BodyMedia Gadget
I got one of these armbands a few days ago. It tracks my calorie expenditure and steps and sleep and stuff. It's pretty cool.
I was a little wary at first. It wasn't cheap.. and .. well, I love gadgets and stuff but doesn't it seem a little crazy? It makes me feel like I'm from some sci-fi not-too-distant future where everyone has implants that tell them when to eat, when to sleep, and how much movement to do each day.
I don't want to fall into the trap of relying on a gadget to tell me when to eat, when my stomach is perfectly capable of that task. Still.. gadgets are neat!
What clinched it was that Darrell was interested too - it seems we're information junkies as well as fitness junkies, and therefore the target market for this gadget. So, I took the plunge.
I've been wearing it for about a week now, and I must say, I am still intrigued and fascinated. The interesting bit is that I can learn which types of workouts are the most efficient or effective for *me*, and whether the diet my stomach suggests to me is balancing out the energy I expend during the day.
What I Expected:
1. Weight lifting will give me more "afterburn" metabolic boost than cardio.
2. Morning workouts will burn more calories during the day than afternoon workouts.
3. I burn around 2000 calories a day, so need to eat around 2000 to maintain weight, or 1500-1700 to lose weight.
What I Found (1 week in):
1. Afterburn
Not much difference between weights and cardio. Not any, really, that I could see. So much for that theory. I guess I'll just do whatever I feel like.
2. Workout Times
Working out in the morning *is* beneficial, but it seems that's because I get more exercise overall when I start early. Most days since I've had the armband, I've had a morning workout and also done something active in the afternoon. On days when I work out in the afternoons, my mornings tend to be sedentary.
3. Step Count
Simply getting up and walking around makes a HUGE difference in total number of calories burned during the day. Huge. I mean, I figured.. but.. seeing spikes on the chart whenever I stood up and went downstairs is pretty impactful.
4. Sleep
This was unexpected. The armband tracks "time lying down" and "time sleeping" and gives me a Sleep Efficiency number. It turns out I am a bad sleeper. The other night I got a 68% sleep efficiency rating. Most nights I lay down for 7-8 hours and get around 5-6 hours of sleep. No wonder I'm so $%&*# cranky all the time.
5. Calorie Totals
On a very active day I burn around 2400 calories. On a more sedentary day I burn around 2100 calories. I haven't been eating enough. :) (COOKIES!!) Also, the cardio machines at the gym are WRONG with their calorie estimates, by a lot.
Weights: 300-400 calories in 40ish minutes, including bike ride to & from the gym
Cardio: 350 calories in 40ish minutes (the machine tells me it was 500)
Yoga: 200 calories in a 1 hour class (a pretty strenuous class, that's the way I likes it)
Rock Climbing: 100 calories in 1 hour (fairly relaxed, top rope & bouldering)
Jumping Stilts: 350 calories in 45 minutes. This was a WORKOUT.. Still, no noticeable afterburn
Sex: 90 calories in 30 minutes. I must not be doing it right. ;)
I had to take it off during the fire show, which is a bummer.. I'd be interested to know calorie totals there.
This graph shows a gym cardio workout (including bike ride to&from the gym) from 10-11:30, and jumping stilts from 3-3:45. The other spikes are when i just got up and walked around or something. See that? Wow.
Real Life Changes
So far, I have noticed a few changes.. I have cut waaaay back on caffeine and alcohol in an effort to get that sleep efficiency number up, and I have noticed an incredible difference in my mood. I had no idea I wasn't sleeping well or enough. That wasn't even on the radar. Getting more sleep this week has changed everything.
I also have found myself walking places more. Yes, the weather is gorgeous so that helps a lot.. but look at those spikes! I want more spikes! Also I'm much more likely to be active in the afternoons - gotta get that step-count up. :)
I've also been eating more (1700-2000 calories instead of 1500-1700) on a daily basis. That gives me room to have the occasional cookie or glass of wine (or three!) once or twice a week and still be in balance. And so far, I haven't had a crash-and-binge day this week. Yay for that.
It's as though I have a trainer - someone who is watching me and counting each step, and that makes the Performer in me want to step it up a notch or two.
