Motivating me to do better: BodyMedia Fit Review

Last month, I reached out to the folks at BodyMedia, and asked them if I could review one of their armbands. I have to admit, I was pretty ecstatic that someone in their PR got back to me and told me they would send me one for review!

The product I’ve been using is the BodyMedia Link armband. ($199) I chose to review this one, because it’s bluetooth enabled to give you real time results on your phone through their BodyMedia app. It’s perfect for me since I’m all about using my smart phone!

They also offer the Core armband ($179), which is 1/3 smaller, but is not bluetooth enabled so you can either see your results on your computer or through their optional display.

I’ve been using this armband for about 3 weeks now, and I can tell y’all that this little armband is definitely helping me stay motivated to do better on this diet. I’m down 24 lbs. as of this morning, which is 6 measly pounds away from 10%. 10%…that’s another reward, y’all!

As far as wearability, I have no problems wearing this to work or out at night. You really can’t tell that I’m wearing it when I’m wearing a cardigan or a shirt with longer sleeves.

I also have no issues wearing this in my sleep. It’s not bulky at all, so I can sleep right on the armband without any discomfort.

The app displays the following on a daily basis:

• calories burned
• calories consumed
• the total calorie deficit (calories burned – calories consumed = ….)
• minutes of moderate activity (which for me has been like taking a walk or fairly heavy cleaning)
• minutes of vigorous activity (which for me has been jogging/workout videos)
• amount of steps taken
• duration of sleep

(This is an example of a typical rest day for me. Crazy how much your body burns on its own!)

When you plug the armband into your computer, though, you get more details like when you were active/how long and when/how much you slept vs. lying down. I found this to be pretty neat to look over.

After using this product for a couple of weeks, I figured the best way to review this is to write about the pros and cons of the product.

Pros:

• The armband isn’t really a bother. After a couple of days, it feels weird when I’m NOT wearing it.
• I found this armband is very simple to use and set-up. You just set-up your account (which it will guide you through doing that online), install the software for syncing the band to your computer, and enable the bluetooth on your phone to connect the armband. Then, let the system charge fully, put it on, and you’re good to go!
• I love that I can see the calories my body is burning in real time on my phone. It really motivates me to push for a certain calorie deficit in a day.
• I really like the goal-making feature for workouts on the app. I especially love the calories burned goal. Regret eating that chocolate bar? Well, this will show you just how much work it takes to burn that chocolate off!
• The sleep feature. I really like seeing how much I’m sleeping through the night, and it’s cool to see my sleep efficiency too (you can see that via the website). I kind of had a hunch that once I’m out, I’m out, and I’m right…my sleep efficiency is almost always over 90%!

Cons:

• Logging my food. When I started this diet, I was logging my food on the MyFitnessPal app. I love that app, because the food diary is very extensive. However, I’ve noticed quite a few times where BodyMedia’s app (and website) don’t have some of the foods I’m looking to log on there. However, you can manually enter your nutritional information on the app when you find that out.
• The BodyMedia Fit armbands do have a membership fee after the first 3 months of membership ($6.95/month), which kind of stinks. However, if you think about it, it’s the cost of a coffee and pastry at a coffee shop. I’d rather spend $6.95 on my health, personally.
• It can take some time to charge the armband on my computer, so I just try to charge it while I know I’ll be on the computer for a while.

Even though I didn’t pay for this product, I have to admit that this thing is completely worth the $199. I know that’s easy to say, but I can’t really put a price on how motivating this product is for me. I’ve lost a steady amount of weight, and I honestly think that the weight loss has a lot to do with using this tool.

Do any of y’all own/use the BodyMedia Fit armbands? What do you think of yours?

Disclosure: I was sent this product at no cost to me, as well as three months of free membership for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed about this product are my own.