bodybugg - An initial review

Well apparently they have a new version out of the bodybugg, but the version I have is the one shown in the picture.

Oh the bodybugg.....

Well I will start off telling you where I got it. I bought my bodybugg from QVC. The cost was $253.90. It came with the armband, the display and a 12 month subscription to the bodybugg website. After shipping and taxes my total came to $285.90.

The bodybugg is a calorie management system. It tracks the calories you burn. You have to account for the calories you consume although the bodybugg software will tell you what it thinks you consume after you input your weight which can only be done weekly.

So my targets are to burn 2800 calories. I get to consume 1900 calories. This will give me a 900 calorie deficit with a 1.75lb weight loss per week.

Now what I like about the program is being told that I could actually eat 1900 a day if I was burning 2800 calories a day. In the past, when trying to loose weight, I typically got derailed because of lack of energy; and I guess not eating enough. Also, I generally felt sluggish during my workouts which made them harder to do. Now that I am actually eating enough calories, there has only been two times in the last 3 weeks where I felt sluggish during a workout.

I like being able to see how many calories I am burning and where I am at a particular time throughout my day. You do need the display device for this type of tracking which is a separate purchase depending on where you buy.

I would recommend the display because it is a motivator to get you moving. There are times when I will add a second workout so that I can meet my daily target of 2800 calories burn.

Now for the results. I have just completed my third week using the bodybugg. And you really want to give it that much time if not more to see if this unit is something that will work for you.

What I found is:

1st week - approx 4lb loss. The software came back and told me that I had only consume an average of 1000 calories a day during the week. I know that wasn't true. I was averaging 1700 calories that week for what I actually ate.

2nd week - approx .8lb weight. It was that TOM. The software came back and told me that I had consume an average of 2600 calories a day during the week. Again not true.

3rd week - approx 4.6 lb loss. The software came back and told me that I had consume an average of 579 calories a day during this last week. That's preposterous.

This is why I say you really need to give it some time and even the bodybugg literature alludes to doing just that.

In three weeks I have lost 9.6lbs using the bodybugg Calorie Management System.

Some negatives about the system.

I don't really know if this is a negative because with any weight loss plan you have to track what you eat. There is no getting around it but is a cumbersome process. The software does have a database where you can select food but it is never exactly what you ate or in the quantity in which you ate it. I normally manually enter my food. So it is time consuming.

The armband which you need to wear around your left arm doesn't bother me. The band itself has held up but I will probably purchase a new band in the next month or so.

What I don't like is the upload process. You have to take your band off (which they tell you to do for an hour a day anyway) connect it to your computer to upload your information to the website. While it is simple to do, it is still a hassle and takes time. I hear they have a wireless device that you can purchase to do this for you but that is more money.

I am still in the initial stages of using the device and deciding how I am going to continue to use it. I do think that I am burning more calories than the unit is saying I am burning. There is no way I was just eating 600 calories a day this past week.

All in all I am liking the bodybugg.

Right now I think this is a 4 star device.