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Meet others using bodybugg. Ask questions, log your progress and get feedback
from bodybugg experts.
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| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 9:27AM |
Last week, when I was looking more into the BB, I found another site called SenseWear, which I discovered was supposedly owned by the same company as the BB (at least at one point).... I emailed the company to find out more about it, but I never heard back, so I ended up buying the BB.
I just got an email back saying that SenseWear isn't sold anymore & that now they have the GoWear Fit system & they told me to go to www.bodymedia.com for more information on it.
Looking at their site, I'm kind of upset because their system looks the same as the BB & it even mentions having a heart rate monitor (which BB doesn't have) and it's cheaper than the BB up front & the monthly subscription afterward is cheaper as well.
I'm happy with the BB & have only had it for a few days, but at the same time, I'm upset that I didn't know about this other thing that looks the same.
Does anyone know if there is a big difference between the 2 products and if BB has a return policy at all?? I don't know if I'd be able to return the BB anyway since I've used it. I bought it at a 24 Hour Fitness gym & not online. I don't know if this other system would even be worth returning the BB & buying (I'm not sure if there is anywhere to buy it other than online) & don't know if the other is a superior product or not.
Any thoughts??? |
| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 9:41AM |
| Okay.... never mind..... after looking at their site more, it actually doesn't end up cheaper in the long run..... I'll just keep my BB!! |
| Posted By: Gretchenpdx |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 10:48AM |
Glad you are satisfied but I think having BB and GWF being "the same but different" is annoying.
If they were competitors it may make sense but this way is odd/creates confusion when people are reasearching BB devices. |
| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 11:29AM |
Yeah... it is confusing.... and when I first looked at their site, I was thinking it was cheaper because of how it said it's $6.95 per month, but you only get the first month free & are committed to 12 months. Then if you don't do the commitment, it's more per month...... so it ends up the same price in the long run (I didn't completely figure out the math, but they're pretty close).
I still wonder if it's "better" or not as far as like if the food database is the same & also I read something about a heart rate monitor on their site, which I know some people want for the BB, but it doesn't make that big of a difference to me if they both calculate the calories burned the same.
I really don't think they should market two products like that especially when they are essentially the same company too.
Oh well.... I'll stick w/ my BB, especially since they're not that different & it'd be too much of a pain to change at this point anyway. I wouldn't go through the hassle unless they were like polar opposites as far as features! |
| Posted By: Max Entropy |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 12:44PM |
As far as I can tell, the body bugg hardware is the same. The difference is the software that you use to track calories in and out.
I'm considering trying the other service because this Apex software is incredibly frustrating to use in it's inflexibility. it seems to want you to enter your food in a very specific order and damned if you want to enter a meal later or early.
last night, I wanted to enter today's lunch because I pack it the night before. No Way.
Today, I wanted to skip over breakfast and enter it later becuase I don't have the stats. It won't let me go back and enter the breakfast, no way.
This system is unnecessarily hard to use. I want to try the other system, subscription be damned. |
| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 1:11PM |
Max.... I agree that the other software, at least what they show on the site, looks much more user-friendly...... which also seems dumb to have essentially the same company offering 2 different software options for the same product. I don't understand why BB can't have the same software, especially when it is essentially the same parent company.
I think if I would have known about GoWear Fit before I got the BB, then I would've purchased it instead because the software does seem superior from what I can tell. However, at least for me it's not worth the hassle of ordering GWF & waiting for it & returning the BB & getting my money back for it. It was hard on the finances to shell out the money in the first place & I'd have to return the BB to even have the money to order GWF, so I'd have at least a few days if not longer w/o using a system. Guess I'm just frustrated that I didn't know about the difference in the first place. |
| Posted By: NEM |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 1:22PM |
max,
you can pre-enter tomorrow's food and you can skip breakfast and enter it later.
to enter breakfast that you skipped earlier, go to 'my results' tab at top, then 'nutrition' tab at side, then edit whichever meal you'd like to edit.
as far as pre-entering meals, you can do that a day or a week in advance....go to 'my nutrition plan' tab and edit tomorrow's lunch as you've packed it. then when you're entering your lunch tomorrow, indicate that you've eaten your meal plan and it'll pull exactly as you entered it.
hope this helps. |
| Posted By: MichelleH |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 4:20PM |
Max --
You can enter the meals in any order you want. You just have to "skip" the meals that you aren't entering, and go back to them later, like NEM says.
