So how does a nerd lose weight? They buy a gadget of course. Being overweight and a bride to be…I decided to try something, anything, to improve my weight loss efforts. So far, it’s been rough…I’ve spent the better part of 4 years going up and down and up and up and down and up the scale. It’s just been rough…and I’ve been really lost. I think that is hard…it’s depressing (and I’m not using that word lightly) to fail at something you’ve worked at for years. And I’ve gotten to the point where all I know…is that I’ve tried the same thing for a while and it’s not working. Time to try something new. So my something new, is the BodyBugg.
If you don’t know what crazy gadget I’m talking about, you clearly haven’t watched the Biggest Loser lately. The BodyBugg is a little device worn on an armband that tracks the calories you burn throughout the day. Along with the Bugg, there is an online interface where you input your food intake and upload the data from the Bugg.
Initial setup of the device includes inputting your weight and other body information. Afterwards, you select your personal goals by adjusting how much weight you want to lose by a certain date or how fast you want to lose weight and it will set a date for you. I went with the option of how fast to lose weight by setting it at 2lbs a week.
Once it’s set up, it’s time to get going and put on your bodybugg!
I’ve been BodyBugged!You wear that bad boy everyday and it tracks your movement and calorie burn all day. The slim black design is awesome. I haven’t had anyone notice it at all. It only shows under a fitted shirt, but since it’s behind your arm, it’s not so visible. I haven’t worn it with a sleeveless or really short sleeved shirt except for at the gym, since it’s getting colder, so it’s not a big deal.
Anyway, back on the computer, you are greeted with a welcome screen that shows your current status for the day every time you log in.
The home screen is my fav part of the website. This screen shows me every day exactly what I need to do to meet my calorie balance of 1000 a day to meet my 2lb/week goal. I like knowing exactly where I stand, it’s really changed my attitude about my weight loss journey. It makes me feel like I have more control over my destiny. The screenshot above is the daily view, but you can see this data for other stretches of time. The calories burned comes from your sync of the BB and the light blue area is your estimated cal burn if you are sedentary for the rest of the day. Basically – it tells you how much moving you have to do to meet your calorie requirements for the day, which is really helpful.
Out of everything I LOVE about the bodybugg, the one thing I hate is the food logging on the website. It’s quite possibly the least robust one I’ve ever used, and what makes it annoying is that this is a paid site. I couldn’t even find egg whites on the food list. You can build custom foods, but it’s surprising that I have to create custom foods for some of the “typical” healthy foods. They also don’t have an application for smartphones yet and with the way the website functions, you can’t access it on a mobile browser. Some ppl mentioned on the message boards that they logged elsewhere and just copied the nutritionals at the end of the day, but I don’t like that idea. The benefit for me is seeing exactly where I stand when I log in..which helps me decide if I should splurge or not at dinner or to motivate me to actually go to the gym when I feel like being lazy. Anywhoo, here is a peek at the food logging page:
So far, after a few days of BB usage, I really love it. I don’t have the digital display, and sometimes I wish I had sprung for it when I made the initial purchase. I really don’t need it during the week anymore, it’s pretty easy to know how my calorie burn will be at work after a few days. But it still would be nice to know what is going on, especially during the weekend, when I’m really all over the place. I think that I will get one in a few months, maybe around Christmas if there is a good sale or something. It’s not mandatory if you are going to be able to sync the BB at least once during the day. But if you are only syncing at night or first thing in the morning, it would be something I would recommend.
So far, I really love this thing and am really glad I bought it. It’s a hefty investment – $250-189 depending on where you buy it and what kind of sale they are having. They also have a lot of them on ebay, but I found the prices were comparable if not higher than a new one. That includes 6 months of the website, afterwhich you have to pay for a continued subscription. And you have to have the subscription – this thing is worthless if you can’t sync and see the outputs. So…it’s not a cheap toy…which is a huge downfall for a lot of people. It’s one reason I waited a long time to buy one – I had to really figure out if I could justify the cost for something like this. In my head – I decided it was worth it, but that’s a really personal decision. If I lose all the weight I want from this thing, then it’s worth it. I don’t think I’d buy this for just maintenance or if I only had a few lbs to lose.
So this is my #1 essential for weight loss right now. It’s my rock that I look to to make decisions on food and exercise and it’s really helping me. I’m a geek…so seeing the numbers makes this whole journey make sense to me. I know ppl say cal in/cal out is the key to weight loss – but now I can actually see what that really means. I have my coaching session next week and I can’t wait to talk to them and learn more about how to maximize the usage of the website and of the bodybugg.
Anyone else a bodybugg user? Any tips or trick? Love it or hate it?
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