BodyMedia FIT Link Armband Weight Management System

I purchased the BodyMedia Fit Link Armband about a month ago and I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT! In an attempt to share the love with others here is my review: -The unit: it easy to wear. I am a big girl (5' 9" and topping the scale a few weeks ago at 291 pounds.) The medium band that came with the product fits me fine. I ordered two extra bands a week after receiving the product simply because I like to wear it all the time but want to be able to wash the bands after a sweaty workout! I have sensitive skin and have never had an issue with the unit- sometimes it leaves a mark on my arm when I wake up in the morning but it is no different than a pillow crease on one's face :) You can even program the unit to beep at different times of the day as a reminder to do something. I turned it on because I was curious but don't plan on using the function regularly. The Link Feature: I LOVE that the product links to my Droid phone. It does so VERY easily and I love being able to check in through out the day and see what my life has been like :) The one down fall is that you have to hard-sync it to your computer to get all of the data updated but the information you can gather through the phone is still very beneficial. (i.e. when I open my phone it tells me how many calories I have burned, consumed, where my caloric deficit/surplus is, how much moderate and vigorous activity I have completed, and how many steps I have taken. When I hard sync to my computer it will give me detailed information on all of these categories, tips (the one I get all the time is about my sodium intake...) and it will show me a detailed report of my sleep.) The reports- you can run reports from your computer that show you what you've accomplished (or what you wanted to accomplish) and they are amazing! I love looking back and seeing what I have done, and what I have yet to do. It really brings a new accountability to my life- not only do I have a band on my arm (and although it is discreet- I know it is there) to remind me of what I am working towards, but I can't fool myself into thinking that I have done more than I actually have. The meal tracker- is good, not great. I have used Livestrong-my Plate in the past and LOVED it. BodyMedias tracker doesn't have as many foods listed but they are easy to "create" on the computer. (You can't create a food on your phone). The foods that you input are then saved under "my foods" which is nice. I suppose not having tons of foods listed isn't a huge deal as it makes me google things and check labels more carefully so I can input the information myself. On the computer you can run a food report as well which is totally great. For example- Friday I was reallly craving a burger and I had done well with my caloric intake that day. I thought that Wednesday and Thursday had been "good" days for me as well but when I looked back at my food log I saw that Wednesday was not as good as I had remembered :) The sleep report- is creepy accurate. For example- two nights ago I received a phone call at 3AM from a family member who was in the hospital. On my report you can see where I woke up, when I went downstairs to inform another family member, how long I talked with them, when I went back to my room, laid down and when I fell asleep. (White is awake, grey is laying down and black is asleep). I've noticed this before as well- if I get up to use the restroom in the middle of the night there will be a white line indicating on my sleep chart that shows when I was awake. The Calorie Expenditure Report- is valuable. I work in two different locations and I was able to have the graph show me at which location (based on time) that I burned more calories. This specific example is not pertinent but interesting! The downfalls- I love to swim. I swim a few times a week and my arm band has to sit in my locker. I would love for it to work in the pool as well but I understand the complications This review makes me sound a little obsessive- and I will be honest in saying that is the case. But- BodyMedia really helps me keep my willpower and holds me accountable. I have really tried to watch what I eat and have been exercising much more regularly. I have lost 10 pounds in 22 days and I am really good with that, although I have a LONG road ahead. I have information with a few of my close friends and two have ordered their BodyMedia bands as well :) Buy it. It is worth the cost.