I think sometimes people say the BB software is hard to use because they don't know how to use it. |
| Posted By: MichelleH |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 4:23PM |
My husband just got the GoWear Fit system last week and I have the BB so I can tell you a little about the differences.
As someone else said, the HARDWARE is the same. The GoWear Fit device is the same as the BB device -- they are both mady by BodyMedia -- but there are minor cosmetic difference. (The GoWear Fit device is black and GREEN, not just black.)
There are no differences in the devices but there seems to be a big difference in the firmware inside the device and the website they use.
I'll post now so it won't log me out before I finish. I'll continue in another post. |
| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 4:26PM |
I ended up calling both companies to find out what they say the differences are & GoWear gave me this page of their site where there is a comparison as far as features go..... http://www.bodymedia.com/site/blog_files/product_table.html
They didn't say anything about the difference in the database and/or interface as far as whether one was more user-friendly than the other or not.
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| Posted By: MichelleH |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 4:30PM |
The main differences I can see are in the device's firmware (the software inside the device) and the website they use.
The device lets them have TWO activity levels, so they can see how much time they spend in moderate activity and in high activity. The BB only has one level of activity -- we can see how much time we spend being active, but no difference in intensity.
The other difference in the device is that somehow they get a read on the quality of their sleep. They get a measure of sleep efficiency -- they can see when they are in deep sleep and when they are in lighter sleep and they can see how they cycle in out over the night.
Posting now. I get logged out quickly. |
| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 4:33PM |
MichelleH..... is there any difference as far as logging food & such with the GoWear system??
I think that feature w/ seeing sleep efficiency is interesting. I wish the BB had that too. That's on the list they told me to look at.
Michelle |
| Posted By: MichelleH |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 4:36PM |
The GoWear Fit website is definitely differnt than our website. I haven't used it myself, but my husband showed me around a little.
First, it's much more colorful and has very cool graphics.
Second, I don't think it's java based. I think they mostly do everything in the web browser itself. I'm not a programmer so I don't know how they make it work, but it seems bigger and brighter than our website and you don't need to have java installed.
Other than that, it looks pretty easy to use. He likes it a lot. The food database doesn't seem all that different than ours. I know a lot of people like to complain about the BB food database, but honestly I've never found it that bad and the GoWear Fit website database looks about the same to me at least in terms of the foods that are in the database.
That's all I know for now. I'll post more when I play with it a little more. He's going to let me experiment with it tomorrow.
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| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 4:58PM |
I looked at it more now & I really think I want to switch. Unfortunately, I have to wait until Monday when a manager is at 24 Hour Fitness in order to return it. I think I'll like the GoWear software a lot more & I really think the sleep thing is neat (although I don't know if I'll wear it all the time at night).
Thanks for the info!! Between your info & the info I got on the phone, I think I'm much more informed now!
Michelle |
| Posted By: MichelleH |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 5:22PM |
| I forgot to mention one of the biggest differences between the GoWear Fit system and the BB system. My husband can print out or export ALL of his data so that he can store it and keep it offline. That may not be important to some, but I would like to be able to make graphs to show how things have changed over time or to get a better sense of the patterns and variations in consumption, exertion, weight loss, sleep patterns, whatever. He can print out reports as pdfs or he can export the data into Excel or another spreadsheet program. That is why he chose the GoWear Fit over the BB -- he didn't like that with the BB, he couldn't get access to all that. |
| Posted By: Dixie Chick |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 5:55PM |
| I hope that they will merge the 2 at some point when they also add the HRM t seems silly to have the 2 separate devices with separate pricing too. |
| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-20-09 8:07PM |
From what they told me on the phone today a lot of it has to do with the partnership with 24 Hour Fitness, so I actually don't think they'll merge the 2 products. I know that on the BodyMedia site they have a whole bunch of stuff there now saying how they're actually changing the name of the "GoWear fit" to "BodyMedia FIT" & will be changing that name on the products in the next few months, but that those who have the GoWear ones can still use them b/c they use the same software & everything. However, it doesn't seem like they'll join w/ the bodybugg b/c of the partnership that the bodybugg has with 24 Hour Fitness..... it may happen eventually, but I don't think it'll change anytime soon. I really don't understand why they did it like this in the first place!
