Body Bugg vs Body Fit Media vs HRM's (polar/garmin)

Can current users of the above please tell me if:

The body bugg and body fit media measure heart rate and allow you to train within heart rate zones? Or are they strictly measuring calories burned - requiring you to log them on a site they provide and have to pay extra for, or something like MFP? Do they become obsolete after you get to your goal weight and no longer need to track every single calories to maintain?

Alternatively,

I ahve been looking on Garmin and Polar's websites and they all claim to calculate calories...but I am assuming that those are only calculated during your exercise sessions and not your daily burn....or could you wear it all day and get the same calorie count at the bugg?
The HRM's have pluses like interval (time) training, gps, etc....which could be helpful as my fitness improves and I want to train smarter
These gadgets cost a fair amount of money and I really want the best bang for my buck, but it would appear that you can't have it all in one model - I can see this being the same situation for me as when ipods came out, I didn't buy the biggest one because I thought " I'll never fill it"...sure enough I filled it, and had to get a bigger, better one; don't want to waste my money buying 2 gadgets.

My main wants in the product are:
Heart Rate - to tell if I'm burning fat or working on endurance training
Calories Burned
Interval Timer

Anyone care to chime ?

Replies

SpaceMarkus

They are strictly calorie. They do monitor your burn per minute which is also handy.

The HRM's aren't too great at calorie calculations. The two products are really different and keep that in mind. HRM's are good for zone training, Bodybugg's are best for calorie counting.

Tree72

Agree with SpaceMarkus. The two really do different things.

I got my BodyBugg a little over a week ago and am really enjoying it so far. It tracks calories burned per minute. You wear it all day and it tracks constantly. It does not measure heart rate. If you get the smart phone version or the additional readout that you can wear on your wrist, then you can see real time burns. Otherwise you have to wait till you plug it in to your computer.

The HRMs are great for zone training, but do not accurately track calories for anything but cardio activities. They are not designed to track calories at standard heart rates. So, if you want to know how many calories you burned while lifting weights, these are generally not what you want. (I've heard there are some super fancy ones with better capabilities, but you could get both a regular HRM and a Bodybugg for less than what they cost.)

Hope you figure out what best fits your needs.

erickirb

HRMs are only accurate for steady state cardio activity as the calculation embedded in the unit assumes this as well as a certain oxygen uptake.

HRMs using, age, weight, gender, duration and HR account for over 70% of total calories burned during exercise and the remainder are estimated using the above inputs which usually puts them at over 85% accurate. If you get a HRM that you can input your V02 Max in (assuming you know yours) the calories accounted for in the inputs would increase to around 85% making the total calculation more than 90% accurate. But again only for cardio activities is this true, it will over estimate strength training and calories burned doing nothing.

mrslaw85

Neither including a FITBIT monitors Heart Rate. I have a FITBIT and love it. It will not record HR but monitors your sleep if you were it at night.

nanegan

Body Bugg does not measure heart rate - it uses an accelerometer, heat flux sensor, galvanic skin response and skin temp. I think all of these could be thrown off environmental conditions (except the accelerometer).

nanegan

Also, the Amazon deal of the day is on a BodyMedia at a great price.

tolygal

I have a bodybugg, but I don't use it anymore (I'm very close to my goal - but it was VERY useful in the beginning!!)

The bodybugg and body media fit are worn all day. They measure many things to determine your calorie burn, activity time, etc., but heart rate is not one of them. You can search and find out exactly how they work, but I found it to be fairly accurate for me, and they taught me A LOT about WHY I got fat in the first place, and it was really motiviating for me to work torward the deficit I wanted. You do need to pay for a monthly subscription but in my opinion, it was $9.99 well spent!! (not sure what it is now, it's been about 6 months since I last used mine). I have a desk job, and you could see exactly when I was sitting down and compare the burn between just walking to the bathroom or taking the stairs up a level to that one. It became fun to see what I could do to get a better calorie burn for the day!!

