BodyBugg & Other Calories Burned Monitors

eeeekie · April 2011

I know that for the Bodybugg you have to have the subscription to the website to use the BodyBugg (or so I've been told). I quite like MFP and I don't want to have to pay to use BodyBuggs website.

I'm wondering if anyone knows if you can get something similar without having to purchase a subscription to a website? I was looking at the BodyMedia FIT Armband which seems pretty cool but I can't find out whether you need a subscription or not to their site to use their product.

I have issues with my HRM. I still haven't gotten it down pat so sometimes it won't start until half way through my workout. I generally will use MFP during those times because I'm just not sure what the real amount of calories I've burned. I'm still getting the hang of it.

Does anyone know if I could get the FIT Armband and not have to subscribe? That would be ideal.

Thank you

*EDIT* Never mind I just found this on their website... "*Subscription required. The Armband does not display information on its own; rather it works in conjunction with the online Activity Manager.
Try it yourself. Click on the arrows below."

Do you know if there are any other armband calorie counters without subscriptions required?

GiGGiTy3434 · April 2011

My wife and I both bought a Timex T5G971 Unisex Sports Personal Heart Rate Monitor Watch. I love it. You have to wear the band around your chest and you check your heart rate, calories burned, average heart rate all with it. It's very easy to use and pretty accurate too. It's 41.94 from amazon.com .
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P8VWQS

No subscription or anything needed.

hoosiermama100 · April 2011

I see that your got your info - I use the bodymedia fit and LOVE it but yes I pay $13/month for it. I got the first 6 months free and I know that they have other price structures and offers but that is what it was when I bought mine.

emmaleigh47 · April 2011

Count me among the list of people who LOVE my BodyMedia. Yes I do pay a fee for the service, but I also always have an accurate count of my calories, including what I burn running around at work, as well as during runs and other workouts. I burn alot less doing P90X then I would have thought ... which has led me to know where and how to budget my calories.

Plus MFP has my goals a bit too low... and I just focus on eating about 500-750 calories less than what my Body Media says that I burned that day!

taso42_DELETED · April 2011

As far as the armband ones, I think the BodyBugg and BodyMedia are the only ones, and they both require a subscription. It's a total racket.

There's also a device called the FitBit, which does the "24 hour monitoring" thing, without a subcription, but it's a more crude measure. Its calculations are based on an accelerometer (whereas the Bugg and Media also incorporate temperature and galvanic skin response to presumably get a more accurate picture). The FitBit is essentially an expensive pedometer. It wouldn't really be useful for strength training.

I am somewhat hopeful that eventually BodyMedia or BodyBugg (or similar product) comes out as a "standalone" version without the subscription. There is no technical reason why the subscription should be required, other than to generate monthly revenue for the company.

I had a BodyMedia for a little while. I ran into a lot of software issues, so it wasn't worth it to me to pay monthly on top of a pretty hefty initial price tag to be tied into bad software. I sent it back.

wolfchild59 · April 2011

I absolutely love my Body Media Fit. I've written a few very long posts here about my great love for it, so I won't get into it again here.

But I got mine for $150 from Costco and that included an extra armband, shipping and an entire years subscription to the website. I still track my food on MFP and then just enter it as one big meal on the BMF site so I can see the proper deficits (or surpluses) and calories breakdown charts, etc.

The hubby recently got me a display for my BMF and it's so awesome. I love seeing my calories burned and steps taken in real time all day. I forgot it at home for the first time today and I felt blind all day. lol

robin52077 · April 2011

I have, and LOVE, the BodyMediaFit. Yes, you have to pay monthly, but you get the first few months free and it averages out to 6 bucks a month if you get a whole year right at the start. 6 bucks a month. That's 2 cups of coffee at a Starbucks. Surely it's worth it to cut something small like that out of your budget to make room for something this motivational.

And definitely get the display. It's awesome seeing everything in real time.

I used to eat 1200 and stopped losing weight. This thing taught me I was starving. I am at 300 when I wake up, 600 by 8 AM, sometimes 1000 by 10AM, on a busy day at work I am at 1600 by the time I leave at 2PM, and I am at 2000 by the time I go to bed....yet it's still going....and I hit about 2200 by midnight.

So now I eat at least 1600 a day.

And the sleep tracker is so cool. It shows you how much time you were lying down vs actually asleep and the times you got up to go pee and everything!

skeene07 · April 2011

I have both the bodybugg & just recently got the fitbit. I got the fitbit because of summer and short sleeves...I didn't want to wear the arm strap that is the bodybugg. The fitbit is much smaller and I can wear it on my bra strap.
I am currently 1week into wearing them both to see how they compare...calories alone they are very close...20-50 cals within each other everyday. I have been only tracking cals with them as that is my main concern as apposed to steps, sleep, etc.

Hope that helps

lacroyx · April 2011

I use a Polar HRM FT40M. works great for calories burned. I only wear it when I excercise and as I've lost weight I notice that I burn less calories than when I was much heavier.

bentobee · April 2011

I also have the BodyMedia Fit. It's been a fabulous tool to have during this weight loss journey!
I was also not eating enough in the beginning - by a lot! When I started MFP I was eating 1600 a day. Well, thanks to BMF I see that on a day I do NOT exercise I burn 2600 calories a day, and on the days I do workout (which is most days!) I burn 3500+.

It's taken a huge portion of the guess work out of weight loss. I still track my food with MFP (the data base for foods for BMF leaves a lot to be desired - it's my one complaint about it).

baisleac · April 2011

I LOVE my BodyBugg... I got a used one off of eBay for cheap. Yes, I pay for the monthly subscription, but it's well worth it in my opinion. You don't have to use their calories consumed log; or you can just put in your daily number from MFP (which is what I do).

I understand the newer models have display watches, for real time numbers, but you still need the subscription.

Laceylala · April 2011

I bought the bodymedia fit on costco.com for $150 and it comes with a 12 month subscription for free. Its pretty awesome.

wolfchild59 · April 2011

Yeah, once I got my BMF I found that I should not only be eating back all my exercise calories, but more than that or I'd be at over a 1000 cal deficit each day I worked out. Even allowing for the 10% possible difference, that's still too high for where I'm at. So adding in hundreds more calories to eat on work out days, I finally started seeing weight come off again. It's not in full pounds each week, but I also don't expect that being this close to my goal. I was just happy to see the scale moving the right direction again. (and getting to eat more to make it happen)

BodyBugg & Other Calories Burned Monitors

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