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| Posted By: MichelleH |
| Posted Date: 11-21-09 7:18AM |
The GoWear site is now called BodyMedia and the GoWear Fit is now called BodyMedia Fit. My husband has that device and he says they've changed over sometime in the last two weeks or so.
The company that makes the hardware (the device) sells that device to any other company that wants to sell it. Each company that sells it decides how they want to set up their progams and websites and all. It's pretty common -- like how Intel sells the same computer chip to lots of different manufacturers (Dell, HP, etc.) and each of those companies make different offerings using that chip. |
| Posted By: Howard |
| Posted Date: 11-21-09 7:20AM |
24Hour Fitness private labels the device and calls it the BodyBugg.
Howard |
| Posted By: Urman |
| Posted Date: 11-21-09 7:28AM |
| Has anyone looked into fitbit product? |
| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-21-09 11:21AM |
yeah... I know... It just seems like they're more the same product b/c of the same parent company...... I found out today about a similar product called Dot Fit, but it's not from BodyMedia..... I guess to me the GoWear fit/BodyMedia FIT and the BB should be the same.... but I do understand (in a way) why they're not. I just think they confuse a lot of people since the parent company is BodyMedia.
Yes, I read about the change in name for GoWear on the BodyMedia site. They said that they'll be changing the name on the equipment in the next few months & are also hoping to have the products in some retail stores (instead of just online retailers) in the beginning of 2010.
Howard.... yes, I know about the agreement with 24 Hour Fitness & the BB.... I just really wish they had the same features & I wish I knew about the difference before I bought the BB. I'm just really hoping that the gym I bought it at will give me a refund like Apex customer service told me they should because I really think I'll be happier with GoWear.
Urman..... I haven't heard of the fitbit product. |
| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-21-09 11:27AM |
Urman.... I just read the info on the fitbit site & it seems kind of odd in a way because it says it calculates the calories burned from the things you enter in as activities..... that doesn't seem the same as the BB since you don't have to enter activities w/ the BB.
other than that, I'm not sure. It seems like a completely different way of calculating things than w/ the BB. |
| Posted By: timdad |
| Posted Date: 11-21-09 12:07PM |
| The web site for the GoWear looks about the same as for BodyBugg, just perhaps a somewhat smoother experience. Would be interesting if you're even permitted to switch sites and still use the BB device... post here if you can. |
| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-21-09 1:30PM |
| timdad.... as far as everything I've read the past 2 days.... they're completely separate entities & you cannot use the BB w/ the GoWear software or visa versa. On the link for the comparison chart I have above, it says at the bottom "Please note: Armbands, Displays, and software are compatible only within their product family (column)." So according to that.... no, you can't use them interchangeably. |
| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-21-09 1:46PM |
Just a quick price comparison with just the prices on each site (not looking for other discount places or deals).....
Exerspy/Dot Fit -- $99.95 + $19.95/month -- for 12 months the total would be $340
GoWear -- $159.95 + $6.95/month for 11 months b/c you get one month free -- for 12 months the total would be $237
Bodybugg -- $199 w/ 6 months included + $49.95 for another 6 months -- for 12 months the total would be $250
The GoWear & Exerspy have printable/exportable reports & measure sleep efficiency. The BB has menu & exercise planning helps - I'm not sure if the Exerspy has that or not. The Exerspy/Dot Fit has a better food database than BB or GoWear.
