FitBit, BodyMedia Fit, HRM, Clean Eating....OH MY!!!

garrisonwife

Ok, I am quite sure someone out there has posted this question (or rather questionS) before...but I'm flat out too lazy to search, so I'm just going to ask away.

I have heard about SO many different "wonderful" techie things that I would like to look into, but I honestly have no idea what each thing is...what each thing does...which is better for me...blah blah blah.

Here is a little about me so you have an idea what you're dealing with:

I'm 32 years old.
I am 5'3" tall.
My SW 6 years ago was 255.
My LW 5 years ago was 160.
Fast forward to now:
I am still 5'3" tall. (Ha)
My SW 40 days ago was 207.
My CW is 198.
My (first) GW is 140.
My UGW is whenever I feel healthiest and happiest.
Scales give me a complex, so I have stopped stepping on them. I plan on weighing myself once a month...or less.
I have a bone disease in both hips, both knees, both femurs, both shoulders and my jaw. I've had my left hip replaced, and my right one will be replaced in about a year or two. Disease in weight-bearing joints = a very huge need to get weight OFF those joints.

I am mostly sedentary. I can (and do) workout on my at-home elliptical trainer as it seems easiest on my joints. I also have a Bowflex system that I want to start using very soon. I am an EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY picky eater. I love red meat, chicken, potatoes...and I refuse to live off of "rabbit food". I eat about 100 less calories than my BMR, and if I eat back my exercise calories, it's usually only about 50% of them. (I'm good with that, by the way.)

So, now that you know a little more about me...here are my questions.

What exactly is a FitBit and a BodyMedia Fit? How are they different from a HRM and are they worth buying? Which one should I get?

Also, what EXACTLY is "clean eating"? I've heard SO many people use that term, and I've tried looking it up, and I still am a bit clueless as to what exactly "clean" eating entails. Could someone dumb it down for me and explain it?

And one more thing. What does HIIT and TDEE mean?

I really do apologize for all the questions...especially since they don't all relate to one another. But I would greatly appreciate it if someone could answer at least some of these questions for me! Thanks so much!!

~MB~

MissMormie

A fitbit is basically a complicated pedometer. It measures how many steps you take during the day. In contrast with most HRM you wear the fitbit the whole day (and if you want at night to track your sleep). It tracks all movement, most of which will be walking for most people. It's not very good at tracking heavy exercise or things like cycling, but if you want to see, and improve on your overall daily activity it's a great help.

For example, there's some rainy sundays where I don't go outside at all and I'll notice I've only got in like 800 steps in a day. Which is very low compared to the recommended 10.000 steps (which is very high and I only tend to get when I'm trying for it). But if I see my step total for the day is very low I'll plan in an extra walk at night for example.

The bodybug does mostly the same, except as it also measures sweat it can see if you are working hard. That is supposed to make it more accurate. I'm not sure if that works well as do not own one. Another difference is that you pay a subscription fee for it. Both are fitbit and bodybug are used for all day measurements.

Clean eating is different depending on who you ask, but mostly it means getting less processed foods from the store and more 'real' food. Like potatoes instead of chips, chicken breast in stead of chicken nuggets. (Strangely enough, if you make the chicken nuggets most people will still see it as clean eating.)

TheStephil

I love love love love my Fitbit. It gives me an easy way to know how many calories I'm burning a day (a more accurate measurement of TDEE), its easy to use, it motivates me and no one knows I wear one. i wear mine in my bra and got mine last August as a birthday gift. I've worn it every day but three days (accidentally left at home) and those days were torture for me. I kept trying to count my steps in my head. I love that I can look at the display any time of the day and know how many steps I've taken and motivate myself to get an extra few in. I have the Ultra (the older model) so it does not sync with my phone but needs to be close to the dock thats attached to my computer. I wish I had the One (newest model) because it syncs with the bluetooth on my phone and since I'm away all day, it would be nice to pull up the app on my phone instead of reaching into my shirt to check my stats. Since you are home most of the day, either would work well for you and you could probably get the Ultra for cheaper. I think it's worth the $100 and it works really well with MFP.
I've heard really good things about the BodyMedia Fit but I don't like the look and I dislike that you have to pay monthly for the website. Others probably have more info but when i was researching it I decided I want to buy a FitBit One as my next model instead of the BodyMedia.

FitBit/BodyMedia are for all day wear. HRMs are for when you are exercising and your heartbeat is up. They should give you a more accurate reading than a step counter because its using more information. I'm looking into getting a HRM if I start any nonstep taking exercises like kicboxing, swimming, etc. I think for the eliptical, running, walking, stairs, etc. the fitibt does a pretty accurate job.

TDEE= total daily energy expendure (how much you burn all day long)
HIIT= high intensity interval training

Cleaning eating = no processed foods and such. I don't know much about this.

meeper123

Bump