Does it Work? Unsure if the latest product or service lives up to it's claims? From popular products to the latest scams, discuss it here before you buy!

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 07-10-2008, 01:43 PM   #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Michelle125's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Philly burbs
Posts: 493

S/C/G: 245/ticker/125

Height: 5'5''

Default Bodybugg, Biotrainer, or heart rate monitor?

Hello ladies,

I am so fed up with my PCOS and IR stalling my weight loss, and not allowing me to eat like a normal person. I want the true scientific numbers behind what my body is really up to, so I can outsmart it.

I was looking at the Bodybuggs, Biotrainers, and heart rate monitors for tracking how much my body burns all day, sleeping, eating, walking stairs, working out, walking to work. The Bodybugg looks like the best, and they are reduced price now (they use them on The Biggest Loser) but I'm too embaressed to wear the darn thing on my arm all the time.

Biotrainer is endorsed by Denise Austen but I've read in forum after forum that often the products arrive broken and customer service is nonexistant.

Is my best bet a good heart rate monitor? I would totally go for the Bodybugg but like I said I don't want to show off to the world what I'm doing, and plus I have a Mac so their software won't work. At least a heart rate monitor looks like a watch, so I can wear it without too much attention.

Lemme know if a HRM would be good for clocking all calories burned all day, not just during workouts! Also, if you use a Bodybugg lemme know what your experience is! Thanks!
Michelle125 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-10-2008, 02:32 PM   #2  
How much longer?
 
Insatiable's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: California
Posts: 69

S/C/G: 180/ticker/130

Height: 5'5'

Default

I used to use a polar heat rate monitor. I lost 30 pounds with it about 2 years ago. It was very helpful. However, now that I am dieting again I started using it and I was not losing weight. After MANY MANY conversations with my trainer, she thought maybe it was not reading right. So I tested it from a sitting position, and then walked around. It was off. It was way off. I was relying on it too much to think for me. I would think I was in my target zone, but in actuality I was no were close. UGH!! Can you say frustration?
3 months of excersice 5-7 times a week gone. I was hooked on my heart monitor. It was hard to cut the cord. BUT once I cut the cord and just started measure my works out by sweat (hence burning it off) I started to lose weight.
I love heart monitors. I recommend them too. However you must check it on a daily to weekly basis if it is reading right. The strap you were on you waist is where mine went wrong. The watch was right on, but the strap has issues. A new strap is like $50. It is a great way to measure time spent working out, calories burned, weight, etc. Just don’t 100% rely on it. Listen to your body is the #1 best way to workout.

I have been looking into the bodybugg too. A LOT of people at my 24 hr wear them and swear by them. The company is located near me and a lot of the people that work for the company work out at my gym. JUST FYI, the reason they are dropping the price so much for the current body bug is because they are coming out with a new one in fall. The new one is 10X smaller than the current one. It looks like a wrist watch but on your arm. I think that is way more convenient for work. I want one too, but I am waiting for the new one. I have a mac as well, and I was told they fixed the problem. But I will believe it when I see it.

Biotrainer never heard of it.

Hope this helps. Good luck!!
Insatiable is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-10-2008, 02:54 PM   #3  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Michelle125's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Philly burbs
Posts: 493

S/C/G: 245/ticker/125

Height: 5'5''

Default

Wow! Thanks for the Bodybugg info! See, I REALLY want one, but just can't fathom the idea of walking around the office with it on. I like to wear short-sleeved blouses, especially in the summer, and I don't want everyone asking me about it. But I must admit, they look so cool.

Hmm, I'd really like to try a wrist HRM. Just wasn't sure if they're good for resting calories burned, etc. Thanks for your input!
Michelle125 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-10-2008, 03:13 PM   #4  
start march 29 2008
 
lifechange's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: ontario
Posts: 255

S/C/G: 286/140/135

Height: 5'4''

Default

Hi Michelle, I have a heart rate monitor watch. I am not sure if it is good for resting calories. It can do it but I think you would have to take a HR reading on occassion. I have a Mio and I really like it but I have had a few duds (although they aren't expensive about $30). They are supposed to be water resistant but the one I currently have on has condensation on the lens but it still works. I looked into other brands but I didn't find anything to say that other brands were better so I have decided to stay with Mio and just buy a new watch.
lifechange is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-10-2008, 03:22 PM   #5  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Michelle125's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Philly burbs
Posts: 493

S/C/G: 245/ticker/125

Height: 5'5''

Default

I actually just reached into the bottom of my office bag and pulled out a black Mio Sport heart monitor watch. I got it for Christmas 2 years ago, never used it. I think it tracks calories! So funny I remembered it was there all this time. I thought it was just a stop watch!
Michelle125 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-10-2008, 03:24 PM   #6  
Back on the wagon
 
kuhljeanie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Kettering, Ohio
Posts: 493

S/C/G: 205/162/125

Height: 5'1"

Default

hi! i have a sensewear monitor (exactly like the bodybugg) and i'm telling you, it's TOTALLY worth the money. when i first started wearing it i worried about people seeing it, but it's been a few months, and now i really don't care. sometimes people ask me what it is, so i just tell them. usually they want to know where they can get one too. it's just like anything else unusual that you wear - you just gotta own it!

the really cool thing about it is that it's made me hyper-aware of how much i'm moving (or not) during the day. i've gotten religion about exercise - so much so that my usual daily calorie burn is in the 2500-2800 range. i used to get so frustrated on diets because i was always hungry, and all the BMR etc. calculators online were grossly underestimating what i was burning. what a relief to find out there's nothing wrong with me - i just have a faster metabolism than i thought.

there's nothing wrong with heartrate monitors, or pedometers, but if you really want to know how many calories you're burning (instead of how fast your heart is beating, or how many steps you're taking) they're not the right measurement tools.

feel free to PM me if you have any questions!
kuhljeanie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-10-2008, 05:09 PM   #7  
ddc
getting back to 140
 
ddc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,158

S/C/G: 155/154.2/140

Height: 5'7"

Default

I think I remember reading in my Polar heart rate monitor manual that they are not meant to be worn all day long, only during exercise.
ddc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-10-2008, 05:23 PM   #8  
How much longer?
 