Again.... I guess it just depends on what you really want out of it as far as which is the better option. |
| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-21-09 3:01PM |
| I forgot in the other post.... with the Exerspy/Dot Fit, it's $299.95 instead of $340 if you pre-pay for a year subscription, but it's still more than BB or GWF. |
| Posted By: Howard |
| Posted Date: 11-22-09 6:05AM |
I spent some time checking out the GoWear site. Given that the devices are the same, I am wiling to bet that if GoWear allows someone to take out just a membership and also allow said person to register a BB device to their site, that one would have all the functionality of the GoWear web app at their finger tips.
I am going to call GoWear on Monday and see if that is possible.
I am confused about one thing. It appears that the BB V3 device (what I own) has the ability to assess sleep quality -- just like GoWear. It appears the GoWear's app does some calc and stuff around sleep. I am not aware the the BB app does this. Can anyone confirm or correct my understanding?
Howard |
| Posted By: MichelleH |
| Posted Date: 11-22-09 7:32AM |
Howard --
The devices are the same but that doesn't mean the firmware (software inside the device) are the same. We have no way of knowing if the BB device can do anything around sleep. Neither Apex nor bodybugg has ever mentioned anything around sleep.
I don't know why Apex would let you switch to the GoWear site. Remember -- just because the hardware is made by the same company doesn't mean that Apex and GoWear are the same. If you switch from Apex to GoWear (even if that were possible), what would Apex's incentive be to let you do so? They would lose money. |
| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-22-09 7:42AM |
Howard.... As MichelleH said, even though the parent company is the same, BodyMedia, GoWear and BB essentially operate as 2 separate companies. Even on the BodyMedia site I noted above that shows the comparison between the 2 products, it says that they can only be used with their own sites/features & not intertwined.
In a way, it's like MichelleH mentioned before of how Intel sells chips to Dell & HP and those are different companies. I think it's a little more confusing in this instance because BodyMedia is the main company, but because of the agreement 24 Hour Fitness they are different products and have different features.
You can try, but I don't believe they'll let you use one product with the other entity's site.
I'm upset today because looking at the 24 Hour Fitness receipt that I have it says that they don't do refunds, but just exchanges. I'm still going to take it back tomorrow & see if a manager will let me return it for a refund or not. If not, I'm stuck w/ the BB & I'll just have to use it b/c I don't have the money to just throw away the money I spent on it & buy the GoWear one even though I'd like those features more. If I end up stuck w/ the BB, I might go ahead & use the BB for my 6-month subscription & then switch to the GoWear instead of renewing the BB longer, but I'm not sure. I'll have to see how my dh & I feel about it at that point & how our finances are then. |
| Posted By: blackbyrd |
| Posted Date: 11-22-09 8:20AM |
Max - Just a note about entering foods early or skipping them and entering them later. You can do this. If you want to plan your meals early, so into the "my nutrition" tab and you can create all your meals, for the whole week if you want. Then when you go to the calories consumed section, you can click on "I ate my meal plan" for that meal and it enters it for you.
If you want to skip a meal, you can just click on the skipped meal button when you're entering your calories consumed, and you can enter them later by clicking on the "I'll log what I ate" button. You can also click on "I didn't eat this meal yet" and go to the next meal if you want, then enter later.
Good luck!!! |
| Posted By: jaylinnea |
| Posted Date: 11-22-09 1:36PM |
Healthylife_tx,
I think the GoWear is expensive. I bought the BB and the watch for $200 with 6 months subscription. I think it will do the job that needs to be done. I don't think that there would be a huge difference. It sounds like they are very similar. If you can't get a refund, I wouldn't stress about it. At the end of the day it would help you with your goals. Good Luck. |
| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-22-09 4:30PM |
jaylinnea..... if you notice one of my posts above, I have a 12-month cost comparison & the GoWear & BB are only a few dollars more for 12 months (which I know I'll need it for at least that long). However, I like the fact that the GoWear can analyze sleep efficiency and has exportable data, which the BB currently doesn't have. I also like the new software the GoWear offers to track food. It's more simplified and user-friendly than the BB software.
