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BodyBugg

BodyBugg

A high-tech gadget that once helped the Biggest Loser contestants monitor weight loss.

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BACKGROUND BACKGROUND Start the Diet Now Advertisement

Body Bugg is new device that helps you keep a 24-hour watch on how many calories you burn and consume in a single day. It is one of the devices that was worn by the members of the fall 2008 team (Season 6) of the reality television hit series, “Biggest Loser.” The device has also earned rave reviews from the magazine, Popular Science.

Here is how Body Bugg works: It is a small bandlike device that is worn on your upper arm throughout the day. It calculates how many calories you are burning by recording your activity level, including just walking to and from your car. It does this by measuring specific information such as your body temperature and your pre-recorded information such as your weight, height, age and more.

Each night, you upload the information from your Body Bugg onto your PC, document what you ate for the day and then you learn what your caloric deficit or surplus was for that day in order for you to meet your weight loss goal. Based upon your goal, the Body Bugg will tell you how many calories you need to consume in order to reach that goal. The Body Bugg updates your information once a minute giving you accurate readings for what your caloric output is throughout the day.

The Body Bugg interprets calorie burn using a system called "sensor fusion." This process involves collecting a range of body-data using multiple physiological sensors instead of a single sensor, which is what other calorie estimation devices such as pedometers and heart rate monitors rely on. It's this multi-sensor approach that enables Body Bugg to "see" the your activity level (whether you are sitting, sleeping, jogging, walking, etc.) that makes Body Bugg such a reliably accurate device for calorie expenditure estimation.

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PROPRO
  • Body Bugg is an accurate device for measuring how many calories burned during the day
  • Instant and continuous feedback helps keep motivationhigh
  • Stay on track with weight loss goals
  • Makes you accountable for your weight loss and calorie expenditure
  • Takes guesswork out of estimating how much you need to eat and how much you need to exercise in order to lose weight
  • Used by Biggest Loser contestants during season 6 of the show
CONCON
  • Body Bugg is not a Mac-supported device
  • Does not include a specific diet and exercise plan
  • Cost is definitely an investment; ongoing subscription fees
DIET and NUTRITIONDIET and NUTRITION

The Body Bugg does not include a specific diet plan for you to follow. The armband itself tracks the calories you burn, but not the calories you eat. Your calories consumed are calculated by the Body Bugg interface based on your weekly body mass change. To better stay on track of your calorie input, the program also offers an easy-to-use food log so you can monitor the calories you eat throughout the day.

EXERCISEEXERCISE

There are no exercise requirements while using the Body Bugg device. It is your responsibility to create an exercise program. The amount of calories burned during these sessions are then recorded onto the device and displayed on the arm band for you to see. constantly recording how many calories you are burning and consuming during your day.

CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

The Body Bugg is a diet tool but it is not a diet per se since it does not come with any dietary or exercise guidelines. For individuals who love numbers and want to lose weight, the Body Bugg is a convenient and efficient way for someone to monitor their caloric expenditure all the time. But for those who do not want to be responsible for another high tech device, then this latest in diet technology is probably not right for you.

Common MisspellingsCommon Misspellings

Body Bug, Bodybug, Body Bugg, The Body Bugg, Bodybugg Armband, 24 Hour Fitness BodyBugg, Apex BodyBugg, Biggest Loser BodyBugg

How Does BodyBugg Compare?
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User Feedback

(Page 1 of 3, 51 total comments)

Diana Ramirez

+

I love the Body Bugg, its the best weight loss device I have ever used!

posted Jan 12th, 2015 8:16 pm


Sharon

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Bodyugg has the worst customer service that I have ever encountered. I have not ben able to access my online account for over two months. I have called in to BodyBugg sand spoken to three people, including a supervisor, who all promised they would call me back, but no one ever has. So I have been unable to use my Bodybugg for over two months. That is pretty pathetic customer service. I am presently online waiting to talk to someone at the corporate office to see if they might be able to talk one of their staff into returning my call to fix the problem. I do NOT recommend this product. Every few months a problem arises, and no one will ever call you back.

posted Jan 10th, 2013 10:05 pm


Zaniara

?

