Those who own a BodyMedia

YassSpartan
YassSpartan Posts: 1,195 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've encountered an issue with BodyMedia which none of the customer support representatives that contacted me have been able to convince me about a proper way to achieve what I want.

What is it that most people losing weight or tracking their calories burned want? To know how many calories they burn during their workout. BodyMedia is just one of the options out there.

For those unfamiliar with the BodyMedia armband, this device is has 4 sensors which will allow you to calculate how many calories you burn daily, supposedly with a 90% accuracy. This, of course, sounds very tempting for any person who is trying to lose weight and have a better control over how many calories they burn during their workouts, and their regular activities. The device requires a paid subscription to be able to log the data from the armband to the Device Manager, which is the company's online system that offers you a visual chart with all your daily burn, goals, etc. You can even enter food to the data base to see how short or close you are to your nutritional goal.

What this company won't tell you is, that their stupid system is not 90% accurate as they claim. Basically, the Device Manager will calculate, based on your previous data, an estimate of calories burn during the times you don't wear the armband. That's my issue and this is exactly where I call it false advertising.

For example, if for 3 months I've been actively wearing the armband like I'm supposed to, the whole day except when I shower, working in the construction field, and working out 1 hour a day, the amount of calories I burn daily will be very high. Now, if for one week I'm injured or sick and I lay down in bed with no extra physical activities and I don't wear the armband, the Device Manager will use the data from those previous 3 months and calculate an estimate for that week of complete inactivity. Is this really accuracy?

How did I find out about this issue? Well, I liked to download all the data to the Device Manager to bring the armband to 0 and put the armband only at the time I would start my workout. The armband will turn on itself once it makes contact with the skin making a series of beeps, and it will turn off with another series of beeps once you take it off. Anyways, one day after waiting approximately 30 minutes since I downloaded the data to the time I was going to workout, I decided to plug the armband back to the computer and I noticed it was showing new calories burned. I thought it was a mistake because the armband was off. I tried this again in different occasions and did the same thing. So my idea of using the armband only during the workout to calculate how many calories I would burn during the specific workout wasn't going to work if the Device Manager was adding calories I didn't burn or calories burned based on previous data. Imagine if I had to drive 20 minutes to meet with friends at a park to workout and 20 minutes back home. At the end, the Device Manager would add those 40 minutes of "made up" activity to the time I was wearing the armband while working out at the park.

I've contacted their customer support in more than one occasion and apparently there's nothing they can do. So on top of the price of the device and the need to pay for a subscription, I'm not going to get an accurate reading in the most important moment of all, which is when I workout, I don't think it is worth recommend this product to anyone who's looking for something to calculate calories burned.

And for those of you who have one, be aware now that you know this and not trust 90% the numbers this thing is displaying for you.

Replies

  • smilingchica
    smilingchica Posts: 279 Member
    This is such a dissapointment! :(
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
    I've also read that it's not accurate for bicycling because it only measures what your arms are doing, not your legs. Or something like that.
  • tishad58
    tishad58 Posts: 110 Member
    ...And it also reads driving as heavy activity unless you don't use that arm to drive!! :sad: Steering trips those sensors like you are doing Zumba. Ah well.
  • tishad58
    tishad58 Posts: 110 Member
    I've also read that it's not accurate for bicycling because it only measures what your arms are doing, not your legs. Or something like that.

    Exactly! Someone up here told me to put it on my ankle, and that did the trick. It is probably not completely accurate- but it is more accurate than 0! :bigsmile:
  • Marmitegeoff
    Marmitegeoff Posts: 373 Member
    Dissappointing but I am still impressed as it can work out when I am walking and when I am doing Bicep curls. Cycling goes down as physical and not as steps. My pedometer adds loads of steps when cycling.
  • Beastette
    Beastette Posts: 1,497 Member
    I've also read that it's not accurate for bicycling because it only measures what your arms are doing, not your legs. Or something like that.

    Exactly! Someone up here told me to put it on my ankle, and that did the trick. It is probably not completely accurate- but it is more accurate than 0! :bigsmile:

    As for cycling, there actually is a section which tells you to wear the armband slightly toward the outside of the tricep.

    As for everything else, the placement of the monitor is very important too. I read pretty much the entire website when I bought mine, so I knew how it worked. My drive does NOT calculate the same way as Zumba.

    The more you wear it, the more accurate it becomes. This is also stated on the site. If you want a measure for only workouts, most knowledgeable resources would tell you to purchase a HRM. Or, you can wear both and split the difference.

    That's the point of a BMF...to estimate your TDEE. It works just fine, as long as you read ALL of the information and use it properly.

    They can't "fix" the "problem" because there isn't one. That's how the device works.

    ETA:
    From:
    http://www.bodymedia.com/Support-Help/BodyMedia-FIT-Armband-Advantage-Troubleshooting

    My Armband is not recording all of my Activity while riding a bike or stationary bike.

    On a road bike - ensure that you are wearing the Armband correctly.

    On a exercise bike, also called a stationary bike, some people may feel they deserve more calories than they get credit for. This can be attributed to the exercise bike's geometry and handle bar style. In this case, just for riding the exercise bike, try wearing the Armband lower on the arm, closer to the elbow than the shoulder, and rotate the Armband a little to the outside of your arm. With your arm hanging at your side (not sitting on the bike or holding the handle bars), the Armband's face would be in line with your wrist watch. When you have finished riding the bike, pull the Armband back to its normal position.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    It sounds like you're expecting it to work like a HRM, where it only counts when you have it on? But it's designed to always be estimating your total exenditure, so it's going to 'count' at least BMR, even when you have it off. Or is that not the issue?
  • Beastette
    Beastette Posts: 1,497 Member
    It sounds like you're expecting it to work like a HRM, where it only counts when you have it on? But it's designed to always be estimating your total exenditure, so it's going to 'count' at least BMR, even when you have it off. Or is that not the issue?