If it ends up that I can't get a refund, I'm not going to worry about it anymore. I'm just annoyed with myself for not researching it more before I invested the money. You're right, they're not THAT different, but the GoWear does have some features that I like. I wouldn't buy the exerspy/Dot Fit one though b/c it is a lot more expensive than the GoWear & BB.
Michelle |
| Posted By: Sandyw |
| Posted Date: 11-22-09 8:12PM |
Go to opensourcediet.com and read this. It says you don't need to buy a new BB.
Sandy |
| Posted By: VIRGO |
| Posted Date: 11-22-09 9:01PM |
| I may have missed it, but does the Digital Display work with GoWear? |
| Posted By: Howard |
| Posted Date: 11-22-09 9:59PM |
healthylife_tx,
If you really want to dump the BB, you might try selling it on CraigsList. Just a thought...
Howard |
| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-23-09 4:22AM |
Sandyw..... As far as I can tell, they're still keeping the BB & GoWear/BodyMedia FIT completely separate. They are changing the name of the "GoWear fit" to "BodyMedia FIT" and have changed the software. However, they are still keeping the separate BB product and features will still remain different as far as everything they're saying at this point. Although they were developed by the same company, they're different b/c of the agreement with 24 Hour Fitness & from everything I've found and everyone I've talked to so far, they plan on keeping it that way.
Virgo..... GoWear has it's own digital display & just like the armband, I believe they are not interchangeable between products.
Howard.... thanks for the idea. I'll have to think about it. I don't know what I'll do for sure. Thanks for the thought though!
Michelle |
| Posted By: cubbieblue |
| Posted Date: 11-23-09 10:22AM |
Sounds like the GWF system for tracking and reporting contains some of what most of us have been asking for from BB
1. Lose the Java
2. Better recording, reporting features
3. Exportable data
I considered both - the sleep feature is not important to me. At the time I was purchasing the BB was cheaper - the ongoing service, etc.
Probably if I had to do it over again though, knowing what I do now about actually USING the software, I'd opt for GWF even though it's a bit higher in price and service.
I love the BB - but the software platform could really use a lot of work - it's not user friendly and doesn't give enough back in terms of info for the price they charge for it.
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| Posted By: healthylife_tx |
| Posted Date: 11-23-09 11:58AM |
I don't understand why people are saying the GWF is more expensive. It's not. It probably is more expensive than the BB if you're only doing a 6-month subscription because then it is $9.95 per month instead of $6.95 per month, but if you do a 12-month subscription (as I noted in a post above) it's actually only within a few dollars & it's a few dollars LESS than the BB.
If you do the month-to-month, then it's more expensive, but not by all that much & personally, I'd pay for a longer subscription than just doing it month-to-month anyway.
I was able to return my BB to 24 Hour Fitness today, but since I'm not a member there, they had to submit it to their corporate office to issue the refund, so I have to wait 7-10 days to get credited for it. I have to look at our budget again & decide whether I'll go ahead & order the GWF now or wait until I get the refund to buy it.
Another thing I just realized w/ the GWF is that they say they ship to the US & Canada, so they'd be a better option for those in Canada who wanted to use it since those in Canada say they have such a problem w/ it. |
| Posted By: Graycast |
| Posted Date: 11-23-09 1:45PM |
| I wonder, if an iPhone app is coming, might we be losing the java anyhow? |
| Posted By: cubbieblue |
| Posted Date: 11-23-09 7:15PM |
I haven't checked recently but BB was cheaper when I bought it in July - it included more "free" service time (six months vs. three months AND the yearly service was/is a bit cheaper (when looking at it on a per month basis). And, at the time, they were having a good sale (with a discount code) which GWF was not having.
THat being said, if I were to make the choice now - I'd probably opt for paying a bit more to get a better platform/software system then we are paying for here. |
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