Body Media Advice

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TennVolsGal
TennVolsGal Posts: 218 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I just got a BodyMedia Fit for Christmas and was wondering if anyone had any advice on how to use it the best....like I hear your supposed to wear it on your left upper are, can I wear it on my right arm instead. Any other tips or advice you could give me would be great.
Happy New Year Everybody!!

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  • TennVolsGal
    TennVolsGal Posts: 218 Member
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    Dang no advice.....hmmm should I return it LOL!!
  • Yarnpiggie
    Yarnpiggie Posts: 181
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    I assume this is the body bugg you are talking about? If it is, from everything I understand you have to wear it on the arm they say to. I don't know why, but that is what I have gathered. And so I do.

    I don't wear mine all the time. I hate their online interface so i just use mine to track calories burned when exercising and input the info in here. I would say that using their free coaching session did help answer the few questions I had (like why does the stupid thing fall out of synch all the time--- too many electronic devices in our world)
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    You HAVE to wear it on your left arm - the literature for the product is clear on that - it's how it's designed to work.

    I wear mine pretty much 24/7. After awhile, you don't even notice it anymore. I LOVE mine - a great way to SEE (on the website after uploading the data) what a difference adding a little bit of casual activity (taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking in the back of the lot, etc.) can make. I love the pedometer feature and the sleep analysis, too.

    I'll usually upload mine in the morning (to get a final picture of the day before and of my sleep) and then after I exercise in the evening (to count exercise calories to add to MFP).
  • TaneeisFitforLife
    TaneeisFitforLife Posts: 433
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    You can always experiment with both arms....it maybe just not wearing it on your dominant arm to get a correct reading? My DH bought me one for Christmas so I'm still playing with it. It has helped me see where my BMR is (the online calculators are way off).
  • TennVolsGal
    TennVolsGal Posts: 218 Member
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    Thanks!
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    You can always experiment with both arms....it maybe just not wearing it on your dominant arm to get a correct reading? My DH bought me one for Christmas so I'm still playing with it. It has helped me see where my BMR is (the online calculators are way off).

    It is not designed to work correctly if you wear it on the right arm - it has nothing to do with what arm is dominant. When you setup your profile on the user interface, you let it know if your right or left handed and it takes that into consideration. You need to wear it on the left arm. Here's what the website says:

    Can I wear the Armband on my right arm? Or upside down?
    Algorithms analyze the Armband data to estimate your calorie burn. Those algorithms have been written to give optimal performance when the Armband is worn on the left arm, the right way up. The "right way up" has the logo closer to your shoulder and the lights closer to your elbow. We do not recommend wearing it on the right arm or upside down. If the Armband is worn on the right arm or upside down, we expect calorie burn values may show a difference of up to 8% for routine activities like resting, walking, running, household work and road biking. The differences can be significant when using certain exercise equipment.
  • TaneeisFitforLife
    TaneeisFitforLife Posts: 433
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    You must of missed the part of my post that said experiment?

    I read the instructions :P
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    You must of missed the part of my post that said experiment?

    I read the instructions :P


    I noticed that you said "experiment" - but why would you experiment with it when the instructions specifically say that it is designed to be most accurate when worn on the left arm, and they dont' recommend it be worn on the right? Some things are okay to experiment with, but some things are worth following instructions on... For something that cost as much as this did, I'm certainly going to follow the instructions to ensure I'm getting as accurate results as I can!
  • TaneeisFitforLife
    TaneeisFitforLife Posts: 433
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    It's not going to damage it... Putting it in water would. There's a big difference but whatever dude.

    Then again I like to see how the human body works.
  • PJilly
    PJilly Posts: 21,742 Member
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    If the instructions clearly state it will not be accurate if worn on the right arm, I think I'd wear it on my left arm as instructed — not out of fear of damaging it, but because I'd want the most accurate reading possible.
  • TennVolsGal
    TennVolsGal Posts: 218 Member
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    Well thanks for the advice, I didn't mean to start a war LOL the reason I asked about what arm you can wear it on is because I sleep on the left side, guess I will have to work around that....thanks y'all!
  • PJilly
    PJilly Posts: 21,742 Member
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    I didn't mean to start a war LOL
    I'm sure you didn't. It's all good. :laugh:
  • gwotton
    gwotton Posts: 4
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    Since I am missing a muscle in my left arm I'm finding that I'm having difficulty wearing it properly. The unit seems to float a little. On the right I'm getting better and more consistant contact. I'm still trying to deal with the odd numbers that come into MFP though. I'm going to try working with a number of combinations of settings and positions to see what gives the most balanced readings.

    I am curious what makes the skin on the left arm different from the skin on the right for them to insist it be worn only on the left.
  • mallem2
    mallem2 Posts: 3
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    Damn it Jim, I'm a techie not a doctor!! :D. I'd like to know why the right arm doesn't know what the left arm is doing so BodyMedia can't record calories accurately if worn on the right. Would be great if BodyMedia would provide a technical explanation.
  • liger575
    liger575 Posts: 1
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    I agree; I would like to see a technical explanation as well. I have a tattoo on my left arm and really don't like covering it up!
  • stef102093
    stef102093 Posts: 48 Member
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    it most likely has to do with being closer to your heart to get a better reading. I work in the medical field and depending of what were are doing there can be a preference to which arm we use because of its relation to the heart. Just a thought.

    I love my body media, I started taking it off at night though for some reason it isn't reading properly at night which very well could be because I too sleep on my left side. But no big deal, I like the sleep data but the calorie burn and steps is the most important to me as I have become obseesed with getting 10,000 steps a day. so much better than a pedometer that you keep accidentally resetting ughhhhhh

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