Heart Rate Monitor, BodyBugg, or FitBit

[keenercam]

I am looking for feedback on these three items. Do you use any of them? How have they contributed to your fitness and/or weight loss efforts?
What are the pros and cons of each, based on your experience?

 

[longhorns2]

I've used a HR monitor and a Body Bugg.

HR: It helped me know when I was not really working out- when I was walking and not raising my HR for example (therefore not really getting any benefit from the work out for fat loss perspective) The one I had also counted calories- so it was a tool to use when I had a hard workout day to know how many extra calories I burned. It's not very accurate, but it was a better idea than the charts you find on the internet! Could be worn just for working out - thats the usual intent.

Body Bugg: pure calorie counter. No HR monitor to this one. Seems to be pretty accurate though and I like that it tells me how many calories I spend a day. You wear it 23 hrs a day. The numbers are fascinating- really shows how much a little activity can do!

Now--- neither program works without a food journal. Calories in and calories out. The HR monitor and the Body Bugg might help you figure out how many calories you expend, but if you don't track food, you wont get far in weight loss. Journaling is my downfall. So I can't say either tool has really helped me lose weight. I've been able to maintain but the loss is very slow going for me.

GL with your journey!

 

[keenercam]

Thank you for the information, Patty!

 

[Rose&Mike]

I used a heart rate monitor every time I ran before going g-f. I was dealing with that irregular heart beat. We have a garmin with a hr monitor.

Anyhow, how it helped me--it slowed me down when I was overdoing it. I was able to go longer when I learned to slow down a little. It gave me a good idea of what an upper limit was for me--the old formulas just really don't work. During the summer it really showed me the effect of heat and humidity on my heart.

Like the pp said, I also knew when I wasn't working very hard. The nice thing about the garmin--I could see what my heart was doing under different conditons, speeds, etc.

 

[Suited Deuces]

Another vote for heart rate monitor. I have a Garmin gps watch. It was VERY helpful in the beginning, for me, to see if my heart rate was too high and WHY (usually going too fast).

It also maps your run and keeps GREAT records.

 

[keenercam]

I have a Garmin, but it isn't the model with a HRM. I'm not sure, though - does a Garmin work indoors if you turn off the satellite search and just need it to act as a HRM? I do most of my training indoors on a dreadmill due to a vision disability.

 

[Suited Deuces]

My Garmin 405 does allow heart rate monitoring w/o satellites.

 

[keenercam]

My Garmin 405 does allow heart rate monitoring w/o satellites.

That's great to know. Thank you!

One last question? Do all HRMs use a chest band? Or do some work off your pulse at your wrist?

 

[Rose&Mike]

you can get ones that work off your pulse (like a watch), but I was told they are not as accurate. I don't know if this is true or not. When I had the irregular heart beat going on, I was told to get a strap monitor. I don't know what the reason for this is, maybe someone else has heard something. The strap never really bothered me.

 

[Blondie1973]

I use the body bug from gowearfit.com. I love it. It tracks the calories I burn, the number of steps I take and the type of exercise done, moderate or vigorous. It has some basic workout modes along with the food journal. The food journal can be accessed anywhere online or I downloaded the free app to my phone.

it has a bluetooth connection so it works in conjunction with the app pretty easily. The food journal is extensive and I can usually find equivalents if I don't find exactly what I'm looking for.

I've had it for about 2 years. I've only most recently really starting losing weight but that was my issue not the armbands. lol

Good luck with whatever you choose to use!

 

[keenercam]

Thank you so much, everyone, for the information. I really appreciate it!

 

[cewait]

Honestly, as a metabolic based coach.... A body bug is not nearly as accurate as one would believe without some attempt to calibrate. We are all an experiment of 1 and not one of us fit a predefined formula. I guess what I am saying is that the only thing these gadgets do is allow some form of relative comparison on a daily basis. Do not begin to believe that it actually measures your basal metabolic rate. It is relying on a formula that will not fit everyone on this thread. Actually, if one is combining a sound and hard fitness program at the same time, one cannot really make a comparison month to month as your Kcal burns will improve through a month.

So, if you are looking for a neat gadget that will confirm that you spend 8 hours at work on a chair then walked or ran for 30 minutes... this is your gadget. Else, a good log online coupled with a balanced and portioned diet, a strength program and a cardio program with that has an objective review every once in a while will get you just as far if not further to where you want to go.

Sorry for being a contrarian, but what folks do not see are the endless rounds of metabolic tests on the BL.

I will also add that one should calibrate their workouts to their HR monitor. Simply putting your age into a formula and setting a max HR will keep you fat or deconditioned. Trust me... I was there. Every 6-8 weeks, one needs to perform a sub maximal test to figure out where their anaerobic threshold is. That is a point that one should train around for maximum effect in both conditioning and weight loss. Simply start on a treadmill at a speed you think you will be able to maintain for about 15 minutes. After 3-4 minutes perform a talk test. Think of a 5-7 word phrase and use the same phrase every time i.e."give me the money honey" Note how conversational you were. Increase speed about a half mph. After 2 minutes, say the phrase. Then raise the TM 2%. After 2 minutes repeat. At some point you will start to feel like the treadmill is hard... you are looking for very hard. For the point where you are looking to get off. Keep rasing the intensity every other minute until this feeling occurs. At the same time, your phrase will get to a point where you can only say 1-2 words per breath.... At the reading where that occurs, make no further adjustment, but run for another minute and note the HR. That is your anaerobic threshold....

For weight loss, train at 90-100% of this HR for at least 75-80% of your training time. Retest every 6-8 weeks. You will notice an imporvemtn.

 

[iwynlea]

I got a BodyBugg in November, when they were on sale for Black Friday. I got the SP model, which downloads to my iPhone so I can track my burn and log my food from anywhere. Now, when I first got it, I was so excited, and began wearing and logging food every day. I checked my calorie burn multiple times a day, and when I wasn't reaching my desired 500 calorie deficit daily, I would do extra activity. I lost 6 lbs. in 4 weeks - I was REALLY excited. For me, this was what I had been looking for...I know it's not 100% accurate, but it's close enough that it gives me a good picture of where I am at any point in the day, and if I need to make myself move my lazy butt that night instead of watching TV, seeing the numbers helps.

Now, Christmas came along. And I decided I would forgive myself. I ate less than usual at parties (and home!) but still ate my favorite treats. But then I had trouble logging them, because who knows how many cals are in grandma's pie that my friend made and I can't get her to give me the recipe because it's a family secret, so I stopped logging. And as of today, I haven't started back.

And along with the not food logging, I'm not checking my burn every day...or even every other day! Oh, I'm still wearing the bugg, I actually feel kinda weird without it, but for this to work, I have to be disciplined enough to log food, check burn, and then do something (i.e. move my lazy/exhausted self at the end of the day if I'm not where I want to be). So, it's a tool, just like lots of other tools. I know that it gives me the feedback that I, personally, need, if I choose to use it.

So, yesterday, I started food logging again. Because DH and I just signed up for the Princess 5K at Disney and I have 3 weeks to get into enough shape to walk/jog 3.1 miles in one go. (I'm a naturally fast walker, about a 17 minute mile, so just need to get slighter faster in 3 weeks and we'll be fine with the 16 min/mile pace.)

Anyway, if you're looking for some fitness tool to give you feedback, then I'd recommend the BodyBugg. But if not, keep looking, I'm sure there's something out there to meet your needs!