Gadgets -- BodyMedia?

Katie_Norton

Hi all!

I'm really having a difficult time deciding on the right gadget for me. At first I thought that I wanted the Nike Fuel Band, but now I'm looking at the BodyMedia devices. What have you tried or recommend?

Currently I have a garmin (w/GPS and HRM strap), but it doesn't track my movement inside and it doesn't really track calisthenics or cycles of workouts like crossfit or insanity type workouts. Oh - I HATE the chest strap and do not want to wear one .... it really annoys me and distracts me from my workout!

I loved the idea of the Fuel band, but it doesn't really track the different between running up a flight of stairs and walking down a flight of stairs (much like the UP and Fitbit). Before I commit to bodymedia -- I just want to see what you all think of the gismo.

Thanks so much,
Katie

DavPul

I would avoid spending time and money on unneeded gadgets and just workout.

Anafviertons

I've been doing a lot of research on them as well...body media and fit bit are very similar. Body,edis you have o wear the armband all day as the fitbit you can attach the small device to your bra it's the size of a Bluetooth device...bodymedia has a monthly subscription and is a bit more expensive as for fitbit it's around $100 with no subscription as you can tell I'm leaning more towards the fitbit :P but I'm still reasearching

SugarFemme24

I've had a bodymedia for about 2 weeks now and I LOVE it! Once it finds a good place in your arm you rarely notice it and its awesome to see exactly what is going on with your body.

I figured if I was gonna spend a lot on a gadget I wanted it to be the best and to be the most accurate, which is why u picked the bodymedia.

Katie_Norton

Thanks everyone! I'm still leaning towards the bodymedia. I know I do not need a gadget, but I really want to know how much I burn during my working hours. I am often running around and I didn't like how the fitbit, fuel band, UP all track going up the stairs the same ... it doesn't know the difference between running up the stairs or walking down.

Sugar - thank you -- you just confirmed my purchase later this week.

Have a great day, and keep charging

bmag1969

Dont forget that the body media gadget will give you a better idea of what your resting metabolic rate is well. I love my bodymdia

tennesseeleigh

I had a bodymedia armband a few years ago and liked it. But, it was pretty bulky and always showed under my clothes. I also didn't like that I had to pay for a subscription to the website. I stopped using it after about six months. I have a fitbit now and it suits my purposes for my non-workout time. I still rely on my Polar HRM for workouts.

mrskperry

I can't say just yet, but I asked my husband for one as an anniversary present. I should be getting it today or this weekend. I am VERY excited to see how it works, and I'll be sure to let everyone know if I think it's amazing!

jaz050465

I've been doing a lot of research on them as well...body media and fit bit are very similar. Body,edis you have o wear the armband all day as the fitbit you can attach the small device to your bra it's the size of a Bluetooth device...bodymedia has a monthly subscription and is a bit more expensive as for fitbit it's around $100 with no subscription as you can tell I'm leaning more towards the fitbit :P but I'm still reasearching

Bodymedia is much more accurate than Futbit

jaz050465

I had a bodymedia armband a few years ago and liked it. But, it was pretty bulky and always showed under my clothes. I also didn't like that I had to pay for a subscription to the website. I stopped using it after about six months. I have a fitbit now and it suits my purposes for my non-workout time. I still rely on my Polar HRM for workouts.

The new core is smaller and the subscription really isn't that expensive.

I ruffle up my sleeves and no one has moment end on it.

jtannehill75

I wear both the bodymedia and the fitbit. I have had my bodymedia since jan 2012. I have lost 85 pounds total. I started wearing the fitbit this summer.. but noticed there is a DEFINITE difference between the two. The bodymedia has skin sensors.. so I feel like it's much more accurate!!

When comparing the two at the end of the day.. the bodymedia generally says I burn between 400 and 500 cals more than the fitbit.. I would go for the bodymedia!!

HaywireII

I've got the Link. It's invisible under my clothes.

serenapitala

I love my Body Media Link. It's easy. It hides under my clothes. It links well with MFP. The phone app is cool. If you are a technophile you will love it. People who know I have it think it is pretty cool. It does require a subscription, but mine came with a six month subscription, so I don't have to think about it for another four months. I had plateaued when I started it. With it I've gotten back to a pound a week loss.

freespirit420

Do we need to change the settings on my fitness pal for the calorie burn and food goal?

d2footballJRC

I have the bodymedia link and love it.

