Bodybugg: Estimating your daily calorie burn

I won a Bodybugg calorie management device through a work fitness competition a few weeks ago and have been excited to try it out. I probably never would have bought something like this since a heart rate monitor just seems to make so much more sense for me but hey, it was free!

The device is worn around your left arm throughout the day and it uses sensors to measure 4 points: your motion, heat flux or the amount of heat your body gives off, galvanic skin response or your skin's conductivity and your skin temperature. The product is used in conjunction with a web-based application that allows you to enter in information about your body's parameters, your goals, activity levels and lifestyle. In addition, the web account allows you to enter in your meals for the day to track the calories consumed, gives you meal and nutritional suggestions based on the parameters you entered and offers resources to help you achieve your goals.


I'll admit that after becoming familiar and comfortable with the system I kind of like it, even though I was skeptical at first. It's cool to see the graph and to be able to pinpoint what you were doing at that moment. Here are some examples of what my calorie burn looked like from the "Calories Burned" dashboard. For me, I am typically in bed between 11pm and 8am (the lighter shaded area) and I do not wear the device at that time so it inputs the estimated calories burned per minute assuming inactivity.

As you can see, the times where I am least active and burning the lowest number of calories throughout the day are when I am sitting at my desk. It's no wonder people who are in desk jobs tend to gain weight more than those who are not.

There are two versions, the bodybuggSP and the bodybugg v3. The SP allows you to view data via your mobile device while with the v3 you have the option to purchase watch with digital display otherwise you must log in to your account and sync the device with your computer.

Product Basics:

Bodybugg v3: $99.99 + 6 months website subscription included with initial purchase
BodybuggSP: $249 + 6 months website subscription included with initial purchase (It's funny, there just happened to be a Groupon today to get this version for $99)
$9.95 monthly subscription fee thereafter

Pros:

• Gives a good idea of how your body uses energy throughout the day
• Provides online nutrition resources and support
• Estimates calories using multiple measurements, more accurate (as opposed to the Fitbit, which primarily tracks movement)
• Good battery life and memory capacity so you don't have to sync it everyday

Cons:

• Does not have a digital display on the device
• Price for subscription after initial period
• Food diary database is limited and interface is not the most user friendly
• Does not have the option to sync with other food diary sites (MyFitnessPal or other diet application integration would be HUGE!)
• You look like a huge dork wearing the thing around all day, it's certainly not the most discreet

Available from: mystore.24hourfitness.com 

UPDATE: I wore this for about a week before I got over it. You're better off watching what you eat and if anything, buying a heart rate monitor that tracks your calories burned during exercise.