body bug review

Buy a Bodybug from Amazon RIGHT NOW! ^

First, I will note that the new bodybugg does monitor your sleep since someone said it doesn't.

Because I own both, I will say with confidence...these ARE the exact same. I lost my bodybugg and thought I left it in a hotel, bought this one, and it's the same as my bodybugg which, I found in the pocket of my suitcase when I travelled again!

(That said, the old bodybugg, the grey one, version 1 and 2, did not measure sleep.)

Why the name difference since it's the same thing made by the same company? 24 hour fitness bought the rights to the bodybugg. So the company has this one not under that name.

So, I can tell you all about it knowing they are both alike and having already reviewed the bodybugg

(BUT that said, be sure to check the 24 hour fitness website before you buy this because they often have the bodybugg on sale. It varies and sometimes this one is cheaper and sometimes you get a free display device on that one...changes every month as to which one is cheaper from what I've seen...)

I couldn't find an in-depth review on the bodybugg/gowearfit that answered ALL my questions before I bought mine, so I surfed the net for a week til I got them all answered. Therefore, I'll try to answer most of them I had, for you, here...things I hate. Things I love. How it works.

Am I not losing weight because I'm working out too much and not eating enough?

Is my metabolism just slower than other people's or is it so high I need to eat more to maintain energy to lose weight?

Am I working out enough to burn enough calories to lose weight?

How many calories do I REALLY need? And how much calorie deficit do I REALLY need to lose weight not as an average of other people but based on MY body and what I do each day?

If you ask yourself any of these questions then the Bodybugg/gowearfit may be a good solution.

So let's go over the pros and cons I've found of the system. I'll begin with the pros:

Pros:
comparison to the heart rate monitor: I actually have used a Polar F11 heart rate monitor for 3 years now until I upgraded to the bodybugg when it went on sale for a spell. The F11 is rated the most accurate heart rate monitor by consumer reports as far as heart rate monitors go. Problem is heart rate monitors are not used for scientific diet experiments where the bodybugg is for the reason that they don't offer the same accuracy. Only testing your heart rate can issue wrong results as far as caloric expenditure. If you are taking blood pressure medication or other medications, for example, you wont get accurate results with a HRM and your heart rate alone doesn't tell the full story of caloric burn. The bodybugg measures true caloric burn many ways rather than just by your heart rate: accelerometer, heat flux, galvanic skin response, and skin temperature. Because a calorie is a measure of heat, you get 92% accuracy with the bodybugg. (one study I read said 91%). This is the highest rate of accuracy for any caloric measurement device aside from a metabolic chamber which isn't something you can carry around or typcially afford to install in your home because a metabolic chamber is an entire room in labs measuring how much energy (measure of heat) you give off which is equal to caloric burn :-) .

Also, you cannot measure your entire daily caloric expenditure with a heart rate monitor because you have to wear a body strap that's damp the whole day. It would dry out. So you can only measure your caloric expenditure for a short time like during a work out with a heart rate monitor.

Comparison to the pedometer: The bodybugg/gowearfit includes a pedometer so you can set step goals as well if you get the digital display (read the cons section and you'll know why I think this digital display is even more important)This provides even more motivation for me personally. It's just one part of all it measures. A pedometer measures steps, not energy or how hard you are working to make those steps relating to caloric burn (running vs. walking for example) so it's one part of the equation, but a pedometer alone wouldn't offer near the accuracy.

Also, with the digital display (thats the wrist piece which you can also clip on to your waist band or pocket). Separate. Sometimes free if you catch a good sale at 24 hour fitness on the bodybugg version of this which is the same and made by the same company as gowearfit.) you get immediate feedback on how many calories you are burning without having to download anything into the computer to see where you are. For example, I just stood up at my desk to type this because I have been sedentary for too long and my calorie count that is displayed right now shows that, for my goal, I'm too low right now. I just ramped it up a little. Now I'm kicking under my chair. :-) How's that for motivation? It's like having a personal trainer at work with me, at the grocery store, every second. I now walk circles or do jumping jacks while I heat something up in front of the microwave if I look down and see my caloric burn is low for that time of day. Crazy. But Effective.

Comparison to just counting calories:
Weight loss is simple. Burn more calories than you take in. Problem is, although you can get an AVERAGE of what many people your age and height burn per day online to figure out your caloric needs, you can't actually know what YOU really burn or need calorie-wise without this device. If for example, you are more or less active on some days, your caloric intake should also change to meet your weight loss goals as well as satisfaction. As the diet channel (you can find this online) mentioned when reviewing the bodybugg (I do LOTS of research before purchasing!) "A 22 year old 250-lb. NFL linebacker with 13% body fat is going to have different caloric needs and ouputs than a 55 year old 250 lb couch surfer." Your needs and caloric burn each day are not cookie cutter. This way there is no guesswork. For example, this week I set my goal for a 500 calorie deficit each day so I can lose a pound by the end of the week. If I have eaten 1500 calories by late tonight and burned 2000 calories according to my watch display (you don't have to wear it as a watch, more on that later) and I am offered a 200 calorie ice cream bar I have a choice. Eat it and then go walk the dog until my display shows I burn that 200 calories or don't eat it or eat it then make up the average the rest of the week. Total control. If, however, it shows I've burned 2,200 already...I get a treat! No guessing.

I also use it with my Weight Watchers points but that's a whole other story. (I use it to guage my activity each day. I love Weight Watchers)

No other device measures the energy YOU truly use the entire day. (calories are a measure of energy and heat; not heart beat. Not number of steps.) The gowearfit is the same as the bodybugg version 3 and that bodybugg and this gowearfit measure your sleep patterns for a full picture.

Comfort: The bodybugg/gowearfit is worn on your left arm. It's comfortable. I don't even know it's there. I wear sleeveless shirts even to a corporate job but it's easily hidden under a short sleeve shirt if you wish. Most people know what it is from the Biggest Loser and ask me questions and love it so for me personally, it's as though it's not there or it's a cool gadget. This version is so compact you could wear a short or long sleeve shirt and really not even see a bump. If I go to an outside meeting I do throw a jacket on over a sleeveless shirt but I would anyway.

You don't even need to turn it on and off. It's that easy...it senses when it's on your skin when you put it on. Slide it on.

When it was introduced in 2005 Popular Science Magazine gave it the "Best of What's New" award as far as research that would change the world.

The good news is that the display device I got for immediate feedback can be worn as a watch OR clipped onto your clothing or even just carried in your purse. This is a bonus for me because I began wearing my heart rate monitor when I used that as my watch but it's not too attractive. Now I wear my dress watch again but still know what I'm burning when working out. It even tells me I have a message at noon if I have reached my goal of activity by that point. It works several feet away...I lay it on a counter when I'm working out at home and it still picks up everything I"m doing at the other end of the room...but the clip is very secure so I usually clip it on my pants top and I cant even feel the display.

It has shown amazing accuracy in ALL I do and I get exact weight loss from it that it says I will.

CONS:
It's not perfect. It's accuracy, according to my readings HAS been perfect though. (In fact, based on what it tells me I should lose each week because of my caloric deficit that it shows...it is WAY more accurate than my heart rate monitor or my own head as far as the calories I've burned when working out & weight loss goals being met) BUT I recommend getting the display face that you wear as a watch or clip to your clothing and opt out of having to log on constantly to the website in order to even know how you are doing which to me seems extremely inconvenient. If you have the display face it instantly tells you how many calories you have burned as you burn them, all you need to know is how much deficit you should have which it will tell you the first day you set your gowearfit up and you can even figure out your calories in a journal without going to the website. (that's what I do. I use the dietminder food journal which amazon carries)