Fitbit VS Bodymedia Fit

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  • Morgaath
    Morgaath Posts: 679 Member
    Friends tried an experiment: Tied a persons arm to a couch. That arm had the fitbit and bodymedia on it. Then had the person do leg lifts. Bodymedia said they were physically active. Fitbit did not. I am going to have to think that the skin sensors are reading something, just as the little things my doctor sticks on me read something.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Interesting! My BMF didn't catch much more activity but I don't use a wrist model Fitbit, either. I think the torso models do better. Of course I don't do any exercise where my torso doesn't move. Maybe 12 oz. curls. :drinker:

    I thought it was telling that none of the recent activity monitors use skin sensors-- Fitbits, Misfit Shine, Polar Loop, Fitbug Orb, Nike Fuelband, Jawbone Up-- but I see that the upcoming Amiigo does.
  • phock
    phock Posts: 16 Member
    After using both FITBIT, Body Media and a Garmin HRM, while also tracking my food and weight, this is what I can say:

    Either Fitbit or Body Media will work if you are starting from Square 1 and the idea is to get moving. I think the FITBIT works better for a lot of people as it is less obtrusive. Body Media does record better while I am cycling.

    So here is my overall perception:

    If you participate in other activities such as swimming and cycling where the sensors are not well geared, neither of these will work. Additionally, the formulas they use to compute caloric burn are way skewed towards people who do not normally exercise.

    Case in Point: Both Fitbit and BodyMedia would say for my swimming that I typically burn 600+ calories in my 'Freestyle - fast'. I actually am closer to 450 calories.

    Cycling, for instance, my Garmin told me I burned 1200 calories in a low effort 4 hour ride. Sounds low to correct, except I have years of data (calories in/out vs weight) behind using the Garmin. So its accurate to somewhat low. I would guess I was closer to 1300 but whats 100 calories. The FITBIT and Body Media have me in (based on the speed of my bike, not effort) around 2200-2400 calories. The difference is huge.

    I still use the fitbit just for '****s and giggles' and I still use the Body Media to monitor my sleep. Sleep pattern disruption is one of the signs of over training.

    So if you aren't training for anything particular, just out to lose weight, Either device is fine - just divide the caloric burn in half so you don't get a false sense of security when you get that ice cream!
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    How did you get Fitbit estimates for swimming and cycling? They clearly state they're not programmed for estimating those.

    Maybe you should try a Misfit Shine. It claims to have programming to track swimming and cycling.

    Though if you're an extreme outlier on the bell curve of METS, nothing's going to work well for you. Maybe the Nike Fuelband, since it's denominated in a non-calorie scale.
  • bvoyles80
    bvoyles80 Posts: 4 Member
    bumping for later reading.... and will be adding input. I currently use both :)
  • meadow_sage
    meadow_sage Posts: 308 Member
    Yes, that is correct but it measures much more than your body movement. It also measures your body's surface temperature, sweat response and the rate at which heat leaves your body.
    I researched this to death before I chose. I ended up going with the Body Media. It is an unobtrusive arm band that is well hidden under my shirt sleeves even with short sleeves on, however as a guy our short sleeves don't tend to be as short.

    Body Media actually takes five hundred scientific measurments about what your body is really doing every single minute fo the day. Tht's five hundred data points per minute. The fit bit is a pedometer with some inteligent software behind it but is guessing your burn based on a formula and your steps. While the Body Media is aware of your movement in three dimensions, your body temperature flux (How hard you are working) your sweat levels, (through galvanic skin resistances) and your heat output.

    It adds to the data some very smart formualas and gets a lot closer to your actual burn within 10%.

    It syncs with MFP so I use MFP to input my food and Body Media to track my exercise. Then I use Body Media to print out an amazing report for the day week or month that tells me down to the minute what I was burning. (2.4 Cals per minute sleeping, up to 25 cals a minute at full tilt exercise!) You can graph your workouts and zoom into a mere moment or back way out and see a graph of the whole day. so you can analyze your exercise effectiveness. Body Media also tracks your sleep patterns and effectveness, as well as food water etc... I love mine! I being an analytical guy hooked on numbers and science etc... Found it VERY helpful and I do not believe I would have made the progress I have made without it. I could look down at the LCD screen that receives real time updates form the arm band and see exactly what I was doing during a workout. I reset the trip meter right before I start working out and throughout the workout it flashes between calories per minute averaged since the reset and the total burn since the reset. It obviously also counts your steps, but it does so much more than that. So I can set a caloric burn goal for the workout and go until I hit it. It's also compatible with a number of smart phones (that then run the Body media App) for even better access to your current data. But my phone is one that it will not work on.

    If you want real accuracy and access to as much or as little real data a you want the Body Media is my recommendation.

    No.

    The fitbit measures your movement the exact same way as the Bodymedia: with a 3-axis accelerometer.
  • Morgaath
    Morgaath Posts: 679 Member
    Since this became semi active again, here is a study on accuracy of 8 different activity monitors:
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/20/activity-monitor-accuracy-fitbit-jawbone_n_5516156.html

    Link to the published study is in the article.
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,953 Member
    I had a Bodymedia but it's been stuffed in a drawer for some time. I liked the info it gathered but I hated wearing it on my arm. I got so tired of people asking me what it was that I started telling them it was so my parole officer could keep track of me. :blushing: I wanted it for motivation but I realized after buying it that I would need an additional item to see my steps for the day and I didn't want to pay more than I already had. I also developed a lovely tan line where the band was so if I chose not to wear it I still had a stripe where it had been. Now the subscription is up and it's stuffed in a drawer and I need to get around to selling it on craigslist.

    If anyone wants to swap with me I'd love to try the fitbit one. :wink:

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