Would Someone Please Share Their BodyBugg Log-in Info? After spending much of the day trying to get around purchasing the web-program (after buying a used V2 BodyBugg), I realize I need to. Does anyone have an account I can use to try this out before purchasing? They ONLY let you buy a 6-month subscription for $79 and the "lower" rates are for renewal only. Hopefully someone has an account they're not using anymore and won't mind sharing their username/password with me :-) Thanks! [email protected]

posted Jan 24th, 2012 2:55 am


Kathy

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Don't waste your money. The software doesn't work for very long, and when it does, customer service is unresponsive and not helpful. They are suddenly difficult to reach and don't respond to a call back request, nor do they offer to refund the money or replace the unit.

posted Jan 8th, 2012 7:08 pm


KathyH

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STOPS WORKING, BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE, CAN ONLY USE IT FOR A VERY SHORT TIME. It stops working. Even after I talked to customer service repeatedly, which was extremely unresponsive, they said they were "not able to help me." I had even renewed for a year! A TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY. Suddenly, the software didn't work on the PC to upload the information. Customer service couldn't help. They didn't offer to replace it, nor refund my money. I asked them how to replace the battery? They said there isn't a battery to replace, and that there was nothing they could do. PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS PRODUCT. There are many other products on the market that are way cheaper and can offer the same information. You can use an Excel spreadsheet to track your progress - that's all the BodyBugg website really offered.

posted Jan 8th, 2012 4:59 pm


zel

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The BodyBugg is a great product, when it works. Customer Service is great, if the product works. HOWEVER, if you find that it stops working, so does Customer Service.
Customer Service was great at training me on its use and answering all my questions. I was losing weight and eating healthier with the assistance of the BodyBugg and related software.
Then one day, I found that the BodyBugg no longer works with my computer... my computer could not download the information from the BodyBugg. At first, BodyBugg Customer Service was great... they logged into my computer to make sure that I am not running any of the software that is not compatible with the BodyBugg and ran diagostics, et cetera. They found no conflicts, no problems. When it still wasn't working, they replace my device. When it was found that even the new device was not responding, they escalated the matter to a higher level of customer service... that meant, ignoring me!
At first they did respond to say that it must be some software that I had downloaded. I advised as to the software downloaded (I had just bought an e-Reader), and was advised that this is not the problem. After that, they no longer respond to my inquiries as to what the problem is and how it will be resolved. I LOVED the BodyBugg while it worked and asked that they try to fix the problem, but also asked that if they could not fix it, then to refund my money... they will do neither.
So, think twice before spending your hard-earned money!!!

posted Oct 14th, 2011 11:56 am


RM

+

Very happy with the bodybugg!

Within the first week of using it I found out that my caloric deficit wasn't big enough which is why I wasn't making good progress - adjusted it accordingly and I'm now seeing great results.

You rent them (you can get all the data you need within 2-3 weeks) or get them a bit cheaper from eBay if price is a concern.

posted Apr 26th, 2011 4:30 am


nina

I'm having the same problem as a few other people!!! I can't register my bodybugg which means I CAN'T use it!! What a joke! And, the reason I can't register it is because I live in the UK & not the US and when you select a different country outside of the US, it still wants you to select a state!


I've emailed them numerous times to fix their website& for helpwith the registration with no reply! I think I will have to make up an address in the States to use this product. I paid a lotof money and feel like I have completely waste my money not tomention my time!!