Freespirit420, they link up to each other, and will change your food goals for you.

PhotogirlTX

I have had my BodyMedia since December 5th.. worn it every single day. LOVE IT. I have a Garmin 405CX and I use it as a heart rate monitor. I use it on the treadmill, on the elliptical, when I am doing a tape like Charlean Extreme. While it doesn't calculate the distance, it does a great job of tracking my heart rate. I can then upload it to Garmin Connect and see my burn and edit my entry to put in distance.

I think the tool has been really motivating to me to show me how much I burn, and on the days that I am being a bit lazy, I can sync it to see what I have done and what I still need to do.

I have averaged 2 pounds a week since December 3rd... for a total loss to date of 21 pounds. I think this gadget has really kept me focused on moving more!

chadgard

Do we need to change the settings on my fitness pal for the calorie burn and food goal?

You don't need to adjust setting on mfp, provided you enable the option for negative exercise adjustment. Whatever you happen to have mfp set at for your activity level, if you're actually below that according to the BodyMedia, it will enter a negative calorie adjustment as exercise (ie, you burned -500 calories). If you're over it, it will enter a positive calorie adjustment as exercise (ie, you burned 500 calories). If you don't enable the negative adjustment, though, it will only enter adjustments if you burn more than mfp expects, so if you sit like a lump all day while mfp thinks you're active, and you eat all those calories you aren't burning, you'll gain weight...

I've had the BodyMedia Link for 4ish weeks now, and really like it. I work exceptionally long hours (7 days a week, 16+ hour days commonplace), and my activity levels at work vary wildly. For example, yesterday I didn't go for a run, but I walked over 18,000 steps just working, and had over 2 hours of moderate activity, and over 40 minutes of Vigorous activity. When I got home at 11:20, with a horribly sinus cold, and knowing I had to get up at 4:00 am, I could just go to bed and not feel guilty that I hadn't worked out. Meanwhile, today, even through I ran for 30 minutes, I only have 10046 steps so far, with 2:14 of moderate activity and 14 minutes of vigorous, so I'll need to watch what I eat for dinner here in a little bit. But I FEEL like I've been more active today (because of the run), so I would have misjudged without it. It would be very difficult for me to track my activity without a device, since it is so spread out over the day and is an organic part of what I'm doing.

I teach at a private school, so coat and tie is the dress code. But even if I take the coat off, you can't tell I'm wearing it. Actually, even just wearing a T shirt, unless is sticks out under the sleeve, it's pretty much unnoticeable. some of the other models are bigger and may be more noticeable... I haven't tried it, but have read that some users wear the BM on their calf, rather than arm, and get results fairly consistent with wearing it on the left arm like you're supposed to. Every question on their FAQ about wearing it elsewhere has the same quote from the owners manual about wearing it on your left tricep.

I had considered a FitBit, which the nurse practitioner at our on site clinic uses for herself. The cost is about the same, but after the first 6 months, there's a small monthly fee for the BodyMedia that the FitBit doesn't have. However, the BodyMedia is reportedly (allegedly?) more accurate - I tend to believe that, since it has the temperature and galvanic skin response sensors that the FitBit does not. The other consideration for me was that the BodyMedia has an arm band that holds it to your body, and makes it hard to loose when it's off of your body. The FitBit has a clip to attach to an article of clothing, from which it could fall off. Knowing myself, I'd probably put it in my pocket instead, or clip it to my belt. Either way, I'd eventually drop it, and replacing it all the time would be more expensive than the BM subscriptions.

The first couple of days with the BM I had a couple of issues. First, I kept syncing it all the time to see what was up, and ran the battery down rather low on my iPhone. Now that it has become a normal part of my life, I tend to sync at meal times and before bed and that's not an issue. I did have a little discomfort the first couple days wearing it as well, but that was probably due to "picking at it" and moving it around a lot due to the novelty of it. I mostly don't notice it at all anymore.

Katie_Norton

yes, that is what I saw as well. The subscription isn't that bad and comes with 6mts right off the bat. Still cheaper than Jillian Micheals!

