Fitbit VS Bodymedia Fit

Tbias78

OK, I bought a Polar FT7 HRM and can't get the thing to transmit my heart rate for nothing and I give up... I'm looking at the Bodymedia Fit armband and the Fitbit... Anyone have experience & prefer one over the other before I invest more money in something?

Tbias78

Bump

dinomomma

I'm wondering what the differences are between these as well

RoseTears143

I actually just ordered one of these. I found a few links that might help you guys from other threads:

http://www.bodymedia.com/Products/Learn-More/How-it-works

http://www.getgrok.com/2013/01/a-comparative-review-28-days-with-the-fitbit-one-jawbone-up-nike-fuelband-and-bodymedia-link/

Edited to clarify that I ordered the BodyMedia Fit LINK armband. :-)

carriej82

I have a body media link arm band. I love it. I don't know anything about the fitbit so I can't help you there.

jonnythan

OK, I bought a Polar FT7 HRM and can't get the thing to transmit my heart rate for nothing and I give up... I'm looking at the Bodymedia Fit armband and the Fitbit... Anyone have experience & prefer one over the other before I invest more money in something?

The Bodymedia Fit is probably a bit more accurate, but wearing a big clunky thing on your arm is a PITA and looks stupid. And if you wear it all the time you get dimples in your arm (I'm not joking).

The Fitbit is very accurate in my experience. I add a little bit on top for weight lifting though.

jaz050465

It depends what type of exercise you do. I hardcore both at one time- the Fitbit gave me a daily burn of about 300 Cals less than the BMF. The BMF is more than 90% accurate b

ThatDamnRobyn

I just got a Fitbit less than a week ago and love it. But it's different from a HRM -- it doesn't actually measure your heart rate. Calorie burn is just a guess over the course of the day. It helps to link it to MFP and input your exercise here -- then Fitbit reconciles the proposed calorie burn on here with itself during the time you say you exercised. I feel like Fitbit and HRM are not comparable gadgets. I use both. Sorry yours HRM sucks. Mine sometimes takes a few minutes to transmit my HR to the watch.

ETA: I think I have that same HRM! Yeah, it can take a while. I find that when it says "0" if I just ignore it for a minute more, it finds my hearbeat. Sometimes I just keep hitting stop and restart and it eventually gets it. Sometimes it comes on right away. Frustrating!

LG61820

I love my Fitbit. It is very motivating to me to see my daily stats in pie charts and bar graphs. I try to do better each day. I don't think the calorie counts are perfect, but I doubt my HRM had perfect calorie counts either and it wasn't nearly as motivating.

If you want to know how many steps you took in a day, how many 10' staircases you climbed, how overall active you were and how sedentary (9 hours, really?), also how you slept the night before then a fitbit is for you. If you want to know at every moment exactly how many calories you are burning then a BodyMedia or some such might be better for you.

tempest_omouthy

I'm getting a Fitbit Flex for my husband and one for myself next week when they come out. We have the Fitbit Aria scale and love it so far. I'll be glad to give you more info after we get them.

justforjen1

I have a bodymedia arm band and I love it! It has really opened my eyes to the amount of calories I burn (or don't burn). I don't have a fitbit, so I can't help you with a comparison.

ginnylee75

I have a body media link arm band. I love it. I don't know anything about the fitbit so I can't help you there.

This....:flowerforyou:

Wilson929

I have a Fitbit and been wearing it everyday for almost a year. I really like that it's small. No one knows I have it on and that's nice for at work or even dressing up. I can still wear it to weddings and what not and get my counts for the day. The Fitbit is easy to use. Put it on and that's pretty much it. It syncs with MFP on it's own. I recently had a friend make the switch to the Fitbit from Bodymedia and for about a week she wore both. She said that overall the Fitbit was a bit lower on cal. burn, but it wasn't a large enough number where she had to adjust her macros. She actually started to lose more because of the difference.

drgnfly4

I researched this to death before I chose. I ended up going with the Body Media. It is an unobtrusive arm band that is well hidden under my shirt sleeves even with short sleeves on, however as a guy our short sleeves don't tend to be as short.

