Has anyone used the BodyMedia FIT CORE armband?

epona_mus

I've been looking at these and Costco will have them on sale on Black Friday for ~$100.

BodyMedia FIT™ CORE Armband
On-Body Wellness Monitor
Includes Activity Manager with 6-month Subscription
Regularly $169.99 at Costco.com

I am looking for a device to calculate my BMR and activity cals burned.

Does anyone have experience with these? Pros/cons? How does the subscription work? Is it necessary?

sweethinkr

Yes, I had it, and my issue with it is that it would not stay on my arm without cutting off the circulation. I could not get comfortable with it and ended up sending it back. My arms are just too big, I guess.

GraceysMommy09

I would really like to have one, but can't afford it!! I say go for it, it can't hurt anything!

gp79

I'm going on 2 weeks wearing a body media fit core. I like it from the aspect of having more accurate data than what a algorithm gives. IMO - the pros are it's ability to track TDEE. It absolutely takes some of the guess work out of it.

Cons - It does not estimate exercise calories well for me in comparison to a heart rate monitor. That being said, it does track walking and running well. I'm basing this upon having done ALOT of running for the past year where I'd always wear a heart rate monitor. I'd gotten to know my body quite well and feel the BMF Core does a good job. Other exercises, such as spinning, or weight training, it's lacking and has a tendency to underestimate by maybe 35 - 50% of calories burned.

I'm a 230lb guy and a 45 minute spin class, with high intensity and effort should be yielding me 700 calories burned and my BMF gave me 300'ish. I wish I had my HRM with me to actually compare but I'm away from home and seemed to have either lost my HRM or forgotten it at home. /shrug

gp79

Yes, I had it, and my issue with it is that it would not stay on my arm without cutting off the circulation. I could not get comfortable with it and ended up sending it back. My arms are just too big, I guess.

I'm using the strap that came with it originally and mine is let all the way out and it's snug to the point where I'll likely have to get the larger strap. Did you consider buying the larger arm band?

MrsCon40

I have one and LOVE it.

I was losing so slowly (like 2 pounds a month) until I got mine. Knowing your actual TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) lets you know really now much to eat to maintain a deficit. There is no "normal" or "average" day for me I have learned and sometimes even when I work out my TDEE is much lower than I would have ever estimated.

I wear mine 23/7 - only take it off to shower - that's when I sync it.

epona_mus

I have one and LOVE it.

I was losing so slowly (like 2 pounds a month) until I got mine. Knowing your actual TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) lets you know really now much to eat to maintain a deficit. There is no "normal" or "average" day for me I have learned and sometimes even when I work out my TDEE is much lower than I would have ever estimated.

I wear mine 23/7 - only take it off to shower - that's when I sync it.

I'm so glad you replied, because I know both of us ride. How accurate do you feel it is for equestrian activities? My rowing machine has a HRM that plugs into it, so I know exactly what my burn rate is there, but I have no idea for all the riding I do...

MrsCon40

I have one and LOVE it.

I was losing so slowly (like 2 pounds a month) until I got mine. Knowing your actual TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) lets you know really now much to eat to maintain a deficit. There is no "normal" or "average" day for me I have learned and sometimes even when I work out my TDEE is much lower than I would have ever estimated.

I wear mine 23/7 - only take it off to shower - that's when I sync it.

I'm so glad you replied, because I know both of us ride. How accurate do you feel it is for equestrian activities? My rowing machine has a HRM that plugs into it, so I know exactly what my burn rate is there, but I have no idea for all the riding I do...

I think it's relatively accurate. I used a traditional HRM before and the readings are similar. Lazy trail rides are barely a burn, while 3 hours at a mock hunt was about 1,200 calories.

Now that I am really paying attention to my TDEE I have lost more weight in the 6 weeks I've had my BMfit than I did in the 6 months prior.

epona_mus

Now that I am really paying attention to my TDEE I have lost more weight in the 6 weeks I've had my BMfit than I did in the 6 months prior.

Impressive!! Thanks!

wolfchild59

I've worn one since Feb and it was love/hate for awhile but that was only because I was still trying to follow MFP's guidelines and work with the BMF info as well. Once I started ignoring MFP's data and trusting the BMF data (since MFP is a generalization as the BMF is specific to me) I've been doing great with it. It helps me keep at the right deficit and motivates me to keep moving, especially on rest days from working out, because I see what the difference is at the end of the day when I sit around vs. when I stay up and moving.

The food database blows. So I track all of my food on MFP as usual, then, at the end of the day, I use the create food feature and add one meal for the day that I enter off of the summary page so it has all the nutrient info as well. That way it still gets an accurate look at what I'm eating each day along with the armband data. And I add my actual burn and deficit (or surplus) to the food notes section of MFP for each day.

To comment on what others have said:
The armbands come in different sizes, so if the ones that it comes with don't fit, just buy a correctly sized one from their site. (the standard one fits me just fine)

Since the movement aspect is based on an accelerometer, if you do an exercise where you aren't involving your arms as much, it will definitely underestimate your calorie burn. Elliptical and stationary bike/spinning are typically cited as the worst. I don't hold onto anything when I do the elliptical, but rather engage my arms as if I was running anyway, so I never have a problem with the elliptical calories being pretty spot on with my HRM readout. But for the bike (and actually, the ARC Trainer as well) I just take the armband off while I workout then use the edit off body time feature to add in the calories I burned based on my HRM readout.

gp79

I've worn one since Feb and it was love/hate for awhile but that was only because I was still trying to follow MFP's guidelines and work with the BMF info as well. Once I started ignoring MFP's data and trusting the BMF data (since MFP is a generalization as the BMF is specific to me) I've been doing great with it. It helps me keep at the right deficit and motivates me to keep moving, especially on rest days from working out, because I see what the difference is at the end of the day when I sit around vs. when I stay up and moving.

The food database blows. So I track all of my food on MFP as usual, then, at the end of the day, I use the create food feature and add one meal for the day that I enter off of the summary page so it has all the nutrient info as well. That way it still gets an accurate look at what I'm eating each day along with the armband data. And I add my actual burn and deficit (or surplus) to the food notes section of MFP for each day.

To comment on what others have said:
The armbands come in different sizes, so if the ones that it comes with don't fit, just buy a correctly sized one from their site. (the standard one fits me just fine)

Since the movement aspect is based on an accelerometer, if you do an exercise where you aren't involving your arms as much, it will definitely underestimate your calorie burn. Elliptical and stationary bike/spinning are typically cited as the worst. I don't hold onto anything when I do the elliptical, but rather engage my arms as if I was running anyway, so I never have a problem with the elliptical calories being pretty spot on with my HRM readout. But for the bike (and actually, the ARC Trainer as well) I just take the armband off while I workout then use the edit off body time feature to add in the calories I burned based on my HRM readout.

^ Good info here. I like the idea of incorporating a HRM into the picture and editing the off-body time.

mark996

My wife and I just got ours a week ago and absolutely love them. We did buy the LINK armbands so that we could track things on our phones such a calories and such while we are out away from the house and such. It's really helped take a lot of guess work out of things.

Heather_A

The food database blows. So I track all of my food on MFP as usual, then, at the end of the day, I use the create food feature and add one meal for the day that I enter off of the summary page so it has all the nutrient info as well. That way it still gets an accurate look at what I'm eating each day along with the armband data. And I add my actual burn and deficit (or surplus) to the food notes section of MFP for each day.

What a great idea. I've just been entering as an estimate. I will have to start making daily foods. I was missing seeing the nutrients. Thanks for the idea!