BodyBugg
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Bobbi-B
Cathlete
I've had a bodybugg since last Sept. I still wear it daily (except when I'm on vacation!) and log in my food. It definitely feels worth the money, it's a big investment up front and now I pay $9.99/mo. For it to track the calories you eat, you have to enter in your food, which I was doing before I had the bodybugg at WeightWatchers online, so I was already used to that (I've since stopped subscribing to WW online, which was about $15/mo) What I like best about the bodybugg is how it tracks calories burned. I found an old note I wrote last fall after I'd had the bodybugg for 2 weeks that I wrote on facebook, I'll cut and paste it below. 
"Down sides:
1) It's buggy to set up with a Mac. Once set up, the only buggy part is that I have to close Safari and re-open it in order to successfully upload information. I couldn't have gotten it set up without the help of my husband, who is tech-savvy. BodyBugg doesn't work with the Firefox browser, but it works with Safari. But even with Safari, for it to work with Snow Leopard OS we had to change a setting on Safari.
2) It's spendy, and there's a monthly subscription fee on top the device. My husband bought this for me as a birthday present, with 6 months subscription, so I'm not really feeling the $ pain, but still, it's a few hundred dollars investment up front. The monthly subscription fee is comparable to my Weight Watchers fee (which I canceled) so once you buy the device, its cost seems comparable to other weight management systems. (And a friend told me that you can find used BodyBuggs on ebay and craigslist, though I haven't looked.)
Things I like: I find their tag line that it "takes all the guesswork out" to be true. I discovered that cooking, practicing cello, and sewing all burn around the same calories as yoga! I had always considered those other activities to be "sedentary". Really, the only thing that burns calories like watching TV is sleeping. TV is the devil! Unless I'm on the treadmill while watching it! I've stepped up my cardio exercise the past couple weeks as a result of BodyBugg feedback.
I like that when you initially set it up, you set your goals and choose how much of a calorie deficit, balance, or surplus you want to shoot for. I've definitely been exercising and moving around more to meet my goals, and it's motivating to upload the information and see a graph of my activity. Obviously I've always known that, for example, walking the dog is healthier than watching TV, but there is something oddly rewarding about seeing my activity on a graph!
Entering what I've eaten is about as easy as Weight Watchers online, once I got the hang of their interface. It gets super easy once you start eating the same meals because it's stored in memory. My morning oatmeal and my fruit smoothies are no-brainers now. And their library of food seems pretty vast. For example, if I enter in "Clif" it comes up with a vast list of every Clif bar product on the market. I click on the bar I ate, and instantly all the nutritional information is logged into my profile.
I appreciate the very detailed nutritional information. Besides just calories, it charts your intake of protein, fat, carbs, cholesterol, saturated fat, fiber, calcium, sodium, and fiber. I love seeing how my vegan diet translates into zero cholesterol intake, crazy high fiber intake, and more than enough protein. And it helped confirm that I will continue taking a calcium supplement everyday, because most days I'm a little low.
Oh, and it's comfortable to wear, I don't notice it."
"Down sides:
1) It's buggy to set up with a Mac. Once set up, the only buggy part is that I have to close Safari and re-open it in order to successfully upload information. I couldn't have gotten it set up without the help of my husband, who is tech-savvy. BodyBugg doesn't work with the Firefox browser, but it works with Safari. But even with Safari, for it to work with Snow Leopard OS we had to change a setting on Safari.
2) It's spendy, and there's a monthly subscription fee on top the device. My husband bought this for me as a birthday present, with 6 months subscription, so I'm not really feeling the $ pain, but still, it's a few hundred dollars investment up front. The monthly subscription fee is comparable to my Weight Watchers fee (which I canceled) so once you buy the device, its cost seems comparable to other weight management systems. (And a friend told me that you can find used BodyBuggs on ebay and craigslist, though I haven't looked.)
Things I like: I find their tag line that it "takes all the guesswork out" to be true. I discovered that cooking, practicing cello, and sewing all burn around the same calories as yoga! I had always considered those other activities to be "sedentary". Really, the only thing that burns calories like watching TV is sleeping. TV is the devil! Unless I'm on the treadmill while watching it! I've stepped up my cardio exercise the past couple weeks as a result of BodyBugg feedback.
I like that when you initially set it up, you set your goals and choose how much of a calorie deficit, balance, or surplus you want to shoot for. I've definitely been exercising and moving around more to meet my goals, and it's motivating to upload the information and see a graph of my activity. Obviously I've always known that, for example, walking the dog is healthier than watching TV, but there is something oddly rewarding about seeing my activity on a graph!
Entering what I've eaten is about as easy as Weight Watchers online, once I got the hang of their interface. It gets super easy once you start eating the same meals because it's stored in memory. My morning oatmeal and my fruit smoothies are no-brainers now. And their library of food seems pretty vast. For example, if I enter in "Clif" it comes up with a vast list of every Clif bar product on the market. I click on the bar I ate, and instantly all the nutritional information is logged into my profile.