Katie_Norton

I wear both the bodymedia and the fitbit. I have had my bodymedia since jan 2012. I have lost 85 pounds total. I started wearing the fitbit this summer.. but noticed there is a DEFINITE difference between the two. The bodymedia has skin sensors.. so I feel like it's much more accurate!!

When comparing the two at the end of the day.. the bodymedia generally says I burn between 400 and 500 cals more than the fitbit.. I would go for the bodymedia!!

Wow, thanks so much! I think I am defiantly going with the BodyMedia

Katie_Norton

I have the bodymedia link and love it.

Freespirit420, they link up to each other, and will change your food goals for you.

Awe, really. Thats pretty sweet.

Katie_Norton

Do we need to change the settings on my fitness pal for the calorie burn and food goal?

You don't need to adjust setting on mfp, provided you enable the option for negative exercise adjustment. Whatever you happen to have mfp set at for your activity level, if you're actually below that according to the BodyMedia, it will enter a negative calorie adjustment as exercise (ie, you burned -500 calories). If you're over it, it will enter a positive calorie adjustment as exercise (ie, you burned 500 calories). If you don't enable the negative adjustment, though, it will only enter adjustments if you burn more than mfp expects, so if you sit like a lump all day while mfp thinks you're active, and you eat all those calories you aren't burning, you'll gain weight...

I've had the BodyMedia Link for 4ish weeks now, and really like it. I work exceptionally long hours (7 days a week, 16+ hour days commonplace), and my activity levels at work vary wildly. For example, yesterday I didn't go for a run, but I walked over 18,000 steps just working, and had over 2 hours of moderate activity, and over 40 minutes of Vigorous activity. When I got home at 11:20, with a horribly sinus cold, and knowing I had to get up at 4:00 am, I could just go to bed and not feel guilty that I hadn't worked out. Meanwhile, today, even through I ran for 30 minutes, I only have 10046 steps so far, with 2:14 of moderate activity and 14 minutes of vigorous, so I'll need to watch what I eat for dinner here in a little bit. But I FEEL like I've been more active today (because of the run), so I would have misjudged without it. It would be very difficult for me to track my activity without a device, since it is so spread out over the day and is an organic part of what I'm doing.

I teach at a private school, so coat and tie is the dress code. But even if I take the coat off, you can't tell I'm wearing it. Actually, even just wearing a T shirt, unless is sticks out under the sleeve, it's pretty much unnoticeable. some of the other models are bigger and may be more noticeable... I haven't tried it, but have read that some users wear the BM on their calf, rather than arm, and get results fairly consistent with wearing it on the left arm like you're supposed to. Every question on their FAQ about wearing it elsewhere has the same quote from the owners manual about wearing it on your left tricep.

I had considered a FitBit, which the nurse practitioner at our on site clinic uses for herself. The cost is about the same, but after the first 6 months, there's a small monthly fee for the BodyMedia that the FitBit doesn't have. However, the BodyMedia is reportedly (allegedly?) more accurate - I tend to believe that, since it has the temperature and galvanic skin response sensors that the FitBit does not. The other consideration for me was that the BodyMedia has an arm band that holds it to your body, and makes it hard to loose when it's off of your body. The FitBit has a clip to attach to an article of clothing, from which it could fall off. Knowing myself, I'd probably put it in my pocket instead, or clip it to my belt. Either way, I'd eventually drop it, and replacing it all the time would be more expensive than the BM subscriptions.

The first couple of days with the BM I had a couple of issues. First, I kept syncing it all the time to see what was up, and ran the battery down rather low on my iPhone. Now that it has become a normal part of my life, I tend to sync at meal times and before bed and that's not an issue. I did have a little discomfort the first couple days wearing it as well, but that was probably due to "picking at it" and moving it around a lot due to the novelty of it. I mostly don't notice it at all anymore.

Thank you! So informative and helpful with your real life experience with it. My daily routine also varies and I think I am much like you and will run around like a crazy lady at work some days and others I find myself barely moving around my desk.

chadgard

Thank you! So informative and helpful with your real life experience with it. My daily routine also varies and I think I am much like you and will run around like a crazy lady at work some days and others I find myself barely moving around my desk.

