bodybugg

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bmpal
bmpal Posts: 36
in Health and Weight Loss
I was thinking about getting a bodybugg or bodymedia fit. How helpful are they really? I've seen so many conflicting ideas here on how many calories one should be consuming/burning etc., and figured that the easiest and best way for me to figure it out for myself is to get one of these devices.

I want to know if those of you who have one think it's worth the cost and really how effective is it? Also how do they work?

Thanks!

Replies

  • dayzeerock
    dayzeerock Posts: 918 Member
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    I'd go with the fitbit over the bodybugg...essentially the exact same thing, but smaller, more accurate, and you don't have to pay any monthly fees to use the syncing software...I love mine!!

    www.fitbit.com
  • _Johanna_
    _Johanna_ Posts: 125 Member
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    bump :)
  • MadBabysMama
    MadBabysMama Posts: 373 Member
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    I'm intrigued to hear what advice you get - the fitbit sounds cool but (like the bodybugg, I believe) it doesn't have a readout so it seems it would not be as useful during exercise as a heart rate monitor - I'm sure it's very helpful for tracking afterwards, though. If the features are the same as bodybugg, fitbit looks to be much cheaper.
  • dayzeerock
    dayzeerock Posts: 918 Member
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    I'm intrigued to hear what advice you get - the fitbit sounds cool but (like the bodybugg, I believe) it doesn't have a readout so it seems it would not be as useful during exercise as a heart rate monitor - I'm sure it's very helpful for tracking afterwards, though. If the features are the same as bodybugg, fitbit looks to be much cheaper.

    It actually does have a small readout on it!
  • MadBabysMama
    MadBabysMama Posts: 373 Member
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    oh, cool, I couldn't tell that from the picture. do you find it helpful during workouts?
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
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    I LOVE my BodyBugg (I do not pay the subscription, btw... PM for deets). It's helped me figure out my calorie burn and how it differs during different times of the month, during strength training vs. cardio, etc. Took my efforts to lower my body fat to a whole new level.
  • RaeannePemberton
    RaeannePemberton Posts: 382 Member
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    Hey guys. I have literally tried a dew different heart rate monitors and also had the bodymediafit. I wrote a blog about this at raeannesisson.com. The title is buggin out. But after wearing it a month I found that I didn't need it quite as much as I thought because my daily burns were pretty consistent. Once I saw that I burn 2300-3000 calories a day I knew how much I could/should eat.
  • dawnemjh
    dawnemjh Posts: 1,465 Member
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    I have the bodymedia fit, and I do like that it gives me all kinds of info, like steps taken, calories burned, hours sleeping, sleep efficiency. Unfortunately I still have been struggling with a plateau and have actually gained a few pounds since starting in february. supposedly the bodymedia is 95% accurate, and it did seem to correlate with my heart rate monitor with respect to calorie burn during activity, but I still am not losing the weight even with greater than 500 calorie defecit...so I am wondering if the system is just off with estimating calorie burn...
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
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    I have the bodymedia fit, and I do like that it gives me all kinds of info, like steps taken, calories burned, hours sleeping, sleep efficiency. Unfortunately I still have been struggling with a plateau and have actually gained a few pounds since starting in february. supposedly the bodymedia is 95% accurate, and it did seem to correlate with my heart rate monitor with respect to calorie burn during activity, but I still am not losing the weight even with greater than 500 calorie defecit...so I am wondering if the system is just off with estimating calorie burn...

    If your ticker is accurate and you only have 4 lbs to lose, you shouldn't be operating at a deficit (or a very small one at the most). Work more on body composition, not loss.
  • bmpal
    bmpal Posts: 36
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    Ok, can someone tell me what the advantage of having a bodybugg vs. bodymedia fit vs. fitbit vs. hrm is? I'm having a hard time really figuring out the difference between what each of them does. I really want to know what my daily calorie burn is so that I can optimize my diet accordingly. I'm working for overall health and fitness but I also want to lose about 35 lbs.

    Thanks!
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
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    Personal opinion here with some facts intermingled.

    An HRM uses your heartrate plus age & weight (some also use VO2 max) to estimate caloric burn. It's more individual and accurate than most online calculators but still has a significant margin of error.

    Fitbit, to me, is a glorified pedometer, but others swear by them so I may just be missing something.

    BodyBugg & BodyMedia Fit are the same product with different packaging. They use your body stats (height, weight, age, etc) as entered into the online program plus: 2 or 3 accelerometers (depending on model) to register motion, skin temperature and galvanic skin reponse (glorified name for sweat but minute amounts you might not even notice) then does some fancy calculations to get to your caloric burn with 95% accuracy.
  • bmpal
    bmpal Posts: 36
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    Personal opinion here with some facts intermingled.

    An HRM uses your heartrate plus age & weight (some also use VO2 max) to estimate caloric burn. It's more individual and accurate than most online calculators but still has a significant margin of error.

    Fitbit, to me, is a glorified pedometer, but others swear by them so I may just be missing something.

    BodyBugg & BodyMedia Fit are the same product with different packaging. They use your body stats (height, weight, age, etc) as entered into the online program plus: 2 or 3 accelerometers (depending on model) to register motion, skin temperature and galvanic skin reponse (glorified name for sweat but minute amounts you might not even notice) then does some fancy calculations to get to your caloric burn with 95% accuracy.
  • bmpal
    bmpal Posts: 36
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    Thanks for the great info and clarification! I think I'm gonna get a bodymedia fit and see if it helps clarify my daily caloric burn. And thanks for the blog post, Reanne! Gave me a good breakdown!
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
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    BodyBugg & BodyMedia Fit are the same product with different packaging. They use your body stats (height, weight, age, etc) as entered into the online program plus: 2 or 3 accelerometers (depending on model) to register motion, skin temperature and galvanic skin reponse (glorified name for sweat but minute amounts you might not even notice) then does some fancy calculations to get to your caloric burn with 95% accuracy.

    Only other difference is BM Fit monitors your sleep and your calories burned while sleeping, when Bodybugg doesn't.
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
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    Only other difference is BM Fit monitors your sleep and your calories burned while sleeping, when Bodybugg doesn't.

    BodyBugg does calculate calories burned while sleeping, it just doesn't analyze it. You can still see on the graphs if you have a particularly restless night. :smile: Though that is the one feature I think would be fun if I'd bought new instead of used.
  • bmpal
    bmpal Posts: 36
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    Thanks for all the help everyone! I bought a bodymedia fit on amazon for about $100 and I'm excited to try it out!
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    interesting thread re bmf vs fitbit here

    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=135867251

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