BodyMedia shows too MANY calories burned??

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Tatyana130
Tatyana130 Posts: 30
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been wearing my BodyMedia for a few days now and it is showing that I burn about 2400-2600 calories per day with little exercise. Every other method of calculating my BMR and activity level showed around 1800 burn per day. I don't know what to do!! Should I return it??? I really like it, but it seems that it is maybe not working properly??? They do say its over 90% accurate, but it seems way off! How much can I trust it?????

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  • mallory3411
    mallory3411 Posts: 839 Member
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    Are you just laying in bed all day for it to read what it does? If not it won't be the same number as your BMR since the BMR is the number of calories your body burns just to be alive... as in if you were in a coma or sleeping. Simple things like showering, cooking dinner, walking to the car etc burn extra calories.
  • rpstaller
    rpstaller Posts: 8
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    Are you just laying in bed all day for it to read what it does? If not it won't be the same number as your BMR since the BMR is the number of calories your body burns just to be alive... as in if you were in a coma or sleeping. Simple things like showering, cooking dinner, walking to the car etc burn extra calories.

    Yeah, I have one, too and it is always higher than the estimates provided by sites like MFP.
    Sites like this use a few bits of data about you and a formula to come up with an estimate. It is a fairly accurate estimate but it is still an estimate.
    The Bodybugg or Bodymedia, whatever they are calling it now, takes those same bits of data about you combined with other things that it monitors all day such as every single movement you make, your skin temperature, and skin moisture to come up with its own number. I'm sure it could be argued that the Bodymedia number is just an estimate also but the amount of data that it uses to come up with its estimate is why it is considered to be so much more accurate.
  • walkdmc
    walkdmc Posts: 529 Member
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    I trust mine. I also have a Go Wear Fit (Bodymedia) and it also provides a calories-burned value well over what I've gotten here. I feel waaaaay too hungry to just have a 500 calorie deficit which is what I'd have if MFP's number was right.
  • Tatyana130
    Tatyana130 Posts: 30
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    Are you just laying in bed all day for it to read what it does? If not it won't be the same number as your BMR since the BMR is the number of calories your body burns just to be alive... as in if you were in a coma or sleeping. Simple things like showering, cooking dinner, walking to the car etc burn extra calories.

    I did say BMR AND activity level. My BMR alone is only about 1400 and I have a desk job, so the total I get is about 1800 estimate, but the armband calculates 2600.. that is quite a difference.. :(
  • Janda06
    Janda06 Posts: 168 Member
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    I say trust it. Wear it for a few weeks and see how you do. The numbers may adjust as you wear it longer.
  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 795 Member
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    Could be you're more active in a given day than you thought. It's a desk job, but that's probably only 8-9 hours of your day, right? There's housework, walking, and whatever else you do in a day/night. Maybe you short-changed yourself! :smile:
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,592 Member
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    I was having the same problems too but I noticed it when I compared the bodybugg numbers to my fitbit and hrm (during exercise). I got some good advice from another user on here who basically said to make use of the bodybugg website (log mfp calories eaten and log your weekly weigh ins) on the bodybugg website, wear the bodybugg and it will "learn" you. Which it has. It used to show I burned around 300 more calories a day and now it's much more closer to my fitbit numbers. I trust the fitbit numbers because I sit at a desk most of the day and on the computer or couch watching tv at night. The only time I'm really active is when I'm working out. And I didn't semi consistently start losing weight until paying attention to the fitbit.

    Give your bodymedia more of a chance before getting rid of it.
  • marianne_s
    marianne_s Posts: 986 Member
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    Are you just laying in bed all day for it to read what it does? If not it won't be the same number as your BMR since the BMR is the number of calories your body burns just to be alive... as in if you were in a coma or sleeping. Simple things like showering, cooking dinner, walking to the car etc burn extra calories.

    I did say BMR AND activity level. My BMR alone is only about 1400 and I have a desk job, so the total I get is about 1800 estimate, but the armband calculates 2600.. that is quite a difference.. :(

    The BMF is showing you your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) - this is not the same as your BMR

    http://www.quickbmr.com/what-is-tdee.html

    According to the website above your TDEE would be as follows

    Sedentary = 1680 (1400 x 1.2)
    Lightly Active = 1925 (1400 x 1.375)
    Moderately Active = 2170 (1400 x 1.55)
    Very Active =2415 (1400 x 1.725)
    Extremely Active = 2660 (1400 x 1.9)


    This mean you're actually more active than you think.... you say you have sedentary job.... but do you exercise regularly?

    If you do, then you're not actually sedentary

    Sedentary = no exercise
    Lightly Active = 1-3 days exercise
    Moderately Active = 3-5 days exercise
    Very Active = 6-7 days exercise
    Extremely Active = hard daily exercise


    Also.....HRMs, BMFs, or BodyBiggs are not 100% accurate.... I believe there is a 10% margin of error.... I suggest you contact BMF customer service for assistance.

    I've had my BMF for nearly a year and I've found it to be quite accurate.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,835 Member
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    What are you're current stats and how many cals is it saying you're burning per minute at rest?

    Did you buy it second hand? If so, did you reset it?

    How long have you been using it for?

    My BMF numbers were higher than MFP was calculating also but as I've been using it for 6months and can test the accuracy of it, the BMF was a lot more accurate for me.
  • bohmie12
    bohmie12 Posts: 1
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    Yeh I too am skeptical. I am 180 pounds, pretty fit, and after a 9 to 5 day of walking around a shop floor and maybe a quick gym session my calorie maintenance is over 4000. I am really stressing over what calorie number to set for myself to lower body fat without losing my muscle gains.
  • Tatyana130
    Tatyana130 Posts: 30
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    What are you're current stats and how many cals is it saying you're burning per minute at rest?

    Did you buy it second hand? If so, did you reset it?

    How long have you been using it for?

    My BMF numbers were higher than MFP was calculating also but as I've been using it for 6months and can test the accuracy of it, the BMF was a lot more accurate for me.

    While just sitting, I burn 1.1-1.2 cals/minute. It is nice that I can see that I have not actually been sitting all day at my desk, but have been walking around quite a bit.. So at first I did think that maybe I do actually burn that much.. BUT... Now, this past week I've had a calorie deficit of over 1000 per day and should have lost around 2 pounds, instead I gained one!

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