Actitrainer vs. Body Bugg

[mrsjiggles 4]

To be honest, I'm not really sure. I think is does show you some information on the digital screen and more detailed information if you choose to use the software programs in conjuncion with the trainer. I really don't know that much about it. I was trying to see if anyone else had ever heard of it or tried it. I didn't know how to make it a sticky. I'm kind of new at this.

[Livingthe Dream 0]

I can only tell you about the Bugg since it is the only one I own. If you are on a limited budget and cant afford a reoccurring cost then the bugg is not for you.The bugg requires a monthly subscription so that is something to consider. I have heard that the bug can be worn different places but I have only worn it on the right arm as suggested. The main important feature is that it is dead accurate. The most important information for me is the calories burned since really that establishes the baseline to lose weight.

The Bugg is just like anything else that runs on a Microsoft computer. It plugs into the computer, then go to the website and hit download calories and it imports the information via USB connection. I am wearing mine pre band to get a base line before my surgery. Once I get the surgery I will start entering the food that I eat since it will be alot less than what I eat now. I burn on average 3500 calories a day and that is important to know. It also tracks the steps you take in a day and puts everything in a graph. I even wear it to bed and I can tell on my chart if I tossed and turned all night and that is neat to see the detail.

After about 2 or 3 months of selecting and building a food list you can print off a grocery list and take it to the store. The web page basically adds up everything you would need for an entire week of eating. The web site also allows you to keep track of your measurements and gives you a chart and can even tell you what day you will hit your goal based on your intake. If you dont want to enter all of your food the web page does estimate your intake based on your weight and measurements week to week so that would work for some.

The Best thing: Like I said it is accurate. I can get up for a glass of Water and see my calories pop up since I am moving around.

The Bad: The monthly cost.

[skyeblu79 0]

What is the monthly cost of the Bugg? Maybe I am just messing it, but I didn't see it listed on the website. Are there options to pay ahead for the year or months @ a time?

If anyone has the link for this, that would be great.

I was really thinking about getting the Bugg this weekend and I noticed the price had gone down, but I went all the way up until you actually sign up and I still didn't see the monthly rate.

[babygrl1234 6]

This is from the FAQ page on the apex site.

What happens when my initial 3 month subscription expires?

There are several renewal options currently available, if you decide to extend your subscription:

• Month to month recurring ($14.95)
  
• 1 month (29.95)
  
• 3 months ($39.95)
  
• 12 months ($99.95)

[skyeblu79 0]

Thanks for posting that. I don't know how I missed that. That really isn't bad if you pay the whole year up front. So, you are really getting 15 months for $99 since the 1st 3 months are free.

[RxTracy 0]

I bought the Actitrainer and I like it. It was easy to set up and you can use it for multiple users if you want to share. I liked the looks of the Bugg, but from what I understand it doesn't monitor your heartrate, which is nice to make sure that you are in your target heart rate range when working out. The display on the AT is nice too, if you clip it to your belt the display is upside down so you when you tilt it up to read it, it is right side up and easy to view. It scrolls through all your stats. The Polar heart rate monitor that comes with it is really comfortable. I don't even notice that I have it on. I have found that the diet log leaves a bit to be desired. I have had to enter most everything as a custom food. I am just spoiled by the huge data bases from WW and Calorie King and some others I have used. It seems to have mostly whole foods and not commercial products. I was just banded so it is mostly Protein Drinks and such that I am having to enter. Even then it take just a minute to add a food and you can save it in you favorite foods for later. I thought I would test myself with the AT and if I used it reward myself with the BB, but I am really liking the AT now. I do understand that the 2008 BB will have a heart rate monitor as well, so would wait if that is something your interested in. I don't think the AT would be as helpful without the subscription but some people do use it that way.

[jfran 0]

I just ordered my Actitrainer tonight so I will report back here in a few weeks with results and reviews.

[EVA 0]

I just ordered bodybugg its onsale online at bodybugg armband device fopr 235.00 including shipping considering that I wanted one 6 months ago but it was 399.00 I jumped on it this offers only good till 10 am tomorrow good luck I'll keep you posted on how it works. I know someone comented on a heart rate monitor I have one by Idoc its a ring really cool I only wear it while i'm working out and it works great.

[RxTracy 0]

That is cool, a ring would be nice and noninvasive.

[hungryforchange 0]

I know that the main thing that turned me off about the body bug was that there was no heart rate monitor. So now I'm very interested in the actitrainer.

[sfeiner 2]

I got the actitrainer yesterday and today is the first day I've used it. I'm having some trouble with the calorie part....finding the food I eat. For instance, it didn;t have slim fast on it's lists and I had homemade chicken chili for lunch and don't have the energy to figure out how many cal were in that. I might go back and call it bean Soup. Another complaint...the arm band is too tight and it doesn't come with a waist band so if I want to wear it on my waist I will have to rig up something.

[steph_co 9]

I got the actitrainer yesterday and today is the first day I've used it. I'm having some trouble with the calorie part....finding the food I eat. For instance, it didn;t have slim fast on it's lists and I had homemade chicken chili for lunch and don't have the energy to figure out how many cal were in that. I might go back and call it bean Soup. Another complaint...the arm band is too tight and it doesn't come with a waist band so if I want to wear it on my waist I will have to rig up something.

I started using Calorie Counter, Diet Tracking, food Journal, Nutrition Facts at The Daily Plate before I got the Actitrainer, so I'm finding it hard to convert over to the online ActiTrainer meal tracking because I'm kind of stubborn. You could look for your foods there and then put them onto ActiTrainer?

As for the waistband. That's because I'm sure they figure most people wear pants. LOL - I'm sorry, I'm sure that sounded really snarky - I don't mean it to be. I'm just saying that pretty much no matter what I'm wearing, I can clip it to my waistband. If the waistband is a little bit flimsy, then I wear it with the clip out and the ActiTrainer against my body. If the pants are tight, then you could get away with putting it in your pocket - just somehow that it's not going to be swinging around while you're walking. While I'm at work, my work pants are too big, so the waistband is kind of puckered by my belt...so I wear it on my belt, facing inward to my body. There are lots of ways to wear it on your waist.

[steph_co 9]

Oh...I actually came to this thread to add one more thing. ActiTrainer has SUPER customer service. I was a little irked because I went in to try and use the sleep tracker. Well, my problem is that I sleep during the day because I work at night. Whenever I tried to put in my info, it gave me an error and wouldn't go in. I just figured, "Ugh! What a rip-off." I wrote them an email asking why they don't allow night-people to sleep during the day and track it. I've been working with a lady from ActiTrainer so they can figure out what the problem is and fix it. In the meantime, she offered to extend my free 15-day subscription until the issue is resolved. I thought that was awfully nice.

So if you have a problem with the ActiTrainer, don't hesitate to call or email them! They could probably help you out.

[Cerrin 3]

I am looking into both of these any advise from those of you that have had them for a while?

[MickATL 3]

I liked this device. I decided to get the biotrainer because it was $49 and it's a 3 axis accelerometer not 2 axis. They offer an online system for tracking what you eat, your daily total calories burned and provide a virtual color coded report card on your food intake based on nutritional targets.

Now they offer a 10% discount (basically free shipping) for WLS patients:

https://www.biotrainerusa.com/default.asp?PROMOCODE=WLS

The ActiTrainer is bigger than the BioTrainer and counts steps where the bio trainer just counts total calories burned. I use mine when I ride my exercise bike and I use it in conjunction with Nike+iPod when I run.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the results!