posted Apr 12th, 2011 1:42 pm


User 4 > Year

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I have been using bodybugg for over a year. As indicated it is a tool. As such,it might now work for you like it did for me - I have lost over 100 lbs using it along with exercise and tracking calories. Because of my success, I would like to say, I like the tool but can't and am considering competitor products for the future. Here are some cons you don't read about much.
1) Nickel allergies - if you have them, you will get a rash when you wear the bug. The company must be aware of this issue because people post comments on the site and the company has accepted returns - I don't feel new users are adequately warned and it does not appear that they fixed it in the newest version bodybugg-sp. The company has not responded to this issue from what I can see.
2) Bulletin Board - Bodybugg (bb) has a bulletin board where users can interact with other users. It is a great advantage over other competitor like products (Bodymedia) especially those of us who don't want to use Facebook for such very private matters- Having said that you need to have nimble fingers to post on the bulletin board before it logs you out. Furthermore, It feels to me that in the future bb will push us all to facebook - I will request a full refund of my subscription when that happens!
3) Software
- New bb-SP users posts are numerous regarding issues. Us current users of their V3 version have experienced our own. And, from the looks of it, I am glad I did not upgrade to the SP!
-One day someone stupid decided not to support Chrome anymore and did not have the brains to communicate to the users who pay every month.
-It requires Java download.
-BB asked users for what we wanted in improvements prior to the SP and more than a year ago, there were many responses and yet with all the upgrades to software I do not experience the improvements requested.

All in all I still use this tool for these reasons -
1) I paid for a year's subscription
2) I paid over $200 for it and like to make good use of my money.
3) I have found ways to make the tool work as evident my my weight loss and I want to continue to lose/maintain my new weight.

If there are competitors out there that want to enter the market here are some recommendations for how to get this business:
1) Improve the tool to improve accuracy - It does not track calorie burns on bikes or similar situations where your arms are not moving as much.
2) Make it waterproof for swimmers. Swimmers are manually entering their exercise right now. Some have bought additional tools to track their exercise in the water and therefore cost could be offset y this feature.
3) Off the ability to link into sites that have nutritional information so that users can download info rather than enter it manually...keep the manual entry as well. The BB food list is limited and I find I spend time entering my own nutritional info. Novel thought - allow the bb users to exchange nutritional info so that we don't need to enter the info individually....
4) Fix the issues I mentioned in the Cons
5) Keep the ability for users to discuss matters on the site without facebook - Some of us like our privacy! Would be nice if users had an easier tool for searching for topics than what we do now (search features in software have been around for SOOO very long already) Make sure your device is tested by real users before you push it to the market - I think that bb-SP support has to be hitting the company's bottom line in a way that could have been avoided and puts their business open to a good competitor! Why would I spend the money for a new device with the same problems (current user pricing is no better than ebay) when I could buy something better elsewhere?
6) Make a challenge site. Current bb users (Not the company) have been using the bulletin board to post challenges, create teams, with a common goal (i.e. loose 5 lbs during x holiday) People exchange their progress, issues, learnings and encourage each other on these teams.


posted Mar 22nd, 2011 11:26 am


Janelle

Love it! My husband and I both have one. I LOVE this thing. I have 5 friends that have purchased it since I started using mine. They all love it as well. I should look into getting commission on this product!

posted Mar 9th, 2011 12:52 pm


Jill

+

This is the first time after decades of fitness efforts that I can realistically and accurately see what is going on with my calorie input and output. Estimating calorie output (burn) using spreadsheets, formulas, readings from fitness equipment, and estimating was always inadequate, inaccurate and misleading for me. I'd end up quitting because I thought I should be getting different results based on those inadequate methods. With the bugg I can see quite accurately what I am burning 24 hrs/day. I have no more excuse/justification for activity level throughout the day and expecting better fitness. Made me realize that working out in gym 1 hr/day thinking I burnt "600 calories" on a machine is complete crap, and sets you up for failure mentally. Now, every day I accurately see what I burned and what I ate. I know prior to getting on the weight scale what is going to happen AND WHY. The bugg empowers me to control my calorie input/output and has been the only successful behavior feedback tool I've used.

The bugg has also got me the hell out of the gym and doing physical activity in the real world. Stop relying on those grossly overestimating fitness machines. I love trail running now, my bugg taught me I get incredibly high burn rates. I love seeing what else in the real world looks like in terms of burn rate. It makes it fun. Every day I think "how much can I burn today?" with a sense of excitement instead of dread.

Here's a big hint: start actually measuring your food intake, people totally underestimate. Get real.

I've periodically had to upgrade software online, it can be frustrating but I've worked through it. Buy your bugg from a retailer that will accept returns for HW/SW issues. SW/HW issues are a fact of life nowadays: deal with it. There is no way I'd let it stop me from using a bugg.