Body Media actually takes five hundred scientific measurments about what your body is really doing every single minute fo the day. Tht's five hundred data points per minute. The fit bit is a pedometer with some inteligent software behind it but is guessing your burn based on a formula and your steps. While the Body Media is aware of your movement in three dimensions, your body temperature flux (How hard you are working) your sweat levels, (through galvanic skin resistances) and your heat output.

It adds to the data some very smart formualas and gets a lot closer to your actual burn within 10%.

It syncs with MFP so I use MFP to input my food and Body Media to track my exercise. Then I use Body Media to print out an amazing report for the day week or month that tells me down to the minute what I was burning. (2.4 Cals per minute sleeping, up to 25 cals a minute at full tilt exercise!) You can graph your workouts and zoom into a mere moment or back way out and see a graph of the whole day. so you can analyze your exercise effectiveness. Body Media also tracks your sleep patterns and effectveness, as well as food water etc... I love mine! I being an analytical guy hooked on numbers and science etc... Found it VERY helpful and I do not believe I would have made the progress I have made without it. I could look down at the LCD screen that receives real time updates form the arm band and see exactly what I was doing during a workout. I reset the trip meter right before I start working out and throughout the workout it flashes between calories per minute averaged since the reset and the total burn since the reset. It obviously also counts your steps, but it does so much more than that. So I can set a caloric burn goal for the workout and go until I hit it. It's also compatible with a number of smart phones (that then run the Body media App) for even better access to your current data. But my phone is one that it will not work on.

If you want real accuracy and access to as much or as little real data a you want the Body Media is my recommendation.

TTLByJackie

I absolutely LOVE my BodyMedia Core armband! Plus, their customer service is top notch (they replaced mine one month out of warranty, no questions asked). It's amazing to see just how much I have or have not burned in a day, or how well I did or did not sleep. The LINK band is supposed to be able to connect via Bluetooth to your phone, but MANY people have issues with it. Plus, Core is a little smaller and if you really want to see updated statistics, there is a little watch-type thing you can purchase and link with.

drgnfly4 explained it perfectly. It really is an amazing device!

jonnythan

I researched this to death before I chose. I ended up going with the Body Media. It is an unobtrusive arm band that is well hidden under my shirt sleeves even with short sleeves on, however as a guy our short sleeves don't tend to be as short.

Body Media actually takes five hundred scientific measurments about what your body is really doing every single minute fo the day. Tht's five hundred data points per minute. The fit bit is a pedometer with some inteligent software behind it but is guessing your burn based on a formula and your steps. While the Body Media is aware of your movement in three dimensions, your body temperature flux (How hard you are working) your sweat levels, (through galvanic skin resistances) and your heat output.

It adds to the data some very smart formualas and gets a lot closer to your actual burn within 10%.

It syncs with MFP so I use MFP to input my food and Body Media to track my exercise. Then I use Body Media to print out an amazing report for the day week or month that tells me down to the minute what I was burning. (2.4 Cals per minute sleeping, up to 25 cals a minute at full tilt exercise!) You can graph your workouts and zoom into a mere moment or back way out and see a graph of the whole day. so you can analyze your exercise effectiveness. Body Media also tracks your sleep patterns and effectveness, as well as food water etc... I love mine! I being an analytical guy hooked on numbers and science etc... Found it VERY helpful and I do not believe I would have made the progress I have made without it. I could look down at the LCD screen that receives real time updates form the arm band and see exactly what I was doing during a workout. I reset the trip meter right before I start working out and throughout the workout it flashes between calories per minute averaged since the reset and the total burn since the reset. It obviously also counts your steps, but it does so much more than that. So I can set a caloric burn goal for the workout and go until I hit it. It's also compatible with a number of smart phones (that then run the Body media App) for even better access to your current data. But my phone is one that it will not work on.

