My bodybugg results over several months
There has been a lot of interest in the bodybugg lately, and many visitors are (naturally) looking for personal experiences with the armband. I talked about the bodybugg a good amount after I bought it, but I know some of you want to know how it works, long term. While I can’t claim to be representative of all bodybugg users (ha!), I thought it might be useful to share my experience so far.
It’s been about four and a half months since I bought the bodybugg at my local health club. I went through the training sessions (where I got some good info, even though I found the bodybugg site pretty intuitive and didn’t need a lot of help with it). I was motivated by the interesting information and synced my armband several times a day. I faithfully logged my food and saw good results.
At first.
Then, like any other long-term “resolution,” I started being a little less dedicated in my efforts. I only logged my food when it was convenient. I wasn’t as faithful about syncing. And after the included three-month subscription ran out, I let it lapse. (That was partly because I was going on a week-long bike trip and wouldn’t be able to sync, log food, or get real-time feedback, but also because I didn’t want to pay unless I was committed to actually using the service.)
What does that say about the bodybugg? Well, actually, not much except that it’s like any other tool: you have to use it to get any benefit out of it! And I did get some great benefits when I was using it.
From May 22 to early August when I started slacking, my daily average weight dropped from 150 to 139. Not the incredible numbers you’ll see on The Biggest Loser, mind you, but numbers that made me happy, particularly since my end goal is 130.
My current average weight is 143. I have no doubt that if I’d stuck with my faithful bodybugg use, I’d be at my goal by now.
So why didn’t I stick with it? Lack of focus. When I first started with the bodybugg, the novelty aspect helped me stay interested in my health, and encouraged me to make good food and exercise choices so that I could see a positive and accurate picture.
After a while, the novelty wore off, and without paying much attention, I stopped caring whether something was a good choice or not. Last night I missed dinner and ate a lot of dessert, then came home, had dinner, and ate more dessert. If I was logging food, I never would have done that.
So what can you expect with the bodybugg? I’d say it depends on your personality and habits. It’s certainly a useful tool to give anyone a kick in the butt to make a change. The question is whether you’ll be able to stick with it after it’s no longer new and exciting.
If you are the kind of person who can stick with something as long as you get useful feedback, the bodybugg is probably your dream come true.
If you get bored easily and hop from thing to thing (like me!), it will be useful as long as you’re able to remind yourself of the value, but if you don’t have confidence that you’ll be able to do that, you might end up spending a lot of money for short-term results.
(Of course, if you’re like me, you really read this secretly hoping that I would tell you, “It’s a miracle device! Buy one immediately and it will be worth your money a thousand times over!” At least, that’s what I hope people will say when I look for reviews of a product I’m considering…)
If you’re not sure whether the bodybugg is a good investment, I have a kind of wacky suggestion to help you decide:
- Determine the cost per pound/body fat % lost that would make it a good value for you personally. For instance, given a rough $400 price tag for the model I bought (they didn’t have the Digital Display when I purchased), and my solid 11 pound weight loss, that comes to about $36 per pound (or about $89 per body fat percentage point lost, because my body fat went down by 4.5%). How much would you pay to get rid of a pound of fat? If you’re willing to pay $50 per pound (and you don’t get the Digital Display), then you’re talking about losing eight pounds. If it’s only worth $10/pound to you, then you need to lose 40 pounds to make it an acceptable value to you.
- Divide the number of pounds you’d need to lose for it to be a good value by 1.5. A pound and a half is about what most people can count on losing per week if they’re making a serious effort. It’s not a hard and fast number, but it will help you figure out a realistic number of weeks for losing the weight.
- Ask someone who knows you well (and whom you trust), “Do you think I can stick with a diet plan for x number of weeks?” This is the hard one! History doesn’t always predict the future, but if your trustworthy-someone expresses doubt that you can stay committed long enough for you to get your desired value out of the bodybugg, I’d seriously suggest a waiting period before purchase. If you can get them to tell you how long they think you could stick with a diet plan, run the numbers backwards and see how it impacts your price per pound. Would that be acceptable?
