BODYMEDIA VS FITBIT

craftsara
craftsara Posts: 21 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I was just introduced to a new deal called the BODYMEDIA which looks amazing!!!! (Thanks to a fellow MFP :) Thanks!!)
What are you thoughts on this??? It looks amazing due to the fact it tracks your hr and caloric intake! Wish it were smaller like the Fitbit but....hum.....

anyone have one? Know pros vs cons???

Thanks guys!!!

Replies

  • bfitgirl
    bfitgirl Posts: 138 Member
    Bump, interested too!
  • ginnylee74
    ginnylee74 Posts: 398 Member
    Wondering if I want to buy one. Discount until 11/16 is pushing me to find out if anyone else has one on here too.
  • GZinSea
    GZinSea Posts: 50 Member
    great question, I'm interested as well, i had the fitbit and liked it quite a lot until my darling 6 year old snapped it in half while trying to figure out what it was.

    So now im in the market again as well, the bodymedia looks cool too but not sure if I want to invest. I'll be keeping an eye to see what the consensus is
  • shorty35565
    shorty35565 Posts: 1,425 Member
    I have a bodymedia and it doesn't track ur heart rate. U can sum how link it to a Gramin heart rate monitor though.
    I love mine.
    The bodymedia core is pretty small I think.
  • kristy6ward
    kristy6ward Posts: 332 Member
    I believe you have to pay a monthly fee to get the full use out of the bodymedia. Might want to look into that before purchasing.
  • Enigmatica
    Enigmatica Posts: 879 Member
    There was a huge thread on this not too long ago. You might be able to find it with search. Someone who has both devices put a lot of work into comparing them.

    I chose to get the BodyMedia FIT last spring and find it very helpful. It seems to be pretty accurate and has been the best tool I've found for helping me estimate calorie burn. I was able to start losing weight easily by using the BMF readings and have been able to maintain nicely at goal, too.

    Disadvantages of BMF imo - tan lines on left arm, possible muscle distortion from long-term band wear, and small monthly fee. Still, I'm happy with it and think it fits my needs better than the FitBit.

    They both sync with MFP now.
  • shorty35565
    shorty35565 Posts: 1,425 Member
    I believe you have to pay a monthly fee to get the full use out of the bodymedia. Might want to look into that before purchasing.

    U can't even use it w/o a monthly fee. But u get the 1st 3 months free & it's only like $7 monthly I think. I dont think I've used my 3 months yet.
  • sarscott
    sarscott Posts: 189 Member
    I LOVE my BodyMedia! Even more now that MFP links to it, too. It helps that I'm an Accountant so I was born to watch numbers, but the graphs and everything it tracks really helps encourage me to keep moving. I usually download it twice a day and that helps keep me in line and gives me goals from day to day.

    Also, I'm a sleep-walker/eater so this helps me monitor how much I'm actually sleeping/moving in the night.

    The monthly fee is unfortunate, but when I bought mine I was able to get 12 months of usage free - definite bonus!
  • bikinibeliever
    bikinibeliever Posts: 832 Member
    I love the bodymedia! I just synced it to MFP a couple days ago and I really love that too. I also have the display so that I can look at it at any time without being connected to the computer (not possible when working). I can look and see how many calories I am burning at any time then adjust my activity its not high enough.

    You can sync it to get an estimate of how many calories you will burn for the whole day. Of course that goes off of how active you have been already. So, if you have been super active and sync to the site, it might give an estimate of 3300. Then you go and sit on the couch for the next 6 hours, it will be less than that. But if you continue the rest of the day with the same amount of activity, you'll be close.

    It's great to see how the little things you do all day add up. I don't even let the kids do dishes anymore! :laugh:

    You can track your sleep.

    Keep track of how many steps you take.

    How many minutes of moderate and vigorous activity you have each day.

    When you sync it and look at the chart you can slide the cursors in to look at a certain chunk of time to see how much your burned during that time. I like to look and see how much I burn if I go walk for an hour.

    When I first put the armband on I noticed it, now I don't. If you get one follow the directions-don't adjust the band every time you put it on and take it off. Just get it to where it is comfortable (does not have to feel tight at all) and then slip it off and on.

    I don't like to track food on the BM site, it's much easier here because the database is so wide.

    The weeks that I have stuck to it, I have lost almost exactly what I should have. I think it's pretty accurate based on that.

    Any questions, message me. I never go back and look for posts after I am gone. :smile:
  • shewearsfunnyhat
    shewearsfunnyhat Posts: 24 Member
    It all depends on what you want from the device. I was looking for an inexpensive device that tracked my daily activity level for me. The fitbit zip fit that bill at $59. I got it for less using my REI 20% off coupon and dividend. The display on the device will tell me how many steps I have taken, how many miles I have traveled and how many calories I have burned. I can input my weight lifting workouts into the fitbit website and it will adjust the number of calories I have burned. It can be synced with mfp which helps me keep track of calories eaten vs calories burned.
  • jaltenbu
    jaltenbu Posts: 3
    I don't know if they have since upgraded it, but the body media I had did not track caloric intake. You still had to log your calories yourself. If they ever do have one that can tell how many calories your taking in, I would get that one in a heartbeat!

    I've had both, and now I am using the fitbit. I didn't like having the body media strapped to my arm all the time. That was my main con for it. At the time I was in Jenny Craig, so I didn't have to pay the monthly fee, but I'm not there now.

    I definitely trusted the "calories burned" numbers on the body media more. I don't really see a difference between my fitbit and a pedometer. As far as I can tell, the fitbit only tells you the calories burned based on steps you are taking. So if you are lifting weights, I don't think it registers anything. The Bodymedia supposedly measures burned calories based on the temperature in your arm somehow. So if I am not taking steps but doing an intense weightlifting workout, it is supposed to still give me calories.
  • bfitgirl
    bfitgirl Posts: 138 Member
    Darn, I'm paying thru the nose already for my gym just can't do another extra... If the bodymedia was the size of the fitbit and came with free software I'd go for that, even if I had to pay extra up front initially,

    There goes my Christmas present to myself :cry:

    bodymedia developers are you listening?........
  • zombilishious
    zombilishious Posts: 1,250 Member
    I'm using a nice, fat mileage reimbursement check to pick one up so I can get the MFP discount. I've been looking at it for a while, but there's always something more pressing to take my $$ away from me!
  • Kristie18
    Kristie18 Posts: 332 Member
    I don't have any comparison reasons for buying the bodymedia over the fitbit other than it seemed to me to be more accurate . I LOVE MINE. I learned that I sleep like crap. I love to see how many steps I have taken throughout the day, watching my activity levels keeps me moving. I love it even more now that I can just sync my diary from here to the bodymedia website.

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