Don't buy the bugg if you don't want to pay the $7-$10/mo website fee. But $10/month is worth it if you've struggled with fitness.

posted Oct 29th, 2010 5:32 pm


Peg

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Waste of money - strap broke after three weeks. Data not accurately recorded and display wouldn't stay synced with unit.

posted Jul 19th, 2010 12:58 pm


Tanya rep

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Web user interface is very in unfriendly and slow.
Does not contain many food selections that are very common.
Getting data from device requires subscription.
I have already warned friends to avoid this product.
Thier cust tech support requires access to your computer ( witch is not permitted) and they are lost without it.
Device did not work for first 20 days , then broke again after a few months. It can't handle sweat.

posted May 27th, 2010 11:54 am


Laurie

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I love my bodybugg because it has shown me how to be accountable. However, I will not recommend this product to ANYBODY due to the lack of customer service. I have emailed and called since losing my digital display almost a month ago and have had no response. The last time I emailed them (when I ordered the device in December), it took them well over a month to respond to an email. The lack of customer service is unacceptable.

posted May 12th, 2010 3:15 pm


Megan

+

I absolutely love the bodybugg. I purchased it a week ago and I got it last Sunday and have been using it ever since. It was so interesting to see how much exercise I was actually getting.

On the bodybugg, you can track the number of steps you take in a day. My goal is 10,000 a day and the first day I used it I didn't even come close. Since then I've been going on a lot of walks and doing a 30 minute workout on the Biggest Loser Wii game. I've been able to hit my goal almost every time. I'm trying to lose 25 pounds by the end of July and this makes it possible.

I used to workout all the time, even running 3Ks almost every day, but I wasn't getting any results because I wasn't monitoring what my calorie intake vs my calorie outake was. I feel amazing right now, having more energy with taking in less. I'm eating the same things, but I'm just measuring the serving sizes.

I'm a college student, so trying to find time to workout was hard, but with this, I can know that just by doing small things like walking more and help me get to my goal. The cost for it was what had held me back from getting it for almost a year, but I finally just went for it. I don't regret it at all. This is something I defiantly won't stop using.

posted Apr 22nd, 2010 5:11 pm


angilfyre

+

I was looking through these reviews and I realized I've never had to deal with their support line. So I can't really support or refute any of the claims... but for the device itself, it has been SUCH a wonderful tool for me. I got mine back in October... I used it for a bit and fell off track and then got back on in February and have lost 25lbs. It's a combination of efforts but the BB gives me a real time update on my progress. If I don't see the numbers I want day to day on the scale I know why. I either ate more, worked out the day before or didn't track my calories right. It has helped adjust my awareness of everything I eat and do. My only actual annoyance is I don't have an iPhone (I have a smartphone) so I can't upload on the go yet.

posted Apr 20th, 2010 8:03 am


Bob O'Henry

Had the unit only one day and worked fine, However the next day could not upload. Tech support was very helpfull but determined it was a bad USB cable. Worked for another day then called Tech Support they said send the unit back and the would send me a new one. I hope the turnaround on the new unit is better than the reliability of the first one. We'll see. Meanwhile, I've had the unit 5 days; it worked two, and now I am waiting for a replacement.

posted Apr 13th, 2010 4:10 pm


Jack R

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I just received my Bodyugg, but can't register it online, so I can't use it. The site will not accept the sn & the support line says it is not in service. I think I have been scammed by 24hourfitness. The Biggest Loser needs to stop promoting a scam. Jack R

posted Feb 13th, 2010 1:28 am


Deb

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I love my bodybugg but had to send it back after 5 weeks. Technical support no help and have still not received my replacement back. Will get a different system next time just because of the customer service.

posted Feb 10th, 2010 3:51 pm


Alison Taylor

Add me to the list of people who have been screwed by a non-existent customer service at Bodybugg. They have taken my money but I still can't access the web subscription, and they have not answered repeated emails and phone messages (I have never been able to even get an opportunity to wait on hold; their customer service line is an answering machine.

posted Jan 22nd, 2010 6:03 pm



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