I am a part of the blogger network over at EmpowHER.com which is an award winning social health website for women, and they gave this amazing opportunity to try out the BodyMedia Fit System and blog about it over the next 6 weeks. There are 5 other bloggers participating and you can check out their experiences with the BodyMedia Fit System by going to empowher.com/bodymedia.
I have been wanting to buy a heart rate monitor for a while now, but just haven't got around to it so when I got this opportunity I jumped! There are ways to estimate how many calories you burn while at rest, and you can say you average x amount of calories during a workout, but there isn't really a way to know for sure without a heart rate monitor. This becomes even more important when you have a specific goal in mind like gaining muscle or leaning out. The BodyMedia has helped me get a much better understanding of how many calories I'm burning in a day, but look what else it does too!
This is a screenshot of my BodyMedia dashboard. All you have to do is wear the armband on your left arm, and then when you're ready to check your stats you plug it in to your computer and it pulls this right up. First it lists your calories burned,then consumed (I didn't log in this particular screen shot), the difference between the two, how many steps you took, how many hours you slept (coolest) and then your weight. All aspects are measured by the armband except your weight and calories consumed which you manually put in yourself. You can expand each of the sections to take a look at a breakdown of each. Above, I have the calories burned section expanded to show my day, so you can see at the beginning of the graph is where I worked out.
My goal over the next 6 weeks is to carefully monitor my calories burned so that I can make sure I'm actually eating enough to achieve my goal, which is to gain muscle. Remember, you have to be in a surplus of calories to gain muscle and I think this device will really help me make sure this is the case. (I need to adjust my current weight to 104 since that is what I weighed at the gym today.) Also, I want my quality sleep to increase! I thought I was sleeping 8 (quality) hours a night, but apparently I'm really only getting about 6 hours. Let me know if you have a BodyMedia and what you think about it!
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BodyMedia FIT automatically tracks the calories burned during your daily activities — from pumping iron to using an
iron — and monitors the quality of your sleep, an important factor in weight loss. Add in the easy-to-use food log and
you have the information you need to improve your weight loss. Our 3 part system includes:
1. An Armband that automatically captures data
2. An optional Display device or free downloadable mobile apps that give you up-to-the-minute readings
throughout the day
3. An online Activity Manager* that analyzes raw data, allows you to log food and presents info in an easy-tounderstand way
(*subscription required)
“Disclosure: Device and accompanying online Activity Manager subscription was provided by BodyMedia via EmpowHER. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of BodyMedia or EmpowHER.”
All user-generated information on this site is the opinion of its author only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions. Members and guests are responsible for their own posts and the potential consequences of those posts detailed in our Terms of Service.
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I am getting to try this out too - I'm so excited :))
February 15, 2012 - 2:19pmThis Comment
Thank you for sharing this information. Wishing you success in meeting your goals.
February 7, 2012 - 5:29pmMaryann
This Comment