Odd? Yeah, a little. But if you’re worried about making an emotional decision that could cost a lot of money, or creating family stress by spending so much on a gadget and not using it, or providing further ammunition in an argument about how you don’t finish what you start, hopefully that analysis will at least help you see it more logically. (If the analysis turns out well, you might also have a good argument to convince your spouse. 
)
Oh, and by the way, I’ve re-upped my subscription and have all the best intentions to be serious about my tracking from now until the end of November. Then I’ll re-evaluate.
And, don’t forget to include in your “Good Investment” analysis to add the value of learning first-hand how different food and movement choices affect your day-to-day ability to achieve a desired calorie deficit.
For me, that lesson alone was worth the price of admission to bodybugg.
Hi – thank you for such a great, honest glimpse into the BodyBugg!
I’m toying with the idea of buying one, but am unsure it is worth it. I currently use a free online journal to track calories in and out, basing the calories burned on my Polar heart rate monitor. So, I don’t need the novelty to get me journalling – the only real advantage would be whether the measurement of calories burned is really more accurate, and if knowing what my general activity level looks like across a day.
In your opinion is it really much better than wearing a Polar? Your entry about the day cycling sounded discouraging on this level, but I am more of a runner than a cycler so don’t know if I would have that issue.
Thanks!
Hi, Lise, glad you’re finding the blog useful.
Honestly, I can’t do a great comparison against a Polar or other heart rate monitor because I’ve never worn one long-term. My experience is limited to occasional use during a single workout.
One aspect I like about the bodybugg is that it provides a holistic view of calories burned all day long, versus just during a workout, like the online calculators or HRM do.
But for me, it’s really the nifty graphs and the granular nature of the reports that interest me. Often I’ll be on a ride and have a reason to work extra hard, so I’ll note the time and look for it when I’m back at my computer. I’m not sure how the various HRMs handle that piece of things.
For a simple, and free, summary of calories burned daily, PhysicsDiet calculates a “Total Energy Expenditure” number that I’ve found to be pretty accurate. That’s probably sufficient for just coming up with a number to “stay under.” The bodybugg throws in the details, and for me, that’s more motivating.
So yeah, all that to say, I don’t know what will work better for you.
The bodybugg is awfully cool, but the accuracy isn’t something I can really test beyond a general “did I lose weight when it said I should?”, and if you’ve got something that’s working for you, it might be irrelevant. 
I have used both the Bodybugg and a high end (Cyclist Training) Polar HRM. The Polar is really no better than the estimated calories burned that you get off of an Elliptical or other cardio machine at the gym. I find that the Polar and cardio machines report two to three times more calories burned than the Bodybugg does.
I am still a little mystified about how the Bodybugg actually does work, especially since it does not have a heart rate monitor included. Still, the results I have experienced – from 194 down to 155, have led me to believe that it is VERY accurate. I have also meticulously counted steps vs known miles and can report that the Bodybugg has one of the most accurate pedometers built in that I have ever found.
Do you think the Digital Display would have helped you stay motived longer?
Is any one using the body bug with the digital display?
Sounds like a good intentioned tool to help you lose weight but like you stated, it’s only effective if you use it. I find writing down my goals is just as powerful if I were to see them on a digital screen. Writing down, or letting others know your goals will help you stay determined to succeed and prove that piece of paper (in this case monitor) right, and show the people you entrusted your goal to that you can achieve what you set out to do
I purchased the digital display about a month ago and have found it to greatly improve my my interaction with the Bodybugg. It has 3 alarms (activity goal met, step goal met, and calorie burn goal met.) It has become a regular part of my day to try to set off each alarm by a specific time target I set in my mind. For example I determine that I am going to reach my caloric burn goal by 9:00 PM. I’ll push myself harder to reach the goal and after it is reached the rest of the day’s caloric burn is all gravy. Using the digital display I have also found myself to be increasing my goals thus more improvement.
I really think it is more valuable than the website and could actually replace the website for some users. (Excluding the need for software updates to the Bodybugg itself.) To a great extent it’s all about the toys/gadgets and weather they really help you or not. If the Bodybugg turns out to be a good tool for you then the digital display is going to make it even better. For some people the toys/gadgets just don’t really help. It’s all going to boil down to weather you are a gadget loving person or not. If yes or even sorta yes then I’d strongly encourage anyone to get the Bodybugg and display.