A HRM measures your HR and estimates your calorie burn during that time only - it is not accurate to wear througout the day, so you are only getting a little space in time - not your entire day.

If you want more detailed info, let me know. I was happy to have the bodybugg, but I know that people with HRMs really like them too. It depends on what you want/need probably.

cjack19

bump

would love to see the respones, as I am in the same boat (i.e. want the same things!)

marianne_s

Can current users of the above please tell me if:

The body bugg and body fit media measure heart rate and allow you to train within heart rate zones? Or are they strictly measuring calories burned - requiring you to log them on a site they provide and have to pay extra for, or something like MFP? Do they become obsolete after you get to your goal weight and no longer need to track every single calories to maintain?

No, the BB or BFM do not measure heart rate they measure calorie burn per minute. It also tracks how much time of vigorous or moderate activity you've had during the day, by counting METs (metabolic equivalent / how much oxygen per kg of body weight used per minute).

If you don't have the (watch) display unit, then you will have to log in to the website & upload your data.

Alternatively,

I ahve been looking on Garmin and Polar's websites and they all claim to calculate calories...but I am assuming that those are only calculated during your exercise sessions and not your daily burn....or could you wear it all day and get the same calorie count at the bugg?
The HRM's have pluses like interval (time) training, gps, etc....which could be helpful as my fitness improves and I want to train smarter
These gadgets cost a fair amount of money and I really want the best bang for my buck, but it would appear that you can't have it all in one model - I can see this being the same situation for me as when ipods came out, I didn't buy the biggest one because I thought " I'll never fill it"...sure enough I filled it, and had to get a bigger, better one; don't want to waste my money buying 2 gadgets.

My main wants in the product are:
Heart Rate - to tell if I'm burning fat or working on endurance training
Calories Burned
Interval Timer

Anyone care to chime ?

I think a good HRM will suit your needs... you just won't get to see your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) that the BB & BMF can provide.

bmccrory2

bump

solpwr

I am a proponent of HRM, so my views should be considered with that in mind.

In fact, if you are interested in an overview of the benefits of using an HRM, please read my blog here: http://bit.ly/uRFQKT

An HRM is the best tool for understanding your own physical fitness. As a secondary benefit, it can help you to accurately estimate the calories you expend during periods of physical exertion (exercise calories).

Because your heart rate under stress correlates to the amount of calories you burn, measuring heart rate is a reliable way to measure calories burned. As you become more physically fit, the amount burned changes in relation to your heart rate. Sophisticated monitors are able to either allow you to input your relative fitness level, or actually measure that level, making the calculations more accurate. In addition, your gender and age are important variables to accurately estimate calories burned.

So early on in your transformation from obesity to physically fit, calories burned is important to monitor your progress. Later in that transformation, accurately measuring your physical fitness and relative improvement to your fitness often becomes more important.

A good HRM is a great tool for your entire transformation, but realize that it becomes a better tool for you as you progress, and are in the latter stages of your transformation.

One of the numbers you can keep track of is resting heart rate. As you become more fit, this number goes down. When I was unfit and obese, my resting rate was approximately 70 bpm. As of last week, it is 38 bpm.

mrsredneckmorris

So, after all my research, it would appear that the bodybugg and bodymedia are one and the same, just bodybugg was licenced to 24 HR fitness.

MrsFusion

So, after all my research, it would appear that the bodybugg and bodymedia are one and the same, just bodybugg was licenced to 24 HR fitness.

No, the BB does not monitor sleep patterns like the BM. I have a Bodymedia.

mrsredneckmorris

So, after all my research, it would appear that the bodybugg and bodymedia are one and the same, just bodybugg was licenced to 24 HR fitness.

No, the BB does not monitor sleep patterns like the BM. I have a Bodymedia.

hummm....I guess the livestrong site was not completley accurate: http://www.livestrong.com/article/366271-bodymedia-vs-bodybugg/
Do you love your bodymedia?