If you want real accuracy and access to as much or as little real data a you want the Body Media is my recommendation.

No.

The fitbit measures your movement the exact same way as the Bodymedia: with a 3-axis accelerometer.

bluebear_74

I've been so frustrated with my Polar FT7 as of late, I have to fiddle with it for 10 minutes before I can get it to work (maybe a need a new strap? I've got it the smaller it will go right now). Any who, I also have a fitbit and use to (I say use to because I dropped and lost it at the shops the other day. Completely devastated, but fitbit are replacing it for free!) use both at the same time and found they actually had similar read outs (doing cardio).

jaz050465

I researched this to death before I chose. I ended up going with the Body Media. It is an unobtrusive arm band that is well hidden under my shirt sleeves even with short sleeves on, however as a guy our short sleeves don't tend to be as short.

Body Media actually takes five hundred scientific measurments about what your body is really doing every single minute fo the day. Tht's five hundred data points per minute. The fit bit is a pedometer with some inteligent software behind it but is guessing your burn based on a formula and your steps. While the Body Media is aware of your movement in three dimensions, your body temperature flux (How hard you are working) your sweat levels, (through galvanic skin resistances) and your heat output.

It adds to the data some very smart formualas and gets a lot closer to your actual burn within 10%.

It syncs with MFP so I use MFP to input my food and Body Media to track my exercise. Then I use Body Media to print out an amazing report for the day week or month that tells me down to the minute what I was burning. (2.4 Cals per minute sleeping, up to 25 cals a minute at full tilt exercise!) You can graph your workouts and zoom into a mere moment or back way out and see a graph of the whole day. so you can analyze your exercise effectiveness. Body Media also tracks your sleep patterns and effectveness, as well as food water etc... I love mine! I being an analytical guy hooked on numbers and science etc... Found it VERY helpful and I do not believe I would have made the progress I have made without it. I could look down at the LCD screen that receives real time updates form the arm band and see exactly what I was doing during a workout. I reset the trip meter right before I start working out and throughout the workout it flashes between calories per minute averaged since the reset and the total burn since the reset. It obviously also counts your steps, but it does so much more than that. So I can set a caloric burn goal for the workout and go until I hit it. It's also compatible with a number of smart phones (that then run the Body media App) for even better access to your current data. But my phone is one that it will not work on.

If you want real accuracy and access to as much or as little real data a you want the Body Media is my recommendation.

No.

The fitbit measures your movement the exact same way as the Bodymedia: with a 3-axis accelerometer.

Yes but it has other sensors too.

pammee44

I love this post, i had a friend call me a few minutes ago and ask me about the bodyfit armband, so this is perfect for both of us as I know nothing about them but have been interested in them.

Thanks for posting this.

jonnythan

I researched this to death before I chose. I ended up going with the Body Media. It is an unobtrusive arm band that is well hidden under my shirt sleeves even with short sleeves on, however as a guy our short sleeves don't tend to be as short.

Body Media actually takes five hundred scientific measurments about what your body is really doing every single minute fo the day. Tht's five hundred data points per minute. The fit bit is a pedometer with some inteligent software behind it but is guessing your burn based on a formula and your steps. While the Body Media is aware of your movement in three dimensions, your body temperature flux (How hard you are working) your sweat levels, (through galvanic skin resistances) and your heat output.

It adds to the data some very smart formualas and gets a lot closer to your actual burn within 10%.