Just wanted to say I got one of these about 4 weeks ago, I looove it, and it seems to be very accurate, I’ve lost 8(final goal is to lose a total of 20lbs, so another 12 to go) lbs, which is 2lbs per week which is exactly what I was aiming for, so that’s pretty cool, it’s kinda like a game for me to see if I can reach my goals every day.
I’ve never actually enjoyed losing weight like I do with this thing.
I will say that no one “needs” this to lose weight, but for me it’s made a huge difference to see what I’m really burning, like I found out I was only burning 14-1600 calories a day, and then wondered why I didn’t lose weight at the recommended 1,500 cals a day plus one “free” day a week, so I’ve started just being more active all the time, plus walking and running a lot, now my average burn is 2,100.
If you are logging food anyway….use MyFoodDiary.com….it is awesome!! 9 bucks/month…very easy to use. You have to trust their calorie calculations…but I have lost 12 lbs in less than 2 months.
Does anyone know what happens when your apex online account runs out? Will the digital display continue to work? My wife really only likes to use the digital display and doesn’t utilize the online service expect to clear data on the bugg. What will happen if she doesn’t renew her online membership? Will her digital display still give her accurate results? She would rather not use the online service and just the digital display. Thanks for your help!!
My wife had the same comment to me this morning when she wore her Polar heart rate monitor and the bodybugg, questioning the bodybugg’s accuracy. The bodybugg had her burning much less then the brand new heart rate monitor, so I did a little research.
I know this is quite some time after the original post, but I did find this article and found it useful in explaining why there was a vast difference.
http://www.bodybugg.com/fitness_resources_qa.php?id=323
I have a bodybugg and think it is the worst piece of crap. After maintaining a 1000 Calorie deficeit for several months I only lost 2-3 lbs, which is probably water variation. I talked to Apex and they said I should get a personal trainer (what ?!??) It cause big blisters on my arms, too. Apparently it doesn’t work if you have “slow” metabolism. My MD said my metabolism is fine. I am joining weight watchers
I’ve been on the bugg now since November and have lost 50 lbs, 44 inches of fat and over 13% bodyfat. I’ve been following it religiously and can’t imagine my life without it. I just had a baby last August, so I’ve since lost the last of my baby weight plus a extra 43 lbs. I can’t say enough good things about it. If I can do it, so can anyone else, so long as they are actually measuring EVERYTHING they eat. I have found it to be extremely accurate.
Scott, in regards to your post.
I’d like to just start off by saying I do not own a BB and actually just heard about it yesterday and started researching. It looks very interesting and I will be comparing to other similar products to make a purchase decision.
In regards to your loss of 2-3 lbs, don’t gage your weight loss on the weight you see on the scale. You should be checking your body fat percentage instead. To clarify a bit. I’m 6′2 and was 203lbs at 23.3% body fat. I was ingesting something to the tune of 4500 calories daily to bulk up while only working out doing weights(no cardio) and worked out about 4 days a week. I then decided to lean down so I reduced my caloric intake to 2500 calories a day and started doing cardio as well while training. In 6 weeks I went from 203bs 23.3% body fat ( which equates to 156lbs Lean body mass) to 189lbs 14.3% body fat (162lbs lean body mass) on a regualr scale I lost 14 lbs of weight over the course of 6 weeks but if you look at the body fat % I actually lost 20lbs of fat and gained 6lbs of muscle.
Weight loss isn’t the same as fat loss. Ideally you should take a body fat test once every month or so to track your fat loss. You can lose 10 lbs of fat and not change in weight if you gained 10lbs muscle. Muscle is much denser then fat and retains more water so it takes up less space and weighs more.
Just thought that might help you.
Caloric intake and and burn are imperative to weight loss and control but you also have to eat the right percentage of carbs, protein and fat. There’s many factors that play in weight loss but your goal should be to lose fat and not weight.
so far the 2 things holding me back from the purchase are
1- the price which seems very expensive especially that a monthly subscription is necessary to view results
2- the fact that it doesn’t register my heart rate (BPR)
Like others, I’m interested only in knowing my calory burn so if I purchase the wrist watch can I use it without subscribing to the site to know how many calories I’m burning?
