Bodymedia Fit vs. Fitbit - opinions, please!

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I been using the bodymedia Fit for a few weeks now. As for monitoring my activity with my Iphone, it works well, but nothing, a good pedometer wouldn't be able to do. As a side note, you can not use the phone to monitor, with out having an active account which you will have to pay monthly.

The biggest disappointment was the food diary log. It is so extremely out of date and not that many items as you would think. Most things I keep track of, I had to manually input. Normally I would log it in MFP first, then transfer the information to Bodymedia.

Personally, I think it a waste of $200, not to mention the monthly charge. But since I already spent the money, I will continue to use it.

Hope that help.

John

Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

I have been using the FitBit for a month and I am very satisfied. While it may not be as accurate, it is very close. It does help keep me on track and motivated. Plus, I don't have to pay to use their site with it (unless you want the bonus features). Since it integrates with MyFitnessPal which I was already using, it works well for me. Plus, I can wear it all day without anyone noticing.

Just a heads up - I got the BodyMedia Fit CORE (the slimmer of the two non-bluetooth models) for $90 on amazon with free shipping - they offered an on-site $30 cupon (not sure if this is for everyone or random or how it works) but they offer it for $120 normally, which is still cheaper than through BodyMedia's site. At $120 it's not a ton more expensive than the Fitbit.

http://www.amazon.com/BodyMedia-CORE-Weight-Management-System/dp/B0052KONSI/ref=pd_sim_hpc_2

I used BodyMedia for several years, then though I'd do things without it. I ended up falling off the wagon and recently decided to re-purchase it. It is great motivation and a reminder for me to stay on track. I looked into the Fitbit, but just wasn't convinced that it would be as accurate as BodyMedia. Body Media uses more sensors/measurements than FitBit. There is the monthly subscription cost for BodyMedia, which Fitbit doesn't have, but at the price of about 2 Starbucks coffees, it is worth it to me.

I hava a BMF and absolutely love it!!! I've had mine for a year and have learned so much about my body and the calories it burns. I HIGHLY recommend it to everyone. It's the best investment I've made in my healthy lifestyle. I wear mine 24/7 but now that summers here and I pretty much know what my body burns on an average day I will be wearing it less but still using it. U will not be disappointed in it

Is the BMF really uncomfortable to sleep with attached to your arm??

Nope, I wear mine all the time. Don't even notice it

Agreed. The first night or two you may notice it, but you get used to it. The band isn't supposed to be very tight, so if it is uncomfortable you'll want to make sure you don't have the band too tight.

I had the body bugg for over a year and LOVED it until my skin developed an allergic reation to the nickel backing.

I now have the Fitbit and LOVE it just as much as I did the body bugg.

Unlike the body bugg website - the fitbit website is free, not sure about the body Media site.

Either way they are both good investments.

Good luck to you

I have been using the fitbit since march 2012 and I love it, is also inspires me to challenge myself. You have a daily chart you can see how you are doing by eating, calories and activity and see where you need to improve. You also can monitor your sleep. You get a weekly report card that shows you your total steps, calories you most active day and least active day. I would recommend the fit bit to any one I have been using it a little over a month and I have lost 8 pounds and walk 4 miles a day.

Bump for later.

I ordered the bodymedia fit (still waiting for it lol). What sealed the deal for me is counts more when you are weight lifting, not only during but the afterburn.

Can you show the proof of that for me??

I've read on the site that you can't wear it swimming and with summer coming up, I go swimming a lot. So how do you all account for cals burned while in water??

BodyMedia allows you to manually log activities during "off-body" time. They have 10 different swimming options (Generic and various strokes). You pick the activity, the time and it estimates your calorie burn for that based on your personal info. If you don't do this, it will give you a more generic off-body estimate which will definitely be too-low.

So the way I am reading this is that BFM is more accurate but it may be uncomfortable, is a bit cumbersome with the food logging, and you have to pay extra to really use it properly. Fitbit is less obtrusive, doesn't get physically worn so more comfortable, and is seemless with the food logging, but in total is less accurate?

Comes down to comfort and convenience versus accuracy?

A few clarifications/points - Not everyone finds the BMF uncomfortable; I forget I'm wearing it, and it doesn't bother me when I'm sleeping at all... as far as the fitBit being less obtrusive, people rarely notice the BMF that I wear (when it is under a sleeve), though I do have the slimmer model. The food logging isn't actually a big deal, because it allows you to put your total daily calories in - you don't have to log all your food in BMF to put the calories in. I just have my detail log in MFP and then the total for each day in BMF. It's one extra step, but certainly nothing cumbersome since I'm in BMF anyways to upload my device data.

Also, you *have* to subscribe to the BodyMedia website to use the BMF - there's no getting around the subscription, so there is that extra cost to consider. It's $6.95/mo.

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the only one that actually calculates your TDEE is the BodyMedia device. Fitbit only monitors activity that causes the unit to be in motion, and calculates burns based on algorithms. I have a BM Fit Link, and I completely disagree that the phone monitoring does what a good pedometer would do.

One thing that has really changed for me is that not only did I discover that my estimated TDEE on MFP is about 300 calories over my actual burn for the day, but also that I over burn on certain exercises. Once I started logging my calories into the daily estimate portion (I do my macros on MFP, and use BM as the overall tracker) to keep track of a running deficit instead of one for the day, I started dropping 1-2 pounds every 3-5 days. Since it measures expenditure things like temperature, sweat, and conductivity, I never get the same burn for the same length of time doing the same exercise... I just feel way more confident in the accuracy.

Anyway, BMFL is great for someone that is very interested in minute details. You can see your burn TO THE MINUTE for any day you've logged. The subscription fee is minimal, and you get a lot of bang for your buck if you use the website the way it's intended. If you are serious about figuring out the most accurate TDEE and tracking by the minute, I'd go with the BM unit of your choice. If you just want a fancier workout tracker that is not a heart rate monitor, FitBit might be okay... but honestly, if it's a small difference in price, go with BodyMedia. I have one, and now three people on my FL have one as well, and we all love it.