making sure bodymedia is as accurate as possible
tahinilove
Posts: 72 Member
I was wondering if anyone had any tips for making sure it wasbas accurate as possible? e.g body movement, when/where you are wearing it etc?
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For best accuracy I'd keep it always on your left arm like the instructions say. Just wear it. Don't try to influence it.
I know some people move it around because they don't trust the numbers when they are using the elliptical or a stationary bike. I don't do that. It seems to pick up the elliptical just fine for me. And for the bike, it registers as increased activity for me as well. It isn't a super high level of activity, but enough that it isn't thinking I'm inactive at all. (A couple of months ago someone posted on the Bodymedia Fit Friends facebook page their activity readout from a bike ride outdoors. It registered tons of calories burned and they wore the BMF on their arm.)
My fear of wearing it on my leg for these activities is that it will over estimate by a great deal what my real activity is. For me, I'm interested in weight loss. I don't see where it helps me to overestimate what I burn, but it could help me to underestimate what I burn. (Actually, that is an interesting test I could run. It seems to pick up my elliptical activity just fine. I can get up to 10-12 METS if I'm working hard. I could try moving it to my leg and see what it reads.)
I've been wearing mine for five months, always on the back of my left arm. My weight loss has been right on track with my 1.5lbs/week goal. The longer I wear it, the more I trust the calorie burn numbers I get from it.0 -
Thanks for the reply! So great to hear you are getting such success!
I don't cycle or use the elliptical but that is interesting what you say regarding it picking up cycling! I've been find I'm considerably under my bmf cals everyday. I'm on my feet most the time and ill easily be 1000+ under, but I'm not losing weight (nor do I want to,)
I wouldn't want to use it on my leg either, I fidget when sitting, bounce my leg, so that would totally overestimate my calories! I hear some people even try it in their bras?!0 -
one interesting thing I found was how off the BMF is when riding in the car! It said I had a 350 calorie burn in 1 hour, after a little searching on their site,it does say to take it off while riding/driving if this happens. just when I was giving up exersicing for driving!0
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Hah! It does the same to me! I just take off the numbers at the end of the day! Too lazy to take it off & on!0
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For best accuracy I'd keep it always on your left arm like the instructions say. Just wear it. Don't try to influence it.
I know some people move it around because they don't trust the numbers when they are using the elliptical or a stationary bike. I don't do that. It seems to pick up the elliptical just fine for me. And for the bike, it registers as increased activity for me as well. It isn't a super high level of activity, but enough that it isn't thinking I'm inactive at all. (A couple of months ago someone posted on the Bodymedia Fit Friends facebook page their activity readout from a bike ride outdoors. It registered tons of calories burned and they wore the BMF on their arm.)
My fear of wearing it on my leg for these activities is that it will over estimate by a great deal what my real activity is. For me, I'm interested in weight loss. I don't see where it helps me to overestimate what I burn, but it could help me to underestimate what I burn. (Actually, that is an interesting test I could run. It seems to pick up my elliptical activity just fine. I can get up to 10-12 METS if I'm working hard. I could try moving it to my leg and see what it reads.)
I've been wearing mine for five months, always on the back of my left arm. My weight loss has been right on track with my 1.5lbs/week goal. The longer I wear it, the more I trust the calorie burn numbers I get from it.
Do you bike a lot such that it would significantly affect your totals?
Just trying to get a read on accuracy, and it sounds like it is working for you.0 -
I did the bike workout once a week from mid-January to mid-April. I would meet my sister-in-law at her local Y, but her schedule changed so I don't do that workout anymore.Do you bike a lot such that it would significantly affect your totals?
Just trying to get a read on accuracy, and it sounds like it is working for you.
The stats from one of the workouts in early March: I biked on an up-right stationary bike (not recumbent) for 70 minutes. I got a burn of 417 calories. I did intervals. For two-thirds of the time my METS were 6-7 and the rest period METS were 3. I think that is a decent burn rate, especially since I was chatting it up with my sister the whole time.
