single day. I have the very occasional lazy day like yesterday, but on average I'm at 20,000+ steps per day.

stef_monster

I had a FitBit Ultra that I managed to kill with my sweat, and FitBit replaced with a One for free because I'd had it less than a year.

I LOVE my FitBit. I work a very sedentary job with little opportunity to get up and move, and FitBit helps me get an idea of how my movement (or lack thereof) affects my caloric intake. I like having a little TDEE calculator hanging out with me all day- it really takes the guesswork out of eating at a deficit. You can also set it to record how many calories, steps, etc you do during a certain timeframe. I don't think it's as accurate as an HRM for things like weightlifting and yoga, but it's close enough not to stress about.

Call me crazy, but another of the selling points of the FitBit One (for me) was the silent alarm. You can wear it in a wristband when you go to bed to track your sleep, and it vibrates when your alarm goes off. I hate alarm clocks, so it's perfect.

potluck965

I have a BodyMedia and find it extremely useful. I didn't get it until I was on maintenance, which is almost more of a struggle than weight loss.

I really like all the info it provides.

QuilterInVA

I've found the BodyMedia to be more accurate in calorie burn for the day than the FitBit. The FitBit is a glorified pedometer. Cheap activity models are not accurate so get the best you can afford.

VonDressToLarge

YYEES!! So worth every cent

VonDressToLarge

I have both of them and I like both of them The BodyMedia gives you a little more info. than the FitBit, but either of them are great motivators for moving more!

Me too and i love them!!!

stangirl1995

I have the fitbit one and it is a HUGE motivator. I have a desk job and did not realize how sedentary you are. Now I get up and walk around the room while I am on the phone and go for a short walk on lunch break. Love it!!

jmcreynolds91

I have the bodymedia and love it! It gives you so much information. Before I got it a couple of months ago, I did a little research and found that the BM is supposed to be a little more accurate and tracking calories. I absolutely love mine as I can see so much information. It converts the info to little graphs and so helpful to see. It also helps me get my butt moving!!

fougamou

I love my Fitbit.

One thing not mentioned yet is that it has really helped me link my activity with calorie intake.

It has really helped me accept the fact that some days I am active and some days I am not, and that is OK. What is not OK is eating like I am active when I am not active :laugh: So if I want to sit around my house reading all day trying to destress, its OK as long as I am not sitting there eating cheesecake.


(Which makes it sound like I Use it as an excuse not to move around, which is not the case at all. It is a huge motivator for me to get up and move around, park farther away, take the stairs, take a walk, etc. )

Panda_Rolls

I have a Fitbit flex and I LOVE it! It may not give completely accurate calorie counts but I think it's pretty darn close. As others have said, it definitely motivates me to move when I've been a lazy slug all day!