Glad to be helpful. I think folks like us, who have wildly varying activity levels in our daily lives, are probably the ones most benefited by a monitoring device. People who have more regimented, routine days that resemble each other can probably get all the info they need with just MFP, a scale, and some time, and so may find a monitor more of a novelty than helpful.

azrrt76

I've had my Bodymedia one week as of today and I love it! I love numbers and gadgets so its entertaining. And like a lot of you, I work long shifts and some days are way busier than others. One thing I learned is that I burn more calories by the end of the day when I have a crazy shift than I do if I'm having a day off and I do an hour long Insanity workout....not by much, but I do. I've started eating more on my work days and the scale has moved for the first time in awhile....could be coincidental. I'll take it!

karaelyn

I've had the bodymedia Link now for 2 days, and I'm concerned about the differences between the burn mfp and bodymedia has for me generally being sedentary. (I know, it's only been two days).

mfp has me burning about 1750/day, and eating 1500/day to lose .5 lb/ week.

yesterday BodyMedia had me at 2200 cal/day, and I'm on track for the same today. I didn't do a workout, I just did things like grocery shopping. And I'm short and squat (5' 3"), so I'm having a hard time believing a burn that much. If I've been eating 1500 cal/day and have been "really" burning 2200 calories, why wouldn't I be losing a ton of weight?!

Did anyone else have this problem? Thanks so much!

d2footballJRC

I've had the bodymedia Link now for 2 days, and I'm concerned about the differences between the burn mfp and bodymedia has for me generally being sedentary. (I know, it's only been two days).

mfp has me burning about 1750/day, and eating 1500/day to lose .5 lb/ week.

yesterday BodyMedia had me at 2200 cal/day, and I'm on track for the same today. I didn't do a workout, I just did things like grocery shopping. And I'm short and squat (5' 3"), so I'm having a hard time believing a burn that much. If I've been eating 1500 cal/day and have been "really" burning 2200 calories, why wouldn't I be losing a ton of weight?!

Did anyone else have this problem? Thanks so much!

Bodymedia takes a few days to get accurate. It'll adjust a bit over the next couple days. In the instruction manual you talks about how the first 3-4 days the calories might be off slightly.

karaelyn

Thank you so much! Guess I just have to learn a little patience

d2footballJRC

Thank you so much! Guess I just have to learn a little patience

It's all good. I had the same problem, the first day it said I burned like 4.9k calories.. I was like.. WHHHHAAAATTTTT (In the awesome borat voice!) Then it started dropping.. Down to around 3.6k which is about right around where I thought it would be.

kim4bs

I bought BodyMedia and sent it back today. I'm using the Scosche Rhythm instead. I like the placement on my forearm better. It feels better during my Insanity workouts. I don't want to wear something all day or a chest strap. Bluetooth to my iPhone so I can see my heart rate on it & it keeps track of calories burned during the workout.

mscroutons

I just got my Bodymedia yesterday and today was my first day of wearing it.

I also had a Fitbit, but I had problems with keeping it clipped to my clothes. I always dropped it somewhere. Once in the toilet. The last time in a parking lot. I found it smushed and not working.

I picked the Bodymedia because of the sensors that it had. It just seemed a lot more accurate than the Fitbit. The Fitbit is cool, but I think it's more of a pedometer.

If you go to the Apps section in MFP, there is a coupon code to get 15% off a Bodymedia.

So far today, I realized how much I need to move. Having full knowledge of how many calories I am burning, I feel like I am in better control of how much I should be eating.

katevarner

@karaelyn, you may be burning that much or even more. I'm 5'3" and I average 2250 calories burned per day, and I only weigh 110. When I started with BMF (and weighed 134), my goal was to burn 2150 per day and eat 1650. I lost about a pound a week doing just that. After 4 months, I upped my workouts, so upped my burn goal to 2350 and my calories to 1850 and still lost about a pound a week.

That said, I agree that you should give it a couple of weeks to get used to you, but it's entirely possible that you aren't eating enough to fuel your workouts. MFP says I only need 1710 to maintain, and that's set at very active, so if it's telling you to eat 1750 to lose, you need to eat at least that much.

OP, hope you love your BMF as much as I do!

karaelyn

Thank you d2footballJRC and katevarner! It is actually very helpful to know that you are burning 2250 given our heights- and you weigh less than me, so maybe my burn is accurate so far! But I agree, I should give it a few weeks like d2footballJRC said.

Thanks both