Get Healthy with the BodyMedia Fit Core Armband Sponsored Review

I have struggled with weight issues ever since I was in elementary school. I have always been on the husky side and my weight fluctuates about 35 pounds. I normally can drop the extra pounds with a good two month workout regimen, but now that I am in my 30’s it is starting to get a little harder to lose the weight.

I am so bad that I have two sets of clothes: I have my stretch pants to fit my waist when I get over 36 inches, and then I have my 34 and 36 inch waist pants when I am at the low-end of my weight range. I have made it a goal to drop 50 pounds by the end of this year, and that would put me at 185 pounds.

 I have tried most of the infomercial workouts, and they have helped me drop weight quickly, but my problem is:  what I eat and how I eat. If there is chocolate, ice cream, cookies, cake, donuts, or any other junk food in the house I feel it is my mission to get rid of the food as quickly as possible, but then when we buy it again the evil cycle starts all over.

So to help me reach my goal, I have teamed up with BodyMedia (as seen on The Biggest Loser), and am using their Fit Core Armband to track calories burned, calories consumed, physical activity levels, steps taken, and sleep.

I have used the armband for the past two weeks and I have to say that I am really impressed. I have already lost 8 pounds! It straps around your arm like an mp3 player, and uses 4 sensors to gather all of your data. The armband fits nicely under t-shirts as well.

The BodyMedia Fit Core Armband works with the online site bodymedia.com. It comes with a USB cord that allows you the sync your armband to the website, and then downloads all of your data. The USB cord is also how you charge the device.

I am a school teacher and a self-proclaimed data junky, and this device is perfect for me because I love to see my data for the day, and all of the graphs that come along with it. I can tell if I slept well, or if I tossed and turned all night. It also lets me know how long and how strenuous my workouts are.

To get started I set up an account at bodymedia.com and the Quick Start Guide helped me through this process with ease. Once I created an account, plugged in my personal data, and my goals I was able to get started with the BodyMedia armband.

The hardest part of using the BodyMedia Fit Core Armband was logging in my food. Many of my food items were not in their system, so I had to input the nutritional information myself. I found this to be a little time-consuming, but then again it makes me watch what I eat, which is the whole purpose for having the armband. The good thing is if you plan ahead for what you are going to eat and stick to a meal plan all of the food you input is saved to your account. 

I do like that the online program allows you to look at previous days of the week, and if you ate the same foods you can select those items to be automatically uploaded. There’s also a smart phone app that you can log in your food while on-the-go, which is nice as well.

The online component also acts as a personal trainer, so it lets you know your personal records for all of your data points. It also gives you tips, encouragement, and warnings. For example it will say you only need to burn a certain amount of calories to meet your daily goal, and then it will tell you an activity that you can do to hit your goal. I also like that is warns you to stop eating certain kinds of food. For example I went way over my sodium intake goal for the day, and it let me know that I needed to stay away from foods high in sodium.  

So far I really like the Fit Core Armband, and I feel that it is helping me to be more selective of the foods that I eat. I am a competitive person and I like that it lets me know how many steps that I walked or calories that I burned, so I can challenge myself to beat yesterday’s numbers. To me the armband is comfortable and now that I have been wearing it for a while I barely notice it.

I would definitely recommend this product to anyone who is serious about getting healthy. There is a minimal monthly fee for the online component of the program, but it does come with a trial membership. The Fit Core Armband and online program is well worth the price for all of the information and support that you get from BodyMedia. Learn more about the science behind the armband.

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