Body Bugg vs. Heart Rate Monitor

SherrysLife2012

I have a Body Bugg and I love it, I don't love paying every year for it or every month...9.99/month or 79.99/year, this was a small detail left out when I bought this back in 09. In other words, I have invested $249 for the device and another approx. $300 in fees so far in order for it to work. Therefore leading me to my question.....how does a heart rate monitor let you know your daily calorie burn?? Are there any waterproof heart rate monitors with this information, as I do a lot of swimming for exercise?? Sorry if I sound super dumb, I see a lot of posts where people say HRM is better than fitbit, which a fitbit would be a waste for me as I do other exercise than walking, but I want something like the Body Bugg that will give me daily calorie burn, so is there a HRM that will do this? Or are you just figuring your heart rate...etc. If there is such a HRM, which one do you recommend??

Thanks,
Sherry
P.S....and before anyone says...what is your health worth...lol...I will say its what I spend most my money on, between the gym membership cost, the weight loss club membership cost, vitamins, healthy foods and Body Bugg, it gets pretty expensive and I have to pay bills to keep a roof over my head, so if I could get rid of one bill, like the BB, it would help.

SteveHunt113

You won't want to use a HRM to calculate daily burn, though they do make water proof ones. My Polar FT7 can be used for swimming.

You could consider a BodyMedia fit, which is made by the same people who make the Bodybugg, but only charge $6.99 each month.

I also use the above BodyMedia fit (only for a week now) to get some ideas about what I'm burning each day outside of exercise.

Good luck!

zxaxel

I'm interested in the answer as well.

cmriverside

Heart Rate Monitors are meant to be used only for elevated heart rate exercise. They can't be used to track all-day calorie expenditure.

You've used the BodyBugg long enough to get a good data set, are you comfortable just winging it for the next year and see if what you have learned sticks? I would think you have learned enough to make it work without it now.

cmriverside

Here's a good blog about HRMs (actually all of Azdak's blogs are great)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472

sheri02r

Here's a good blog about HRMs (actually all of Azdak's blogs are great)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472

Was about to post that same link!

ninerbuff

I'm a Certified Bodybugg "coach" (per Bodymedia) and will say that it's much more accurate than an HRM. Where HRM's read heart rate and calculate BPM's and duration to figure calories burned, the Bodybugg uses an accelerometer, a sweat sensor, heat sensor and skin sensor.
I do have one, but am not currently using it. It does cost extra for the use and the food menu is terrible (compared to MFP and Livestrong) however if calorie expenditure count is your concern, it's very accurate and good.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

kappyd

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