BodyMedia Armband quesitons

I would not suggest wearing your HRM.. it will drive you batty because the two will never be in sync with each other... infact I was just posting about it, because I did some research on it.. and HRMs really are not all that accurate.. and pretty much they over estimate your calorie burn.. the Bodymedia being 95% accurate (less then 5% error for exercise activities) is enough for you to base your calorie intake on..

with that, I wear mine for 3-4 days without syncing... and there are times I sync mine 2-3 times a day.. but I wear it all day everyday.. (I've worn mine since November consistently, but I've had it for about a year now)

try not to get tied up in WHY the numbers are the way they are.. and focus on setting and exceeding your BM goals..

To sync with MFP.. go to your bodymedia..(you will need to be logged into MFP) .. go to your activity manger and click on the "Apps" tab.. this will bring you to all the apps you can sync with.. find MFP and click on it,and select "LINK APP" it will automatically sync..

Your food is generally synced automatically.. however your exercise is only synced with MFP when you upload your device.. and sometimes it takes a few minutes to register..

Unless there is an update or a change I don't know about, it doesn't work well with exercise. It's far less accurate(talking about the BMF) if you can provide a link...

Actually it's proven to be accurate..

BodyMedia FIT is Clinically Proven to be Accurate

The BodyMedia FIT System has been Clinically Proven to Accurately Measure the Amount of Physical Activity and Calories.

A recent independent study tested our Armband system in real-life situations. Participants engaged in "free living" activities, including brisk walking, running, bicycling, sedentary activities, home activities, home repair, occupational activities, strength training, and ball games. The study compared the armband to a $40,000 "portable oxygen analyzer", the gold standard for measuring calories. Results showed:

Total Calories for free living activities: mean error <10%.
Total Minutes of exercise: mean error <5%.

(found here: http://www.bodymedia.com/the_science.html)




Here are the studies:

http://www.bodymedia.com/studies.html

I have a bodybugg(very similar), pretty much the same thing. The issue with these devices is they work good for normal living conditions. When you start to increase activity it don't work as well. Heybales(a member on MFP) tested the sensors on them and they didn't work at all. We now see it as a pedometer. Just tracks your movement. Yes it can be up to 95% accurate during normal activity, if you increase your activity intensity Then it won't measure accurately.

I can't imagine how he might have tested the sensors, but I disagree with his conclusion. Did he believe they overestimated or underestimated?

bump!

I have had mine for a couple of weeks and I really like it! It took some playing around with the settings to get my TDEE where it was actually attainable but I finally got it where I'm meeting my goal every day on non workout days (+ or - 100 calories) so I can fairly accurately plan my calories for the day. I also like that I can see what deficit I am at so I can keep it at a 1000 calorie deficit. I still have a problem with the numbers between MFP and BMF but I just ignore the calories MFP gives me and focus on my BMF calorie deficit.

I have the Link because I have a smartphone and love being able to 'check in'. I probably link up about once every couple of hours. And if I feel I am not going to reach my burn for the day I run up and down the stairs a dozen times or chase my kids around for a while.

The one thing I wish it had is the ability to see the predicted burn for the day on the app. That way if I am going to be significantly over or under my burn I can adjust my calories. That's IMO the most useful feature on the activity log and I wish it was also available in the app.

It under estimates for intensity activity. I remember a few times i did low intensity cardio, and high intensity intervals and at the end of the day the calorie burn was the same.

It's good to get a general idea of TDEE. I just wouldn't rely on it when you do high intensity exercise.

Really? I disagree. I have a HRM as well and on days I exercise (usually a high intensity step class or kickboxing) I have a noticeably higher burn, and it's usually roughly equal to the burn estimate from my HRM. I also wear it when I weight train (I don't wear my HRM for that) and can tell a difference between days I do that and days I just have my normal activity.

Hey all,
I've had my BodyMedia since July 2012, I bought it when I was doing Jenny Craig but stopped, shame on me. I recently started using it again and had my account changed so I could sync with MFP. According to the manual (page 5), "wear the armband no more than 23 hours a day. Be sure to leave it off 1 hour per day". I usually have mines off for about 3-5 hours a day, if I'm just sitting around or watching television. I also don't think it works well with intensity as I've discovered in my last workout. But I do think it's pretty reliable in tracking general activities and sleep, which it's been right on the dot for my sleep.

Speaking of sleep, I work night shift (overnight) and lately I've not been consistent with my sleep pattern. On my days off I go back to a normal schedule, I've been going to bed around 0100 (1am) and getting up at around 0830. When I've worked the night before I go to bed at 0900 and wake up around 1700 (5PM). Does anyone know if I should adjust my sleep profile for every time I work and will be going to bed at 0900 instead of 0100? Currently my sleep profile is set at 0200-1000.

Could I ask what type of deficit you aim for ? I've had a bodybugg for 9 months & have had no luck with it. Thanks

Just got mine yesterday - still wrestling with getting it to sync with my computer. I suspect it's a firewall issue and that's for hubby to figure out But this comment is really just to bump this topic for later!

I've had my BMF for about 8 months. I love it, especially now that I can sync it with MFP. I wore it every day and I was losing weight consistently. I took it off and stopped tracking here, and I gained it back. Lesson learned! I wear mine at least 23 hours a day, sometimes more. I've not had any problem with a "dent' in my arm. You can look at the graphs and see exactly when you are burning calories and watch the spikes go higher with higher intensity work outs. I also like being able to track my sleep patterns, that is just cool. I got the Link armband and I can use it with my smart phone to track my progress during the day. It helps motivate me to take a few more steps or get in a little extra activity if I'm not burning enough calories. I do wish the smart phone app would update to the Activity Manager, but I hear that is in the works. As it is, you still need to plug the monitor into the pc to upload and sync. It only takes a few seconds, though, so it's not a big deal. There is a food database in BMF, but MFP is so much better, so using the two together makes life easy and lets you see exactly what you are doing, or not doing, to move you closer to your goals.
I highly recommend the BMF Link armband.

bump

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!

I weigh 290. I have had my BM since end of Feb. 2013. I try to wear it half way up my tricep. If I take it too high I feel as if its in my armpit, I make sure mine isnt too tight or too loose. If its too loose and I stretch my arm the strap falls off. However I still have this indent in my arm. I had to stop wearing it for a few weeks during the time BM sent me a new strap. The previous strap had seperated from the colored plastic frame. I have been trying to find out how to get rid of this indent in my arm... I even thought of going as far as wraping my arm in plastic wrap maybe it would come out or the rest of my arm would match it... Id love any info I could get to help.

I weigh 290. I have had my BM since end of Feb. 2013. I try to wear it half way up my tricep. If I take it too high I feel as if its in my armpit, I make sure mine isnt too tight or too loose. If its too loose and I stretch my arm the strap falls off. However I still have this indent in my arm. I had to stop wearing it for a few weeks during the time BM sent me a new strap. The previous strap had seperated from the colored plastic frame. I have been trying to find out how to get rid of this indent in my arm... I even thought of going as far as wraping my arm in plastic wrap maybe it would come out or the rest of my arm would match it... Id love any info I could get to help.

It's been there how long? Weeks long?

I have no idea why it would still be there. Hopefully someone has an answer as to how to get rid of it... o.O

Bump for later