Bodymedia Accuracy and Adjusting Caloric Intake

I have worn my armband for years. I got it back when they were called GoWear Fit. I always assumed it wasn't very accurate because my numbers came back so high. But I recently had my RMR tested and come to find out, the armband was underestimating my calories burned because my RMR is much higher than most formulas use. I have it adjusted now and feel like I'm getting a more accurate burn.

I think for most people it's the most accurate readings you're going to get from any kind of device you wear. It does have a tendency to underestimate activities that do not use the arms as much, like spinning, and overestimate things that use the arms more, like boxing. And keep in mind that while you might not be exercising every minute of the day, you are burning calories doing things like cooking and cleaning, picking up the kids, etc. These things might not raise your heart rate enough to qualify as exercise, but they do contribute to your overall TDEE.

If you want to compare your numbers, use the spreadsheet created by heybales. It's a great tool and can be used as a guideline, along with your armband, to figure out your numbers. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/813720-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-deficit-macro-calcs-hrm-zones

I have worn my armband for years. I got it back when they were called GoWear Fit. I always assumed it wasn't very accurate because my numbers came back so high. But I recently had my RMR tested and come to find out, the armband was underestimating my calories burned because my RMR is much higher than most formulas use. I have it adjusted now and feel like I'm getting a more accurate burn.

I think for most people it's the most accurate readings you're going to get from any kind of device you wear. It does have a tendency to underestimate activities that do not use the arms as much, like spinning, and overestimate things that use the arms more, like boxing. And keep in mind that while you might not be exercising every minute of the day, you are burning calories doing things like cooking and cleaning, picking up the kids, etc. These things might not raise your heart rate enough to qualify as exercise, but they do contribute to your overall TDEE.

If you want to compare your numbers, use the spreadsheet created by heybales. It's a great tool and can be used as a guideline, along with your armband, to figure out your numbers. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/813720-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-deficit-macro-calcs-hrm-zones

I just got mine tested as well and my RMR is also higher than online formulas calculate for my age, height and weight. How did you adjust your device (Body Media/ Go wear fit) so it was correct for you? I feel my device reads too low as well. Thank you!

I feel like mine is pretty accurate. I discovered that I've been grossly underestimating how many calories I'm burning when I do certain things, so I've probably been under eating for a long time. I feel very confident in my numbers and I'm seeing consistent weight loss when I use it to determine my necessary calories.

This arm band sounds like rocket science to configure and get to log your burn properly especially for exercise. O_O lol! I hope it isn't as complicated as it sounds by reading here, because I just ordered one and it should be here this weekend. I was really excited to get it to assist my journey, but it's sounding a little daunting now...

I have a question about the body media. I wore mine every day and my food intake is at 1600. But, my body media has me having "extra" calories that were burned by exercise...even if I didn't exercise. Does anybody eat those extra calories? It puts it on their everyday and I have been just deleting it or not eating those extra calories.

I love my bodymedia band and it’s helping me stay on track as far as my steps.

Basically what you have calculated in MFP is lower than what you are actually burning every day according to your body media. This means you should be eating back at least some of the extra calories your body media is giving you.

i love mine

Hi I am new to this site and bodymedia. I have had the armband for about a week. I wore it for 24 hours the first day and it didn't track my sleep. So i took it off the next day and then wore it only 10 hours the next day. It shows I burned 700 cals by 10am and all I am doing is sitting at my desk. Any thoughts? Mahalo,

as far as the sleep thing goes, it adds it to the next day. So monday nights sleep shows up under tuesdays stats. It makes sense since (typically)most of the time spent sleeping is after midnight.
To the 700 calories part, sounds about right. Sitting doesnt burn many calories, but some since youre still alive

