Body Bugg- anyone got one?

I have a heart rate monitor which also tracks calories. Cost me about $60. I can use a pencil and paper and track manually. Basic HRMs can be had for $30 or so. Not sure if those less expensive devices track calories or not.

I have one and I also have one for sale. I absolutely LOVE IT!!!! if your are serious about counting calories burned, steps taken and maximizing your weight loss, it is worth the investment. I started out using a HRM but decided to get the bodybugg because the chest strap was annoying on my HRM. I found that the Body bugg is WAYYYYYY more accurate than the HRM and alot less annoying. You can wear it all day everyday and it even monitors the accuracy of your rest.

I tried it along with the website connection and that was fine but the site costs 6.95 per month for a 1 year commitment. So after my free trial was over I canceled the site and got the display that you can wear as a watch or clip on. This works better for me because the display is 80.00 and thats it...no monthly charge. Everything that the site has at 6.95 per month I get free here at MFP.

I have an extra one because when I ordered them they sent me two by mistake so I kept it for my son. He did not use it so now I have an extra. After you do your research and are interested in buying mine let me know. I am selling it for a fraction of what I paid for it.

Just a note, it does not work without either a display or subcription to the site. I do not have an extra display but amazon had them at the cheapest price that I have found.

I have one and I love it! I've been using mine for a little over a year and it has been a very eye-opening tool. You wouldn't believe how much my burn varies day-to-day.... I'm talking up to 1000 calories and sometimes more depending on what I'm doing. A generic activity level is just that - generic. Adding in the calories you burn during a workout based on a HRM is definetly going to help you get a better idea of your daily burn. But the bodybugg will get you a much better estimate of what YOU are burning during your ENTIRE day. There is no wondering if you should enter your hour of cleaning of leave it out. And do you estimate the calories burned by leisurely walking your dog for 30 minutes? Or playing tag with your kids for 10 minutes? Everything I do is being recorded for me. For me, that has been priceless in my journey!

The downside is that you are wearing it on your arm during your entire waking day. That means that if you wear a short-sleeve shirt, it may show. If you wear a tight fitting sweater, there will be a bulge. For me, it's worth it (and I have the old ugly gray one - I really want to get that new one!). I hardly ever even notice it anymore. And if you're doing something special that you don't want to wear it for, you can always just take it off!!

An upside is that you want to move more in general - not just during your workout. It becomes very clear how important it is to get up from your desk every couple of hours and take a walk around the building (it counts your steps too, by the way). If you're not meeting your burn goal for the day, you may want to march in place while you watch the tv at night instead of lounging on the couch to try to hit it. You wouldn't believe what a big difference those little things will do, and it becomes a challenge with yourself to hit your goal every day. Well, it does for me anyway.

I do subscribe to the online tools. I pay monthly and so it costs me a little more in the long run, but I can afford 9.95 a month a lot easier than a whole year at a time (plus, if I decide to stop using it for a while, I can just decide not renew it the next month and re-subscribe again when I want to). To me, what I get out of it is totally worth the monthly cost.

@Ceria - as you lose weight, it may be a good idea to sync your bugg to the online tools every once in a while. When you sync, your bugg sends AND receives info (I think). And (I think) your burn may take your weight into consideration, so if you have lost a good amount of weight since you last synced, your bugg is probably basing your burn on the last weight you logged on the site. I'm not positive about this, but I think that's how it works. I know when I update my weight and/or goals on the site, it tells me that my bodybugg won't be updated until I sync - so I'm just assuming this is how it works. Maybe it's only sending my goals - I'm not really sure - but it seems like your burn would be based on your weight.