Cheers
I bought one 5 weeks ago and love it. I had lost 15lbs. prior to the purchase and have lost another 15 since wearing the bodybugg. I work in an office environment and was never really aware of how little I was moving until I got the Bodybugg. I gained weight on Weight Watchers so that “diet” was definitely not for me!
It’s a great tool to help you but you have to be committed. I also belong to a gym but do not use a personal trainer at this point.
I have the digital display and I believe it will still work even if you don’t subscribe to the program. You would just have to keep track of it yourself.
Also, when you buy the Bodybugg – you receive a coaching session and a 3-month subscription to the online program. When you think about how much money you’ve wasted on other diets and a gym membership that you never used, the price of the Bodybugg isn’t bad at all.
I just bought the Bodybugg online through craigslist.org. It was $175 for the BB and the digital display watch. I won’t be purchasing the online membership and will just use the watch. Try craigslist!
I recently purchased the bodybugg for about $180 at my 24 Hour Fitness. It’s working great so far, and in day to day life (which most of us do live pretty mundane lives) I think the benefit helps me be more honest with myself. I quickly noticed that I’m a move it once, and then sit to work type of person, so the bodybugg helped me to see what times of the day I should maybe get up and walk around a little bit. I’ve really liked it, so for what it’s worth, I give it two high thumbs up!
i talked to Apex recently and they informed me that the version 3 will be hitting soon. it’s will be sleaker and water proof….
Hi, I live in Australia and would love to get the bodybugg…I;m wondering if there would be any reason it wouldn’t work here? I’ve got a friend who can ship it to me.
I just purachased a BB on 24fitness.com
they have a special going on until 1/31/09
You get the BB for 249.00 A free digital display watch, a 6 mo free online subscription and a free phone session. I thought that was a great deal after shopping around. I haven’t received it yet but if I don’t like it, it seems very easy to sell on craigslist and e-bay.
Great information on the Body Bugg.
What is the Website Subscription price???
I received the new (version 2, black) bodybugg with the digital display watch four days ago. I have a personal trainer, and I am in a weight loss competition thru May 31st. My weight loss goal is 100 pounds during the 5 month period. I am burning as much as 5000 calories per day by doing two 1 hour cardio sessions plus gardening, parenting, etc. I have not done 2 cardio sessions on the same day that I trained, but I expect to get 6000 calories burned on those days. (I will tell you about it on Monday.) I dropped 14 pounds in the first 21 days.
One of the most motivational things is looking at the watch display and watching the calories cranking up when I am on the treadmill. Sometimes I think about quitting at 30 or 45 minutes, but the display makes me keep going. In addition, I know my trainer will log into my account to make sure I am not fibbing about how hard I am working on my cardio. The graph will clearly show when I was working out.
Inputting food is a pain for me. I try to eat the same things so I can just copy them from another day. It is a necessary evil for making my goal.
For the poster who said the bodybugg only netted a 3 lb. loss: you are lying to yourself about what you are eating. If you cannot be honest and log EVERYTHING you put into your mouth, you will fail. This is simple math. There is no such thing as slow metabolism. You are making excuses for your weakness of will by blaming the equipment. Sorry to be so blunt, but this is really not the place to come whining if you have not put in the effort to get good results.
Do not buy the old version (the gray colored bodybugg.) It is bulky and it abraded my arm. The new version recharges when hooked to your computer via USB cable. It works 5-7 days without recharging according to the manufacturer.
I am very happy with the bugg. There is no other product that can accurately measure caloric output, at least not to the 90% accuracy claimed by the bugg people.
Will I resubscribe after the 6 month free subscription expires? I do not know. It is the only way to adjust the algorhythm settings to match your changing body composition. If that is not kept accurate, the display will still work, and a free program like http://www.my-calorie-counter.com can be used to track intake, but the display will lose some of its accuracy. We’ll see. If I make my goal weight by the end of the competition, it will be moot anyway.
I have been using the bodybugg for a little over two months now with no success. I’ve had a 1,000-1,500 calorie deficit every day, and have not lost a single ounce. In fact, I have gained 2 pounds since I started using it. I am very disappointed and extremely frustrated. I’m about ready to toss mine out the window! UGH!