The BodyBugg!!

I guess it depends on where you work. Personally, I wouldn't want to draw that much attention to the fact I want to lose weight, I'd rather let results speak for themselves. I'm a teacher and would get REALLY tired of explaining what it is....reminds me of when everyone at work started wearing shape-ups. They were asked a lot about whether or not they work, hurt, feel good, etc. Unfortunately, none of the shape-up wearing folks have actually "shaped up." I give the body bugg a thumbs down, you could wear a heart rate monitor all day that tracks your calories, a lot less conspicuous.

I HAVE USED ONE BEFORE AND IT IS DEFINITELY AWESOME. IT MEASURES CALORIES BURNED AND YOU LOG WHAT YOU EAT ON THE PROGRAM JUST LIKE YOU DO ON THIS SITE, HOWEVER I FOUND THE FOOD LOG PROGRAM TO BE VERY FRUSTRATING AND HARD TO USE SO I USUALLY LOG MY FOOD ON HERE THEN SUBTRACT THE BUG RESULTS FOR CALORIE BURN TO GET MY DEFICIT.
PRO'S: IT IS SUPER COOL TO SEE YOUR CALORIE BURN AND WHAT YOUR DEFICIT IS
CONS: FOOD DIARY IS HARD TO USE AND THE ARM BAND WHERE THE METAL IS BOTHERED MY SKIN. OH, AND IT IS EXPENSIVE. I DEFINITELY RECCOMEND CRAIGS LIST OR EBAY.

PS...I DID NOT FIND IT TO BE ANNOYING OR DISTRACTING TO WEAR. MOST PEOPLE KNOW WHAT IT IS BY NOW =] IF ANYTHING I GOT A LOT OF "OH IS THAT THE BODY BUGG? HOW DO YOU LIKE IT?"

I use the GoWearFit which is the same thing as the BodyBugg... I like it because I'm a numbers person and it's really fascinating to me to see my calorie expenditure charted over the course of the day. I did have problems with the watch being unreliable - i wouldn't recommend spending the money on that. I log my food on MFP and then just use the "estimate daily calories" in the GoWearFit program to dump my end-of-the-day total in there, so that it gives me my net calories burned/consumed....it works pretty well, actually. The "estimate daily calories" feature was added maybe 6 months back - I was quite happy when they added it.

Personally I like these more than HRM's because HRM's are not meant to be used to calculate calories all throughout the day - they're only made to be effective while exercising. The GoWearFit, on the other hand, is designed to be worn throughout the day. I can look at the calorie chart and see where I took the stairs down/up from lunch, walked to class, got up and down from my desk at work, etc. From what I can tell, the feature where it tracks your hours sleeping vs laying down is actually quite accruate. (at least it is for me.)

This product probably isn't for everyone, but as someone who like crunching numbers and seeing my calories charted for the whole day, I really like it.

The device isn't perfect - it is another method of estimating calorie expenditure, but everything I read about it makes a lot of sense to me, so I was willing to invest in it. It's like any motivational tool - you can use it well or you can buy it and end up not doing anything with it - it all depends on the user.

Regarding being self-conscious to have it on your arm, I've found that few people notice it - the newest models are pretty slim, and easily fit under a short-sleeved shirt without being very noticeable.

I was worried about my Gowear Fit (Body Bugg) being too noticeable when I bought mine too. I don't like to draw attention to my goals. It was a hard decision for me to make, but I think the GWF has been very informative so far. I love to be able to track my sleep data. I have been wearing the Gowear Fit for 3 days now. I am normally very allergic to cheap jewelry/metals and yet because I put it in a slightly different location each day, it doesn't seem to bother my skin.

My biggest count against the FitBit was that it wasn't as accurate and many of the product testers and owners lost them almost immediately. I figured that I can either spend $100 twice for when I lose one, or $175 for a gadget that I am guaranteed to have on my person at all times. Plus, the Fit Bit uses only 3D sensor technology much like the Wii. The Body Bugg uses 4 measures so that if one is an outlier, there are 3 others to rely upon. For example, many owners of the Fit Bit said that it was counting steps in the car while they were driving and hit a bump. If the Body Bugg detects movement, it also matches it against your body temperature etc to ensure that you are truly expending calories.

The Body Bugg is super comfortable and slim. It only slightly shows under clothing. I imagine if I were around kids it would be annoying, but most adults don't notice or comment. Only my mom noticed. I am very happy with my purchase so far, but just like Accountant_boi said, it's ony as effective as the user. I would only recommend it if you are a numbers person who is motivated by numbers. Best of luck in your decision!