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A calorie management system is a device that you wear on your arm to measure the number of calories you are burning each day.  There are two popular ones currently on the market – Gowear Fit and the Bodybugg.  The Bodybugg is more widely know because of its debut on the national television show The Biggest Loser. They arepretty much the same device

made by the same company, BodyMedia, but are distributed through different channels.  They use the same technology and even look identical.  We usually suggest that anyone looking for a great system get the more affordable of the two, the Gowear Fit.  It’s usually a little cheaper than the BodyBug because you can get it at a discounted price on Amazon.  The BodyBugg is usually sold at fitness clubs, like 24 HR Fitness.repsfbxcontinuous

How it Works

These devices use a technology called “sensor fusion”, which is a multi-sensor approach of accurately tracking calories burned, physical activity, steps taken, sleep duration, and sleep efficiency. When the sensors in the device make contact with your body, the following measurements are taken throughout the day:

1. Motion:  It contains an accelerometer, which measures how your body accelerates, vibrates, and moves from different perspectives.
2. Heat flux:  This is the heat that your muscles produce when your body moves.
3. Galvanic skin response:  This measures how electrically charged your body becomes due to an increase in activity.
4. Skin temperature:  The internal thermometer measures your body temperature based on the heat from your skin.
5. Steps:  It counts your steps based on the patterns created from running and walking.

Why You Should Get One

These devices are great for helping you stay on track with your weight loss goals.  They act as motivational tools that keep you honest about the number of calories you are burning each day.  The online calorie calculators are approximations, but a calorie management system will give a more accurate measurement of your calorie expenditure.  You can see how many calories you burn doing your normal everyday activities like vacuum cleaning, mowing the lawn, or loading the dishes.  It even does tracking while you are asleep.  You can use the online software provided for the system to set a goal for the number of steps you want to reach each day and when you reach that goal, your device will beep.  Another plus is that once you start wearing one, you forget you even have it on.

Conclusion

Whether you want to lose weight or maintain your existing weight, a calorie management system takes the guesswork out of the whole calories in versus calories out equation.  Both the BodyBugg and the GoWear Fit are great systems.  The only con is that if you don’t purchase the display device that acts as a companion for visually seeing the results of your tracking (how many steps, how many calories, etc.), you have to subscribe to the online service (about $6.95 per month) to view the data.   They usually give you 3 months free though.