It syncs with MFP so I use MFP to input my food and Body Media to track my exercise. Then I use Body Media to print out an amazing report for the day week or month that tells me down to the minute what I was burning. (2.4 Cals per minute sleeping, up to 25 cals a minute at full tilt exercise!) You can graph your workouts and zoom into a mere moment or back way out and see a graph of the whole day. so you can analyze your exercise effectiveness. Body Media also tracks your sleep patterns and effectveness, as well as food water etc... I love mine! I being an analytical guy hooked on numbers and science etc... Found it VERY helpful and I do not believe I would have made the progress I have made without it. I could look down at the LCD screen that receives real time updates form the arm band and see exactly what I was doing during a workout. I reset the trip meter right before I start working out and throughout the workout it flashes between calories per minute averaged since the reset and the total burn since the reset. It obviously also counts your steps, but it does so much more than that. So I can set a caloric burn goal for the workout and go until I hit it. It's also compatible with a number of smart phones (that then run the Body media App) for even better access to your current data. But my phone is one that it will not work on.

If you want real accuracy and access to as much or as little real data a you want the Body Media is my recommendation.

No.

The fitbit measures your movement the exact same way as the Bodymedia: with a 3-axis accelerometer.

Yes but it has other sensors too.

The Fitbit also has other sensors.

The Bodymedia Fit measures more things than the Fitbit.. but they are of questionable value. Skin temperature and sweat are of dubious use when it comes to estimating calorie output. I think the downsides of the Fit compared to the Fitbit (having to wear a box on your arm all the time that can actually cause semi-permanent skin deformation) far outweigh the benefits (skin temperature and sweat level measurements).

They both measure actual body movement in the exact same way.

bigdgeek

Right now I'm leaning towards the Fitbit Flex; I wish it was out already. :-(

UsedToBeHusky

I have only used the FitBit, which doesn't monitor heart rate. But I really love it and the company's customer service is awesome!

determined_erin

I definitely recommend BodyMedia!

I bought FitBit first. When I took it home, it wouldn't sync to my Macbook Pro. I went to the store, and they couldn't get it to work either, We tried a second FitBit incase the other one was faulty. The problem still existed. Others I've talked to haven't had this issue, but it was so frustrating that I'll never attempt purchasing from FitBit again.

Then I discovered BodyMedia and fell in love. It's even better than what FitBit offers! It tracks much more and with better accuracy, such as calories in and out, steps, amount of sleep vs. just laying down, etc. It uses science to calculate the data, whereas the FitBit using Wii technology. So, the FitBit is more like a pedometer, in my opinion. BodyMedia tracks everything, even when you are just sitting at your desk burning a small amount of calories.

I've used my BodyMedia for almost two months now. It's helped me tremendously stay motivated and lose weight. My first week, I lost 7 lbs with it! Here is a demo of everything it tracks: http://www.bodymedia.com/Products/Learn-More/How-it-works

I use MyFitnessPal to track my food and BodyMedia to track my exercise and sleep. BodyMedia offers a food database to track food, but I find that MyFitnessPal is much better. You can sync both accounts together so that the food and exercise display the same numbers on both sites.

You can sync your BodyMedia data with reward sites such as EarndIt and EveryMove. For so much exercise, you gain points. Then you use these points to get rewards (healthy food, exercise items, charity donations, etc). These sites also work with FitBit.

The only downfall about BodyMedia is it's an ugly grey armband, while the FitBit is a cute little device that can be hidden in a pocket. The BodyMedia device can be hidden under the sleeve of a shirt. I wish it was more attractive!

Overall, I recommend BodyMedia and feel like it would really help you lose weight.

FITnFIRM4LIFE

Bumping 4 later- wondering differences too;-)

MightyDomo

Depends on intended use.

If you are looking to track steps and calories based off of that the fit bit will be the better option, for a more well rounded tracker the LINK tracks calories in and out and estimates your days burn based of off activity and will monitor your sleep patterns.

Now if you want to get an accurate all around caloric burn read I would suggest and HRM or an HRM in combination with the BodyMedia Fit LINK.