I will likely be returning this BodyMedia Link tomorrow ... I've only had it 3-4 days but I can't get it to read my calories burned even close to where it should be. Right now it's usually reading about 40% of the calories burned versus simple heart rate calculations. For example, I'm 46, weigh 160 and over the 6 treadmill workouts my average heart rate was 135 for 90 minutes that's over 1100 calories .. this device is showing about 400 calories burned and that's after I purposely added several inches to my height profile to help compensate .... tell me where this is remotely correct? I have used several calorie counters this is just one I used. http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

hmm for weight lifting its not..so my burn for the day is low..i honestly (and still) do not know how much I burn in a day officially..and unfortunately live in a small tiny state probably doesnt have anything i can test..or i could actually afford...when doing cardio i'm okay..but just not weight lifting (which is my main focus right now)..i've actually been questioning its accuracy...but their customer service can be wonky their nice and all..but i think i'm a little bit upset with them for telling me my hrm isnt accurate..and it is only for high cardio workouts..not weight lifting...(i'd like to see someone lift heavy and tell me their hr doesnt go up..)

i've read things like calibrating it..and changing the height..i've been searching for the last 24 hours..i'm honestly confused..its a higher burn then what i actually do..in a way it honeslty makes me feel like a couch potato that i'm not doing enough..but wants me to eat so much less...weight lifting makes me hungry..i want food!

this was probably not helpful in the least...ive had mine since august of last year..

hmm for weight lifting its not..so my burn for the day is low..i honestly (and still) do not know how much I burn in a day officially..and unfortunately live in a small tiny state probably doesnt have anything i can test..or i could actually afford...when doing cardio i'm okay..but just not weight lifting (which is my main focus right now)..i've actually been questioning its accuracy...but their customer service can be wonky their nice and all..but i think i'm a little bit upset with them for telling me my hrm isnt accurate..and it is only for high cardio workouts..not weight lifting...(i'd like to see someone lift heavy and tell me their hr doesnt go up..)

i've read things like calibrating it..and changing the height..i've been searching for the last 24 hours..i'm honestly confused..its a higher burn then what i actually do..in a way it honeslty makes me feel like a couch potato that i'm not doing enough..but wants me to eat so much less...weight lifting makes me hungry..i want food!

this was probably not helpful in the least...ive had mine since august of last year..

well they are right that HRMs are for cardio workouts...while lifting does raise your heart rate, its different from cardio so it doesnt read the same. weight lifting doesnt really burn all that many calories... if you want you can search for weightlifting under the cardo database and add it, it will adjust your bmf entry as well though. i think it says i burn 174 calories in 30 minutes while lifting.

I lift heavy..I can burn more sometimes with heavy lifting then a cardio workout

I've had my BodyMedia LINK for a few months now. It seems pretty accurate for walking/running (as long as I move my arms), basket ball, climbing stairs, etc. But it underestimates for the elliptical, biking and the treadmill - Even when I wear it on my leg, or the lower part of my arm (like BodyMedia had suggested).

As far as day-to-day activity: It tends to over-estimate a tad if I wear it on my leg instead of my arm, since I do a lot of walking. This is because it's calibrated for the arm. I usually only do this if I'm dressing up for an occasion, and don't want the armband to be visible.

I've heard other people say it over-estimates when they drive... I have not found that to be the case so far. Maybe they drive in heavy traffic, and the stress gets their heart rate up or something? LOL

Over all, it has really amazed me to learn how many calories I can burn cleaning house, gardening, or even grocery shopping/running errands! I had no idea... Plus, it shows me when I've had sedentary periods of sitting at my desk too long - And this has really motivated me to take exercise breaks, so that I can see a spike in activity. I love how everyday lifestyle can easily add up to a 200 calorie burn, aside from exercise, just by making small daily shifts.

On another note: I recently had my RMR tested at our local university for $100. I fasted for 12 hours, and got hooked up to a face mask for about 15 minutes. During the test, I was told to breathe unusually shallow, even though this left me feeling like I was starved for air! It was not my normal breathing. I wonder if this is accurate, since I never breathe like this... Have others had this experience?