Can the BodyBugg Help with Your Weight Loss?

Ever wondered about the black armband gadgets that everyone wears on The Biggest Loser and Losing It With Jillian? They are a personal calorie management system called BodyBugg and they just may be the impetus you need to forge ahead with both your weight loss and fitness plans.

The BodyBugg uses specialized sensors to monitor and calculate just how many calories you burn in your daily life, both through actual steps taken (built-in pedometer), time in the gym or working out, and through daily life activities. It does so through the use of a motion accelerometer, galvanic skin response (sweat measurement), skin temperature, and heat flux which is measured when your muscles produce heat.

You plug the BodyBugg into your computer and download the daily information into a user-friendly web-based program (both PC and Mac compatible). At the same time you upload what foods you have eaten and it calculates calories consumed, energy expended and your totals for the day. You can set goals and time frames.

In addition to the computer compatibility, a digital display is available (for an additional charge) which provides real-time results, so you can see the benefit of that one-hour walk, spin class, or weightlifting session. The BodyBugg is probably the most reliable and helpful personal calorie management systems available for consumers.

Available online and at 24 Hour Fitness centers, the cost is $175, which includes a free phone coaching session and 6 months of online tracking. (After the initial 6 months, online subscription renewal fees are: $9.95 for month-to-month, $49.95 for 6 months or $79.95 for 12 months.) While original BodyBugg came in solid black, but you can now buy them in zippy blue, chrome, pink, camo or even zebra-colored frames.

If you are interested in beginning your weight loss now, visit the HealthNews diet pages and test out our Individual Diet Selection tool, which can help find the right diet for you lifestyle.