I appreciate the very detailed nutritional information. Besides just calories, it charts your intake of protein, fat, carbs, cholesterol, saturated fat, fiber, calcium, sodium, and fiber. I love seeing how my vegan diet translates into zero cholesterol intake, crazy high fiber intake, and more than enough protein. And it helped confirm that I will continue taking a calcium supplement everyday, because most days I'm a little low.
Oh, and it's comfortable to wear, I don't notice it."
Wow! It does even more than I thought it does. I don't know about the monthly fee on top of the big payout, I suppose if you were already paying a fee to weight watcher's it wasn't that big of a deal. It does sound like a good buy, but I suppose I would really have to think about it. Thanks for the information.
I have a GoWear Fit (same thing as the Bodybugg, just a little cheaper) and I love it! I have had mine since Feb and still wear it daily. I had a few surgeries recently and it really helped me to not gain weight because I could see exactly how much I was burning (or not!) and then adjust my food accordingly. I think it was worth every penny (I found Amazon to have the best deal) and I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. I actually bought my husband one a month after I bought mine. He is still wearing his and seeing great results as well.
I was a little nervous that I would become obsessive about the burn/intake because I can be that way but I have actually found the opposite - it has helped me to relax about what I am burning because as long as I am moving I actually burn more than I thought before. If you have the money to spend I say go for it!!
I was a little nervous that I would become obsessive about the burn/intake because I can be that way but I have actually found the opposite - it has helped me to relax about what I am burning because as long as I am moving I actually burn more than I thought before. If you have the money to spend I say go for it!!
NRG Woman
Cathlete
I have had the Go Wear Fit since last June and worn it every day. I got it for a birthday gift, but would have gladly paid for it. In fact I bought one for DM for Christmas. To me it is totally worth the money. I pay $6.95/month for the fee and actually would happily pay double or triple it.
Like the previous poster I thought I would become obsessive about the numbers, and for the first few weeks I did. But after that I changed some of my daily habits and ultimately became much more calm about the whole situation.
I always felt that dieting and exercising to lose weight were like being in an archery contest blindfolded. I knew how to shoot an arrow, but was completely clueless as to where the target was. Now I have a really clear picture of all of my ins and outs and can manage the situation accordingly.
Also for me one of the best benefits is the sleep function. I have notoriously poor sleep and have been able to improve my sleep by having such good information. I am still not a great sleeper, but am definitely much improved.
I say if you have the ability go for it.
Shayne
Like the previous poster I thought I would become obsessive about the numbers, and for the first few weeks I did. But after that I changed some of my daily habits and ultimately became much more calm about the whole situation.
I always felt that dieting and exercising to lose weight were like being in an archery contest blindfolded. I knew how to shoot an arrow, but was completely clueless as to where the target was. Now I have a really clear picture of all of my ins and outs and can manage the situation accordingly.
Also for me one of the best benefits is the sleep function. I have notoriously poor sleep and have been able to improve my sleep by having such good information. I am still not a great sleeper, but am definitely much improved.
I say if you have the ability go for it.
Shayne
boilerchick
Cathlete
I don't have one, but I'm a numbers person and a strict calorie counter, so I think it sound really cool! Besides the obvious cost issue, though, I can't imagine something like that on my arm all the time. It seems way too conspicuous. I would wear it around the house, possibly out shopping or something if I had a shirt that covered it, but I certainly can't imagine trying to wear it to work. I really wish they would come out with some like that that you could wear like a heart rate monitor that you could wear completely inconspicously (maybe with a corresponding receiver that you could carry with you in your purse or pocket). Then I would be seriously tempted!
horseshowmom
Cathlete
My kids bought me one for Mother's Day. I LOVE it! It was $164 on sale, no shipping or tax with a 6 month subscription. I had an issue with my strap but it was replaced within 3 days and I was given an additional 2 free months subscription. It is soooo much more accurate than a HRM. HRM are all based on what the average person @ their entered height/weight burns at certain heart rates. Personally I have an incredibly high heart rate so the HRM always gave me more credit for calories than I was actually burning. The website tools are amazing. It's made a huge difference in just the month I've had it. My body composition/weight has made huge changes. I totally recommend the investment!
It was $164 on sale, no shipping or tax with a 6 month subscription. I had an issue with my strap but it was replaced within 3 days and I was given an additional 2 free months subscription. It is soooo much more accurate than a HRM. HRM are all based on what the average person @ their entered height/weight burns at certain heart rates. Personally I have an incredibly high heart rate so the HRM always gave me more credit for calories than I was actually burning. The website tools are amazing. It's made a huge difference in just the month I've had it. My body composition/weight has made huge changes. I totally recommend the investment!