KrisPage

I have had the BM fit BW unit that connects to my smart phone for 8 months and I was really overweight and it has really helped me achieve the deficits for total calories daily.Sleep data is also very interesting new studies released related to poor sleep habits increaseing risk for women to gain weight. It can record workouts and calories burned during workouts based on the data it collects. But as others have said it doesn't measure HR at this time just this week I got notification that they are adding HR monitoring in conjunction with Garmin units per many requests for this data. They released a beta collection update and will be collecting dat from folks that have both systems now. They have not added this data to the algoritims for thier calorie deficits at this time though. I am considering adding a HRM that will help me begin to improve my fitness level as well as the weight loss.

cassandra67

I am considering buying it. Would you say that it was something that was a great benefit to you? Do you then record your calories in both MFP and their program?

cassandra67

Hi. I think I am going to get this. One question I had, is that I am pre-menopause, and having hot flashes. Do you think the rise in temperature I experience throughout the day, will give me skewed results?

KrisPage

I am considering buying it. Would you say that it was something that was a great benefit to you? Do you then record your calories in both MFP and their program?

It was a toy that opened my eyes and gave real awareness for me, I really value the data I get from it but I am a numbers person when you can show me something in data the supports why something happened I get a better grasp of it. I like looking at my sleep quality and getting the deficits between consumption and calories burned .
Here is a view of data from yesterday Calories Burned - 2552 | Calories Consumed - 1259 | Calorie Deficit - 1293 | Total Activity - 0:28 | Moderate Activity - 0:28 | Vigorous Activity - 0:00 | Steps Taken - 5032 | Sleep Duration - 6:02 | Lying Down - 6:41 | Sleep Efficiency - 90%
This was not a super active day but I did good on not consuming excess calories and kept a great deficit.
Question 2 I record all my food consumed here on MFP and record daily total calories to bodymedia because their database is weak and I would have to enter most items manually.
Hope this helps!

KrisPage

Hi. I think I am going to get this. One question I had, is that I am pre-menopause, and having hot flashes. Do you think the rise in temperature I experience throughout the day, will give me skewed results?

Not sure about this would be a good question to pose to the tech support folks at Bodymedia they are great and reply generally same day or next day to any questions I have asked.

abfit4life

The Body Bugg topped my Holiday Wishlist and it arrived today. I can't wait to start using it. I use a Nike HRM to gauge my workouts now. I absolutely love it because it provides some data after each workout. I'm hoping using the Body Bugg and HRM will give me a more complete picture of how effectively I'm moving/burning calories.

Shawn_Marie

bump

gp79

Ive been using a body media for about a month and a half. I bought it to get a better understanding of my TDEE. I even had an RMR test this past spring. What I found is that the RMR test and the BM data were accurate and within a reasonable calorie range as I had calculated using one of the several algorithms available. Maybe within 150 -200 calories.

Thus far, my one big complaint is it does not accurately calculate calories burned for some exercises, ie. spinning, where your arms / upper body are not nearly as active as your lower body. On the flip side, if you walk, run etc, I've found it to be very accurate as compared to a HRM. The BM does allow HR Monitoring with certain Garmin HRM's. You simply have to activate the feature in your account. Without the Garmin, as others have said...no HRM capability.

I don't think the BM is a lifelong item. But rather a tool to better understand your body. I plan to use it for a while, collect data which I'll use to better focus my nutrition and workout goals. MFP & BM type devices raise your level of awareness and educate you in such a way that if you use them consistently, the day will come when you'll have developed the ability to succeed without them. I find them very useful but I can't see living the next 50 years logging my food every day.

chickybuns

I have had the bodybugg for almost a year now. I absolutely love it. It has helped me so much! I think a lot of people don't realize how inactive they are. My base calories burns varies a lot day to day, and without the bodybugg I would not be able to get an accurate of a measurement. The downfall is it does not monitor HR, and does not accurately measure some exercises like spinninng. But in those cases, I just go with it, add 100 more, I'd rather it underestimate rather than overestimate. I am debating getting a HRM also since I'm getting more into this fitness thing.

tameejean

Bump.