This or that?

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mariahp23
mariahp23 Posts: 57
in Health and Weight Loss
I really either wanna get a body bugg or body media device to track how many calories I burn! Who has one? And what do you think?

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  • mrsredneckmorris
    mrsredneckmorris Posts: 119 Member
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    I was looking at both of those too, and it appears that they don't do heart rate monitoring,nor can you get interval times and various other features (things want)
    If I am reading and understanding polar and garmin websites they have models that provide calorie tracking and the bonus features that the bugg and body fit don't for nearly the same price.
    Also after watching the bugg demo today it appears that you have to purchase a membership to their website that seems to be very close to MFP?! Maybe I read it all wrong, but for me I have ruled them out based on the extras I can get with a polar or a garmin.
    I am interested to see what other suggestions appear in this thread....all of those gadgets are expensive and it would be nice to know we got the best for our money!
  • cjack19
    cjack19 Posts: 158 Member
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    I am bumping this to see if we get any other answers... I am looking at getting a HRM too and I know from other threads that most people have the strap ones, but I really want something similar to a watch so I can wear it most of the time. We do a lot of hiking on the weekends now and I don't want to have to bother with wearing a strap.

    I read too that the body bugg needs a membership - but I don't want to have to PAY for something like that! monthly fee!?! forget that!!!!
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,651 Member
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    I am bumping this to see if we get any other answers... I am looking at getting a HRM too and I know from other threads that most people have the strap ones, but I really want something similar to a watch so I can wear it most of the time. We do a lot of hiking on the weekends now and I don't want to have to bother with wearing a strap.

    I read too that the body bugg needs a membership - but I don't want to have to PAY for something like that! monthly fee!?! forget that!!!!

    The hrms with a strap are more accurate than just the watch ones (and you can wear most, if not all, the strap hrms as just a watch too). Polar is one of the more popular brands and, really, you barely even know the strap is there.

    Having said that, it depends on what you're looking for. Bodybugg's show you your calories for 23 hours (you're supposed to take it off for an hour to let your skin breathe) and hrms are only really good for exercise calories.

    I have a hrm, bodybugg and fitbit. I think the bodybugg overestimates my exercise calories by 200-300 but I'm too scared to eat what it says i should because I *finally* started losing weight paying attention to the fitbit calories. I know the bodybugg has worked for a lot of people tho.
  • auntdeedee87
    auntdeedee87 Posts: 706 Member
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    ...I now know what my Grandma feels like when I talk about Twitter and such.

    May as well be speaking Greek.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    The BodyMedia Fit is the Gold Box deal of the day on Amazon for $139

    I use a Polar F4 - so I can't dont know anything about this ^^
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
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    I have a BodyMedia Fit and a Polar F4. I only wear my HRM for dedicated, high exertion (elevated heart rate) exercise. I got my BMF from a Costco Online sale for $150 shipped with a 12 month subscription included.

    My HRM and BMF are pretty close on most workouts. They only differ on inline skating and stationary bike. Mostly because of the arm movement (or lack thereof) of the exercises (I pace skate so my left arm rests on my thigh a lot), so the BMF number would be lower. I get around that by just taking off the BMF during those times and editing the off-body time manually based on my HRM number.

    The food entry in BMF sucks. I track everything here and enter it as one large meal at the BMF site.

    I love the BMF data charts. I can see what I burn while I sleep, cook, run errands, clean, anything. It's very eye-opening and my self-competitive nature has kept me much more active since I got it since I like seeing active calorie burns.

    I started ignoring MFP's assigned calories and the whole exercise calorie thing. Following my BMF info on burn and deficit has been way more beneficial. Eating my exercise calories based on MFP's guidelines made me gain. BMF has me losing all that weight again.

    The sleep tracking was very eye-opening. Again, helped me to adjust habits and get more sleep and feel better overall.


    A few cons:
    I haven't worn a short sleeve shirt in public since February. Even if I wear a tee, I have a light long sleeve shirt under it, even through the summer. I'm a self-conscious sort and don't want people seeing the BMF. I've seen others wearing them who don't mind, but that's just my thing. Just sharing it though.

    If you buy a display with it, the thing beeps everytime you hit a goal and you can't turn the sound off. Thankfully never happened in a meeting at work, but embarrassing around friends. (again, from my first con)

    Very minor skin irritation if worn in the same exact place for too many days. I avoid this by moving it up or down slightly on varying days and then much lower on my arm while I sleep or know I'm gonna be sitting around inactive for awhile. (wearing it low on the arm causes an increased calorie burn because of your arm momentum, so I only wear it low when there's no active arm movement to measure)

    Overall, I love my BMF and how it's helped me. (once I learned how to coordinate it with MFP) and also love my Polar HRM for my workouts. The Polar gives me the real time info on my heart rate, time and calories burned while I'm working out. That's invaluable to me. So I wouldn't choose one over the other since they're two very different tools for my goals. And I would recommend either or both to anyone, depending on what their overall objectives and needs were. :)
  • ufoundtracy
    ufoundtracy Posts: 5
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    Have a Body Bugg. It takes a little getting used to at first but love it. I got mine at costco since they have such a great return policy. Have had mine for two years and love it. The hard thing to get used to is the questions. People are always stopping me to ask about it and at first I didn't mind but after a while this became annoying so I now usually hide it under a sleeve. I know this sounds negative but people can be sooo judgemental and have no problem giving me dieting tips. All the time. Even when I don't ask.
  • ufoundtracy
    ufoundtracy Posts: 5
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    Yes, love the display watch that I bought later. It makes me go that extra mile.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,651 Member
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    i think I'm more in love with the display than the bodybugg right now! It shows today's calories, yesterday's, steps taken, the time, how many METS you're expending...it's a fun little gadget. :smile:

    I don't have a lot of longer sleeved shirts so I wear mine in my bra during the day. I normally wouldn't care who sees it but I have a coworker who already thinks I'm nuts because I pay attention to my calories and weigh food and need to get my walk in every day.

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