Bobbi-B
Cathlete
I was concerned about this too, because it is pretty conspicuous. I've always worn long sleeves at work anyway (either a suit jacket or cardigan sweater) so it doesn't show at the office. I don't worry about it during my off hours anymore because I just got used to it. Nobody takes much notice and it's so comfortable that I forget it's there.
NRG Woman
Cathlete
I wear tank tops year round since my job is in the fitness industry. I have to say in the year I've had it only had a few people have asked me what it is. Truly most people are so lost in their own world and drama that they are fairly oblivious of me. It is only once people begin to see me as a person that they care enough to ask what it is. Anyone who is close enough for me to care about personally I had told about it before I got it since I was so excited. I really do love it and wear it constantly.
For those who want something less conspicuous now they make a fitbit. I don't know much about it other than it is not conspicuous.
Shayne
For those who want something less conspicuous now they make a fitbit. I don't know much about it other than it is not conspicuous.
Shayne
babindy
Cathlete
Gowear Fit vs fitbit
I've had the GoWear Fit (GWF) since May 2009. It was incredibly helpful. It helped me fill in the 'missing piece' - the calories I actually burn. The website is a great tracking system. And it motivated me to keep moving. I found the display to be necessary for my motivation. I do find this conspicuous. probably because my arm-fat shows an indentation from the band, or 'peeks' under most clothes. It is pretty spendy, but that doesn't bother me as much as the monthly fee. The display stopped working recently and turns out it's defective since I can't get the display back off the unit.
I received my fitbit a couple of months ago. It cost $99 and no monthly fee. it is NOT as accurate as the GWF, but it's a pretty decent pedometer-on-steroids. It has a trip/activity-trackier and the website is good. Also I found the customer support to be way better and more personal than GWF.
In looking at the two devices I've found that the fitbit is not so good at non walking/running type of activities. weightlifting? fuggedaboudit. (but that was pretty true for the GWF as well). The fit bit shows LESS calories burned than the GWF. About a 10-15% depending on the activity. For some reason racewalking is my largest variance. Not sure why - less 'bouncy' movements???
Anyway.... my GWF subscription is up this month and I'm not renewing. I think I've learned enough from that, with the fitbit, that I will be able to track with the fitbit alone. I also have a suspicion that the GWF is a bit generous on the calories burned.
Hope that helps.
I've had the GoWear Fit (GWF) since May 2009. It was incredibly helpful. It helped me fill in the 'missing piece' - the calories I actually burn. The website is a great tracking system. And it motivated me to keep moving. I found the display to be necessary for my motivation. I do find this conspicuous. probably because my arm-fat shows an indentation from the band, or 'peeks' under most clothes. It is pretty spendy, but that doesn't bother me as much as the monthly fee. The display stopped working recently and turns out it's defective since I can't get the display back off the unit.
I received my fitbit a couple of months ago. It cost $99 and no monthly fee. it is NOT as accurate as the GWF, but it's a pretty decent pedometer-on-steroids. It has a trip/activity-trackier and the website is good. Also I found the customer support to be way better and more personal than GWF.
In looking at the two devices I've found that the fitbit is not so good at non walking/running type of activities. weightlifting? fuggedaboudit. (but that was pretty true for the GWF as well). The fit bit shows LESS calories burned than the GWF. About a 10-15% depending on the activity. For some reason racewalking is my largest variance. Not sure why - less 'bouncy' movements???
Anyway.... my GWF subscription is up this month and I'm not renewing. I think I've learned enough from that, with the fitbit, that I will be able to track with the fitbit alone. I also have a suspicion that the GWF is a bit generous on the calories burned.
Hope that helps.
nicolegadino
Cathlete
Kind of a PITA
I have one, and in the winter is wasnt bad because its covered by sweaters and long sleeves, but in the summer its a pain in the butt, because it's kind of bulky and then you are wearing this armband all day, which is weird at work.
I am not a fan of the online program bodybugg uses for entering your calories, it takes alot of time and is not very efficient.
I also don't think the calorie counting is very accurate. I've compared 2 different HRM's to the calories counted on my bodybugg and it was way off compared to the HRM's during my workout.
I only uses my Polar HRM now, defintely wish I would have just purchased that first.
I have one, and in the winter is wasnt bad because its covered by sweaters and long sleeves, but in the summer its a pain in the butt, because it's kind of bulky and then you are wearing this armband all day, which is weird at work.
I am not a fan of the online program bodybugg uses for entering your calories, it takes alot of time and is not very efficient.
I also don't think the calorie counting is very accurate. I've compared 2 different HRM's to the calories counted on my bodybugg and it was way off compared to the HRM's during my workout.
I only uses my Polar HRM now, defintely wish I would have just purchased that first.