These devices do this by measuring your body temperature, the rate at which heat is leaving your body, sweat levels, pulse, and body motion, among other things. The most famous of these is the BodyBugg , used on the popular weight loss show The Biggest Loser , but there are others just like it—in particular, the BodyMedia FIT , which is essentially the same product as the BodyBugg but under different branding.
We were given the opportunity to try out a BodyMedia unit, and found that it gave us all the data we ever wanted to know, and then some. We were given review units for the armband and display:. The "armband" portion is actually a USB-capable device that is locked into a stretchy band that goes around your arm. The unit itself can pop out of its holder so you can plug it into your computer via USB to sync with the activity manager on either a Mac or Windows machine.
BodyMedia claims that it can monitor 9, different elements of your body in order to come up with a calorie burn estimate, as well as a number of other metrics. And given the amount of sweat pouring off of me, I'm pretty sure the BodyMedia was the closest to getting it right. The other trackers all acknowledge that they're not perfect, especially for activities where your body might be mostly stationary. Weight-lifting, bike riding, paddleboarding -- if your entire body isn't moving, then the accelerometers they depend on can't register your activity so well.
The BodyMedia device has an accelerometer and more, sensors that rest on your skin to measure sweat and skin temperature. This why it can be so much more precise about what you're doing. Viewing the data Your activity data flows into a nice online activity manager, where you can also do things like log food, see your sleep, and check on steps:.
One of the things I absolutely love about the interface is that you can select any time period, highlight it, and then get the amount of calories burned during that time. For example, here's the zoom-in on my spin session:. My other devices don't allow this type of granularity. Want to know how much you burned in an activity with the Jawbone Up?
If you didn't set the timer, you're out of luck. Fitbit will give you estimates for every 15 minutes, but it's pretty inconvenient to add all those up -- and you better have remembered when your exercise started.
Nike gives you an hour-by-hour summary, which is less useful and -- worse -- isn't in calories but instead in "NikeFuel. There is an option to add "off-body" activities, if you weren't wearing your armband during a particular exercise.
Both the Fitbit and the Up have a similar feature. But I never needed to use it, since I was constantly wearing the Fit, plus it seemed to be doing a great job of accurately tracking what I was burning.
For the others, this feature is more needed as a way to catch them up to what they might miss. In my testing, I've found keeping track of the food I've consumed one of the very best ways to lose weight. I've also found it continues to be a pain, regardless of what device you use. But the Fit, like the others, does try to make it easier.
As you can see above, the Fit's Activity Manager remembers frequent foods that you've logged for particular meal times. You can also add custom foods or combine several foods into a recipe, for frequent use. Also like the Fitbit and the Up, the Fit will track your sleep, logging how much it actually thinks you've slept versus your "lying down" time:. As I've written before, I find the sleep tracking more a novelty than an essential with these trackers, but if you want it, the Fit does have it.
Better, you don't have to put it into sleep tracking mode, as you required with the Fitbit and the Up. Based on this information, the software extrapolates how well you slept the night before. A steady signal could indicate you slept soundly for several hours, which is good news. But a data stream with a series of interruptions or spikes could show that you're not getting enough good sleep to help you in your goal.
What you do with this information is entirely up to you. You might need to look into changing your daily routine. You may have to adjust where you sleep. Keep in mind that you can be active and follow a sensible diet and still not lose the fat you want to get rid of if your sleeping patterns are bad. In return, you'll have access to all the data collected by the armband as you wear it throughout the day. You'll also be able to track personal bests and set goals for future achievements.
Through partnerships with other companies and organizations, BodyMedia may provide further services like meal planning and exercise routines. For example, in BodyMedia partnered with fitness expert Jillian Michaels. Michaels' program helps you plan out each meal and activity with the goal to help you achieve the results you want in a safe and healthy way. As you enter information about the food you eat into the Activity Manager, you'll receive feedback about your diet.
BodyMedia has included nutritional guidelines to alert you if you're consuming too many carbohydrates or aren't getting enough vitamins from the food you eat. A healthy diet is an important part of any fitness program. But if you slack off and don't keep your food diary up to date you'll lose this benefit -- the FIT isn't able to track every bite you consume.
On its own, the FIT is just a collection of sensors. It can provide you with a lot of data about what you're doing -- or not doing.
But the armband isn't going to shed those pounds for you. You'll have to work to get fit. But the BodyMedia FIT might just give you the information you need to stay motivated while you strive to achieve your fitness goals.
The company made a big splash that year, even going so far as to track one man's body responses as he engaged in crazy activities like skydiving. The data collected from the FIT really opened my eyes to my lifestyle, and I made some changes to my diet and activities. The difference showed as I dropped a few pounds and began eating healthier foods -- a little information can be really powerful!
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