    That's exactly correct.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    You can zoom in on your activity manager on the time frame of your exercise to find out the calories burned during that exercise. So yesterday I zoomed in on the 15 minutes of HIIT I did. It said 125 for that. Then I zoomed in on the 20 minutes of elliptical and I think it said 80 for that.

    Mine has never logged driving as an activity other than sitting on my *kitten*.
  • amsparky
    amsparky Posts: 825 Member
    It's meant to be a tool - it isn't a heart rate monitor, so it won't tell you the info you want accurately if you only wear it for the workout. If you wear it all day, you can set it to record your workout or you can go to the activity manager and look at the cals during your workout. If you don't wear it all the time, it won't end up being accurate.

    Good luck!
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
    I ate at 500 below what was read on my BodyMedia for 2 weeks and lost half of a pound. I should have lost more.

    I feel as though the 90% accuracy is NOT in my favor. Instead of burning 2000 a day (example), I really burn 1800. So when I eat 1800 and believe I am doing good and creating a small deficit, I am really making a deficit of 0.

    I have not figured out how best to deal with this yet.
  • Beastette
    Beastette Posts: 1,497 Member
    I ate at 500 below what was read on my BodyMedia for 2 weeks and lost half of a pound. I should have lost more.

    I feel as though the 90% accuracy is NOT in my favor. Instead of burning 2000 a day (example), I really burn 1800. So when I eat 1800 and believe I am doing good and creating a small deficit, I am really making a deficit of 0.

    I have not figured out how best to deal with this yet.

    Here is where the word "estimate" actually has significance. A 10% error would be +/-200 calories in a 2,000 calorie day. Not to mention that no one can promise you a linear weight loss. Too many other factors come into play: How close you may be to goal, how much sodium is in your diet, etc. You know that you lost .5 lbs in two weeks, eating well (presumably). So, congratulations and just keep at it.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    Sarah- What I would do if I was pretty comfortable with that 1800 is tweak my age/size inputs to get the device to ratchet down your BMR estimate to the level you think is more correct. Tell it you're older and/or smaller than you are.

    In the end, the devices don't have to be accurate for each of us, just internally consistent. If it's always under-estimating your burn by the same 200 calories/day that's enough info right there to make the right intake choices to lose at whatever level you want to. But I'd probably want to tweak it to show my true data better in the charts and reports anyway.
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
    I'll have to tinker with it to see how I can change my stats. I do not recall how to get to that screen. Thanks for the info, mcarter99.

    Beastette:
    Not to mention that no one can promise you a linear weight loss.
    :cry: Yes. This is very true. I forget it every day, too.
  • BodyMedia
    BodyMedia Posts: 46
    Yes, YassSpartan, you should wear your armband often to get the most accurate account of your burn. Also, remember, you can always go in and edit the data collected during your off body time as your BodyMedia device will create an estimate based on all your previous activity. If you would like to see the read out of your workout, just click the down arrow next to the “Calories Burned” tab in your Activity Manager. This should show you what you burned during your on body time. Hope this helps!
  • ox45
    ox45 Posts: 90 Member
    So you have a device that is meant to be worn all day but only wear it for your workouts, then complain when it doesn't count your calories properly? That's like buying a snowmobile and complaining when it sinks when you take it out jet skiing. I wear mine like it supposed to be worn, and have found no major problems with its numbers. You may want to take the advice of others and trade it in for a good heart rate monitor.
  • madison2502
    madison2502 Posts: 5 Member
    i understand your point. The only solution I have found is to use it in conjunction with my android device when i work out. There is bodymedia app that ties to your bodymedia in real time and lets you start a workout and then it reads your actual calorie burn. it is not a perfect solution but it works for me. they do have an iphone app also.
  • realized007
    realized007 Posts: 4
    I think the key here is the bodymedia is designed to be worn 24/7 minus about 1hr a day (typically when you’re in the shower)
    If you don’t wear it during that time there is an “edit off time” or something like that feature that you can tell the bodymedia what you did during that time.
    If you are wearing it only during workouts, you need to only look at that time period on the website – and IGNORE the rest as it will ‘estimate’ calories burned during the off time based on your past history.
    If you can’t wear it 24/7, I would suggest you get a HRM and only wear that during workouts.
    Use the item as its designed, or don’t complain.

    POLAR makes great HRM's
  • kmcghghy
    kmcghghy Posts: 1 Member
    I love my Bodymedia. I wear it all the time except when taking a shower and periodically at night.
    I wondered how acurate it was so I did a test where I uploaded everything and walked 50 steps and then uploaded again. It lost about 1 step in every 10-15.
    That is great for me. If I'm going to try and lose weight I'm not going to worry about 1 in 15 steps as that isn't going to add up to weight loss. I'm going to worry about being 300 to 500 deficit in calories on a daily basis and making sure I get my exercise in.
    Weight loss still comes down to burning more calories than you consume and it is a great tool.
    If your looking for perfection, I really doubt you will find it in ANY sytem.

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