21 Day Fix and Fitness Trackers - Double Blog!

Summer Always......Brings out the dieting/exercising inner goddess in me!!

So, here we are, first week of Summer? Check!
Losing weight and feeling great? 17 pounds since April 15th! Check!

Two things I want to talk about today....
1. 21 Day Fix
2. BodyMedia vs. Fitbit vs. Perfection????

I'm on week two of the Beach Body 21 Day Fix with trainer Autumn Calabrese. First, I will say, if you are thinking of doing this, go on YouTube and search for Autumn's channel. Make sure you like her before buying this program....in my experience, if I don't like the person telling me what to do everyday....I shouldn't have bothered forking over my $$$.

If you like her, then, go for it!! This is an excellent program if you are having trouble with portion control. If you aren't, save your money.

This program (for the first tier calorie level) is essentially 5 meals at under 300 calories each. 300 is actually too much....250ish calories each. If you can manage that....save your money and buy yourself a new outfit.

The workouts are intensity for 1 minute, and rest for 20 seconds (just about) depending on which one you're doing. I like that the workouts are only 30 minutes long and that I'm doing a different one every day. I don't like hour long workouts at this intensity. Nor, do I like 3 sets. She has you do 2 sets of every move. I LOVE that!!! I think the workouts alone were worth the purchase price. (I bought the basic program). Then again, could probably find similar on line....gotta love YouTube!


My thoughts on Shakeology: $129?!?!?!?!!? NO THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I supplement with other protein powders. I've tried a few different ones and right now, I am enjoying one with great "healthy" promise. Sun Warrior Protein. It's not Soy or Whey which both have their drawbacks. Sun Warrior uses a combination of Rice, Pea, and Hemp....natural, natural, natural... :)


Fitness Trackers:

I own two. Okay, got me, three. BUT, I am currently wearing two. :)

BodyMedia and Fitbit Flex. I have been wearing them both all week as a test. I bought the BodyMedia last year. Wore it for 4 months and then pretty much put it in a drawer and forgot about it and dieting and exercising...but, that was my last blog post!

Anyhoo, I digress, you may be wondering which is better??? Well, Fitbit Flex didn't make it onto a list I have seen floating around the internet...not sure why, but the BodyMedia came in at #1 for accuracy with an error rate of less than 10%. The Fitbit One came in 2nd with just over 10%.

I have learned a few things that really didn't surprise me this week....

Exercise:

The Fitbit doesn't really recognize any exercise that isn't walking, jogging, or the elliptical. Which isn't the end of the world, unless seeing that you've only exercised for a minute when you really have worked your butt off for the last 30 minutes bothers you. Uh, yeah, that bothers me. The Fitbit needs a consistent pattern of movement to determine exercise. (Wrist movement).

BodyMedia recognizes it. So, it made me feel better. BodyMedia uses body heat and sweat. :)

Calories Burned:
BodyMedia was consistently higher in total daily caloric burn (includes BMR for both devices). Range was anywhere from 100 - 500...usually came in at about 200 calories higher than the Fitbit.

Exercise Calories:
Both devices are compatible with Spark and I have them both running. Fitbit #'s are so very wrong. BodyMedia is spot on. Fitbit will say I've burned over 1,000 calories a day during exercise. BodyMedia will come in at a more normal 400 caloric burn (which is accurate for what I am doing). (Common complaint with Spark/Fitbit integration).

If I use the Fitbit dashboard and add up all the exercise bars I get a more realistic number. But, that requires a little more work on my part and a calculator. :)
BodyMedia is even worse if I wanted to use that dashboard, BUT, it has a workout feature that you can turn on before you start your workout and then when you finish it tells you what you've burned.

Steps:
Fitbit registers more steps than BodyMedia by 700 - 2,000 steps!! Probably arm movement! If you are a passionate talker, you may not want the Fitbit Flex!!! hahahaha
Fitbit shows steps and miles...BodyMedia only shows steps.

All Day overall Caloric Burn:
Surprisingly enough...these numbers are consistently close... 100 - 300 difference with BodyMedia having the higher burn.

Sleep Monitoring:
I don't really look at this very much....the Fitbit requires that you turn it on and off. BodyMedia is automatic so, just with that feature I prefer BodyMedia for sleep.

Style and ease of use:
I prefer the FitBit Flex over the BodyMedia.

FitBit is a sleek bracelet that comes in different colors. You can essentially put it on and forget about it. Needs charging every 4 days or so, syncs wirelessly to computer and cell phone.
Auto syncs with spark.

BodyMedia is a little ugly and you have to wear it on your upper arm which, uh, pinches your arm fat!!!! Not a good look in the summer! Eeeeek.
You have to take it off to shower and to sync with your computer.

You also have to manually sync with Spark.

Website/App/Social Media:
BodyMedia and Fitbit both have a website that will show you all your numbers. Fitbit is free and has a social platform where you can make a profile, add friends, and interact with other Fitbit users. BodyMedia does not have any of that, so it's like you're flying solo there.
Fitbit is free with a premium option. BodyMedia costs $7 a month.
Both have Live info apps when synced on your smart phone.

Cost:
BodyMedia costs more than the Fitbit Flex.

Final thoughts:

I am actually not happy with either one of these fitness trackers. I want more. I want sleek. I want easy. I want accurate. I want heart rate without a strap, GPS (like Map my Fitness), calorie tracking, distance (steps and miles), waterproof (as in I can swim with it on). I want seamless syncing. I want super long battery life and I want it to tell me when I'm improving!!!
I want a lot of things!!!
But, I think we will get it...maybe not in 2014, maybe not in 2015....but soon!