Insatiable's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: California
Posts: 69

S/C/G: 180/ticker/130

Height: 5'5'

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by kuhljeanie View Post
- so much so that my usual daily calorie burn is in the 2500-2800 range.
How are you getting that kind of a result? What are you doing?

Last edited by Insatiable; 07-10-2008 at 05:24 PM.
Insatiable is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-10-2008, 05:30 PM   #9  
ddc
getting back to 140
 
ddc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,158

S/C/G: 155/154.2/140

Height: 5'7"

Default

I just found this about the Polar Activity Watch. Sounds interesting.

http://www.polarusa.com/consumer/aw/default.asp
ddc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-10-2008, 05:35 PM   #10  
ddc
getting back to 140
 
ddc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,158

S/C/G: 155/154.2/140

Height: 5'7"

Default

Ok, how much is the sensewear?
They want you to call to get the price
ddc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2008, 09:25 AM   #11  
Back on the wagon
 
kuhljeanie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Kettering, Ohio
Posts: 493

S/C/G: 205/162/125

Height: 5'1"

Default

i think i paid about $450 for it, but it included the monitor and a 6-month subscription to the webservice. you could do without the monitor but not the service - that's where you upload all your data, do your meal planning and journalling, and get all the reports.

my calorie burn is a product of a couple of things: i'm still nursing a slightly older baby, i carry a lot of muscle (combination of weight training and genetics), and i do about 45 minutes of intense cardio 6 days a week. i also go out of my way now to take the stairs, park further away, and i'm the first one up to get the kid, get someone a drink, etc. because i can see a clear connection between moving around more and burning more calories. couchtime is 1.2 cals a minute, but housecleaning is 2-3, depending on how much i'm up and down the stairs. days i don't do cardio i miss out on 400-700 calories i could have burned. when i started, i was pushing hard to burn 2200 calories a day. this is kind of why sensewear/bodybugg is so ingenious and worth the money!

Last edited by kuhljeanie; 07-11-2008 at 09:26 AM.
kuhljeanie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2008, 10:12 AM   #12  
ddc
getting back to 140
 
ddc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,158

S/C/G: 155/154.2/140

Height: 5'7"

Default

Thanks for the info.
Sounds very motivating
ddc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-23-2008, 11:38 PM   #13  
Junior Member
 
Italian Bella's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 3

Default Forget the Biotrainer - a piece of junk

I was really surprised that Denise Austin endorsed it, she must be getting paid a lot because it's a big waste of money.

I had one. The spring hinge broke within a week. Took forever to get somebody in customer service to give me an RMA. They have no office - just a phone number. Be wary of companies like that.

Finally exchanged it (at my expense) and the thing lasted a few more weeks. In the meantime, I developed a rash where it hit my waistline. It's not like I'm obese or anything - I wear a size 8. But it really irritated me.

It doesn't really measure caloric burn accurately like they say it does because I work out with weights and really expend a lot of energy and it reads next to zilch as far as calories.

Body Bugg or Heart Rate Monitors? I don't know. But a good old fashioned pedometer IS the way to go.
Italian Bella is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-11-2008, 03:08 AM   #14  
Mom to 2 beautiful boys!
 
osu2k1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 232

S/C/G: 331/ticker/150

Height: 5'6"

Default

I also have a bodybugg and love it! I paid $250 for it I think, 1 year ago. I wish I could trade this one in and get the new one that's coming out but I don't mind. Honestly, I don't care about wearing it and having people see it. I mean I walk around being heavy and probably get looked at, who cares if they notice the MP3 looking thing on my arm, KWIM?

I really love that I can see that I burned 3700 (not a typo) calories and only ate 1500. I also love that I can see that since I didn't work out today that I am only going to burn 2500 or so and ate 1600 calories. It's really cool that I can see that I took 4500 steps today (non work out day) and 10500 on my workout day. Pretty cool, IMO.

So I don't think it's a bad thing to invest in. I have my trainer and my bodybugg. I am giving myself until January, if they don't do the job alone, then I will add in a real diet program (vs. just counting calories and watching what I eat).
osu2k1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2008, 11:56 PM   #15  
Member
 
TheBeesKnees's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: SoCal
Posts: 58

S/C/G: 170/170/110

Height: 4'11''

Default

I can't wait for the new bodybugg to come out. I'm more of a tech-geek in the household. I currently have a Polar F11 that I just started using. I like it. It doesn't count all the calories throughout the day, but I do my best to log in my activity on caloriecount.

To have it monitor for most of the active date would be amazing!

My only reservation is not being able to use it during laps. Ah well, you can't have it all I suppose.
TheBeesKnees is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:34 AM.


We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.