I'll be interested to see how my habits change as the data accumulates. Data is cool! Information is awesome! I am an information junkie. This is fun. Next week Darrell's going to wear the armband, then I'll have it back after that, and we'll see if there are trends n'stuff. :) :)
I was a little wary at first. It wasn't cheap.. and .. well, I love gadgets and stuff but doesn't it seem a little crazy? It makes me feel like I'm from some sci-fi not-too-distant future where everyone has implants that tell them when to eat, when to sleep, and how much movement to do each day.
I don't want to fall into the trap of relying on a gadget to tell me when to eat, when my stomach is perfectly capable of that task. Still.. gadgets are neat!
What clinched it was that Darrell was interested too - it seems we're information junkies as well as fitness junkies, and therefore the target market for this gadget. So, I took the plunge.
I've been wearing it for about a week now, and I must say, I am still intrigued and fascinated. The interesting bit is that I can learn which types of workouts are the most efficient or effective for *me*, and whether the diet my stomach suggests to me is balancing out the energy I expend during the day.
What I Expected:
1. Weight lifting will give me more "afterburn" metabolic boost than cardio.
2. Morning workouts will burn more calories during the day than afternoon workouts.
3. I burn around 2000 calories a day, so need to eat around 2000 to maintain weight, or 1500-1700 to lose weight.
What I Found (1 week in):
1. Afterburn
Not much difference between weights and cardio. Not any, really, that I could see. So much for that theory. I guess I'll just do whatever I feel like.
2. Workout Times
Working out in the morning *is* beneficial, but it seems that's because I get more exercise overall when I start early. Most days since I've had the armband, I've had a morning workout and also done something active in the afternoon. On days when I work out in the afternoons, my mornings tend to be sedentary.
3. Step Count
Simply getting up and walking around makes a HUGE difference in total number of calories burned during the day. Huge. I mean, I figured.. but.. seeing spikes on the chart whenever I stood up and went downstairs is pretty impactful.
4. Sleep
This was unexpected. The armband tracks "time lying down" and "time sleeping" and gives me a Sleep Efficiency number. It turns out I am a bad sleeper. The other night I got a 68% sleep efficiency rating. Most nights I lay down for 7-8 hours and get around 5-6 hours of sleep. No wonder I'm so $%&*# cranky all the time.
5. Calorie Totals
On a very active day I burn around 2400 calories. On a more sedentary day I burn around 2100 calories. I haven't been eating enough. :) (COOKIES!!) Also, the cardio machines at the gym are WRONG with their calorie estimates, by a lot.
Weights: 300-400 calories in 40ish minutes, including bike ride to & from the gym
Cardio: 350 calories in 40ish minutes (the machine tells me it was 500)
Yoga: 200 calories in a 1 hour class (a pretty strenuous class, that's the way I likes it)
Rock Climbing: 100 calories in 1 hour (fairly relaxed, top rope & bouldering)
Jumping Stilts: 350 calories in 45 minutes. This was a WORKOUT.. Still, no noticeable afterburn
Sex: 90 calories in 30 minutes. I must not be doing it right. ;)
I had to take it off during the fire show, which is a bummer.. I'd be interested to know calorie totals there.
This graph shows a gym cardio workout (including bike ride to&from the gym) from 10-11:30, and jumping stilts from 3-3:45. The other spikes are when i just got up and walked around or something. See that? Wow.
Real Life Changes
So far, I have noticed a few changes.. I have cut waaaay back on caffeine and alcohol in an effort to get that sleep efficiency number up, and I have noticed an incredible difference in my mood. I had no idea I wasn't sleeping well or enough. That wasn't even on the radar. Getting more sleep this week has changed everything.
I also have found myself walking places more. Yes, the weather is gorgeous so that helps a lot.. but look at those spikes! I want more spikes! Also I'm much more likely to be active in the afternoons - gotta get that step-count up. :)
I've also been eating more (1700-2000 calories instead of 1500-1700) on a daily basis. That gives me room to have the occasional cookie or glass of wine (or three!) once or twice a week and still be in balance. And so far, I haven't had a crash-and-binge day this week. Yay for that.
It's as though I have a trainer - someone who is watching me and counting each step, and that makes the Performer in me want to step it up a notch or two.
I'll be interested to see how my habits change as the data accumulates. Data is cool! Information is awesome! I am an information junkie. This is fun. Next week Darrell's going to wear the armband, then I'll have it back after that, and we'll see if there are trends n'stuff. :) :)