Hope you find the right option!

mgmlap

I have the fitbit...getting disappointed with it though. For example..Saturday..went for a 5 K..did over 14k steps..and said i burned 544 cals..whereas on Sunday i did an 8 mile run..and sat around for the rest of the day..over 17k steps..and said i burned 61 calories..WTF..

I bought the BMF today at Costco..it was only $99 with 1 year free subscription..should be interesting..

Jacwhite22

I'm getting a Fitbit Flex for my husband and one for myself next week when they come out. We have the Fitbit Aria scale and love it so far. I'll be glad to give you more info after we get them.

Curious why you are deciding on the flex? I have a fuelband and a fitbit and it is shown that movement tracking on the arm is nowhere near as accurate as on the core..............

Jacwhite22

I researched this to death before I chose. I ended up going with the Body Media. It is an unobtrusive arm band that is well hidden under my shirt sleeves even with short sleeves on, however as a guy our short sleeves don't tend to be as short.

Body Media actually takes five hundred scientific measurments about what your body is really doing every single minute fo the day. Tht's five hundred data points per minute. The fit bit is a pedometer with some inteligent software behind it but is guessing your burn based on a formula and your steps. While the Body Media is aware of your movement in three dimensions, your body temperature flux (How hard you are working) your sweat levels, (through galvanic skin resistances) and your heat output.

It adds to the data some very smart formualas and gets a lot closer to your actual burn within 10%.

It syncs with MFP so I use MFP to input my food and Body Media to track my exercise. Then I use Body Media to print out an amazing report for the day week or month that tells me down to the minute what I was burning. (2.4 Cals per minute sleeping, up to 25 cals a minute at full tilt exercise!) You can graph your workouts and zoom into a mere moment or back way out and see a graph of the whole day. so you can analyze your exercise effectiveness. Body Media also tracks your sleep patterns and effectveness, as well as food water etc... I love mine! I being an analytical guy hooked on numbers and science etc... Found it VERY helpful and I do not believe I would have made the progress I have made without it. I could look down at the LCD screen that receives real time updates form the arm band and see exactly what I was doing during a workout. I reset the trip meter right before I start working out and throughout the workout it flashes between calories per minute averaged since the reset and the total burn since the reset. It obviously also counts your steps, but it does so much more than that. So I can set a caloric burn goal for the workout and go until I hit it. It's also compatible with a number of smart phones (that then run the Body media App) for even better access to your current data. But my phone is one that it will not work on.

If you want real accuracy and access to as much or as little real data a you want the Body Media is my recommendation.

#1 - It is far from unobtrusive........It's pretty big and bulky
#2 - People have tested/worn them side by side and they were very close on calorie burn with the fitbit sometimes underestimating slightly.

UsedToBeHusky

I have the fitbit...getting disappointed with it though. For example..Saturday..went for a 5 K..did over 14k steps..and said i burned 544 cals..whereas on Sunday i did an 8 mile run..and sat around for the rest of the day..over 17k steps..and said i burned 61 calories..WTF..

I bought the BMF today at Costco..it was only $99 with 1 year free subscription..should be interesting..

Did you check the actual FitBit site for your calorie burn? MFP is set up with a formula that "estimates" your calorie burn projection for the whole day based on activity levels. It's difficult to explain, but if you spent the whole day sedentary, then MFP may have adjusted the calorie burn for your sedentary time of the day. You have to turn that feature off.

In other words, it probably wasn't FitBit. It was probably MFP that jacked up your calorie burn.

EvilShenanigansTX

I have the Fitbit and I love it! It tells me exactly what I want to know -how active I am. Some folks may like the 500 data points (or whatever) that the armband tracks, but I just wanted a simple way to track my activity level. I think the calories burned is fairly accurate, but I never eat back all my Fitbit adjusted calories unless I had a hard work out that day. Overall it has helped me with my weight loss goals and I love that it is small. I wear it in my bra and no one knows it is there.

It depends on what your needs are. I wanted small and simple, and Fitbit has been perfect for me.

LaurnWhit

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