Another workout: 70 minutes on the elliptical, I burned 525calories. My METS range from 6-11. (The first five and last five minutes are warm-up and cool down and the METS are lower.) This is while I watch TV, so I don't always push it too hard. I do the elliptical about twice a week.
I don't workout everyday. I try for three times a week. Sometimes I get more, sometimes less. I try for as many different types of exercises as I can. I went through Jillian's 30-day shred but only doing it 3-4 four times a week. I'd run or elliptical for 30-60minutes after the 30-day shred if I had time.0 -
I have found the calorie burn numbers to be very accurate--I lost weight at just under a pound a week with a 500-650 per day deficit until I reached and then exceeded my goal last fall. Since then I have been maintaining eating within 100 calories per day or less of my calorie burn. I wear it on my arm all day, but at night I move it to my calf because I found that I move too much for an accurate measure of my sleep with it on my arm. Additionally, it doesn't count my steps accurately, but they don't really matter for weight loss, so I'm less concerned with inaccuracy there.
Edited to add: I do at least one Spin workout, usually two per week with the armband on my arm and I find that it's accurate. I wore it once on my leg and the numbers were VERY close.0 -
This is so great! Congrats on your progress!
Do you take it off when driving? Mine picks up car rides and driving like mad. I tend to have a nervous twitch in my legs but it can't burn that much!0 -
I don't take it off, but in the car for me looks like when I'm watching TV or sitting at a computer-- no real activity. I'd take it off if it kept picking up driving. That is a hassle though. I'd likely forget to either take it off or to put it back on. Are you somewhere in Europe driving on the left of the road? If so, I'd probably try it out on my right arm for driving to see if it helps, especially if you are driving a lot.This is so great! Congrats on your progress!
Do you take it off when driving? Mine picks up car rides and driving like mad. I tend to have a nervous twitch in my legs but it can't burn that much!0 -
Thanks for the suggestion!
I'm in the uk and have a stick shift so it picks up all the gear changing as though I'm doing some major labour!0 -
I wonder if I got a dud.
It doesn't work accurately on the arctrainer. That is my most intense workout. I'm dripping with sweat, and usually have to stop because my heartrate gets uncomfortably close to max. My armband never registers more than 4 minutes of vigorous activity, and usually only about 2/3 of the actual time in moderate activity.
In fact, for most of my activities, it registers about 2/3 of the actual time.
Since I bought the band in February, I've averaged 1,000 calorie deficit per day. That would lend itself to a 2/lb per week loss. I haven't lost any weight at all.
And - this was really strange - I calculated my estimated TDEE a few weeks ago. It came up with EXACTLY the same number that my armband usually comes up with. Since we have to enter all the same information when we register the armband, it made me wonder if the software just takes our TDEE, stretches it out throughout the day, and then makes us think that's what we're actually burning.
Has anyone else had the same concerns?0 -
I wonder if I got a dud.
It doesn't work accurately on the arctrainer. That is my most intense workout. I'm dripping with sweat, and usually have to stop because my heartrate gets uncomfortably close to max. My armband never registers more than 4 minutes of vigorous activity, and usually only about 2/3 of the actual time in moderate activity.
In fact, for most of my activities, it registers about 2/3 of the actual time.
Since I bought the band in February, I've averaged 1,000 calorie deficit per day. That would lend itself to a 2/lb per week loss. I haven't lost any weight at all.
And - this was really strange - I calculated my estimated TDEE a few weeks ago. It came up with EXACTLY the same number that my armband usually comes up with. Since we have to enter all the same information when we register the armband, it made me wonder if the software just takes our TDEE, stretches it out throughout the day, and then makes us think that's what we're actually burning.
Has anyone else had the same concerns?
I've only had mine a few days but it registers about 400 more calories burned per day than the number I entered for TDEE. It seems that I was overestimating workout burn a little, but underestimating normal daily activity (I'm a teacher so I'm on feet a lot) by about 400 calories or more.0 -
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