I received my armband a little over a week ago and I am really happy with it so far. It's good to see that number and know exactly where I am on my way to my goal. I've noticeably lost weight in just over a week, so I'm excited that I've found something that actually works for me! Yes, there are some issues with the product. When I was registering I had some difficulty and had to use my backup email account to create my BodyMedia account. I figured this was because I kept hitting the back button because I changed my mind about what color straps I wanted to order and that messed it up somehow. After I started fresh with my backup email I had no problems registering, so I guess the lesson is do it straight through the first time! I also recommend ordering extra straps so that you can wash and line dry them without having to leave the armband off for too long. I got the black straps and both the strap and the plastic part that it snaps into are black. I have also had one issue with the armband losing pairing with my iPhone so I couldn't sync up my data with the app. Again, not a big deal for me as I have used bluetooth headsets before and I found that they would lose pairing every now and then. It takes just a few seconds to re-pair the device and I'm not so technologically impatient that I don't have 30 seconds to wait for something. All I had to do to fix my issue was re-pair my device and I was good to go. The iPhone app will not sync your sleeping time and won't show it until you have synced with the online app. This is not a problem for me since I sync my armband every morning while I'm in the shower. After a sync with the online app the sleep data will show up in the app. I've never seen the battery get below 70% and it takes just a few minutes to charge fully. The food tracking on the iPhone is okay, though I do feel that it is lacking some commercial products that I feel are common enough to be in there. The online food tracking is awesome - you can input a recipe and it calculates the calories for you and saves it so you can use the recipe again. This is great for me because my fiance and I cook meals in bulk and freeze them so we never have to eat out at restaurants. It does have a pretty good database for Jamba Juice though - that's the only restaurant I've looked at for the food tracking. Entering the recipes is not too time consuming and worth it for me because I want the most accurate data possible. Anyway, overall this is a great product and the free iPhone app is a much better deal to me than the $70 display, which looks chunky and cumbersome to me. There are some issues with it, but nothing so major that I can't work around it. If you're considering this product but the price tag is scaring you, just ask yourself if you're the type of person that needs numbers and facts to motivate you - I definitely am and this product does just that, I know if I've really earned that cookie! If you're already the type that is motivated to eat right and work out, then this product might be just another expensive accessory that you don't actually need. If the negative reviews for this product are scaring you, just remember that nothing out there is perfect and nothing out there is going to have every little feature that you could dream up and wish for.

Rarely do I feel the need to take time away from a busy day to write something negative about a company and/or product. In this case, I feel it is warranted to share my experience with others; hopefully to save them from wasting money and time on this product. Conceptually, this is a great idea and there are many companies trying to bring this type of product to market. The demand for activity tracking devices is high and the market is ripe for someone to take the lead. After spending quite a bit of time researching several products, I found the BodyMedia FIT to have more of the features I was looking for; primarily, a central place to store data on caloric intake, caloric burn and sleep efficiency. When I opened the box, I was a bit surprised at the size of the product. It is somewhat bulky and would be hard to wear in many social settings. In my case, I have a home based business so it was easy for me to wear this unit 20+ hours on most days. The first setback occurred on the 2nd day of using the device. I purchased the BW version specifically for the bluetooth capability as I planned on using it in conjunction the the Android app...............BIG MISTAKE !!! The app is worthless. I could only get this thing to sync with my phone, at MOST, 5% of the time. The app also caused my DroidX to randomly stall and restart. Upon removing the BodyMedia FIT app, I no longer experienced this issue. So..........then the horror starts. I call technical support and was on hold for 15 minutes before it finally sent me to a voice mail system. I left them a message telling them of the issues and asking for a call back. Five hours later, NOTHING. I called them back the next morning and was on hold for 10 minutes before randomly being disconnected. I called once again and instead of pressing "3" for technical support, I pressed "1" for sales and viola.............instant human being. Funny how a company can rush to sell you something that does not work but fails to answer the phone to support the product. NEVER have I received such horrible support on a $200 product !!! When I reached the sales person, I told them of my problem and asked them if the failure to sync via bluetooth was a "known issue". Their response was........"I am sorry sir but we are not equipped to answer that question, I am going to have to refer you to technical support" REALLY? YOU ARE KIDDING RIGHT? You mean the technical support that kept me on hold for a total of 25 minutes, randomly disconnected me and then never did call me back? That technical support? Long story short, at least I was smart enough to take the 3-month "free" trial of their website instead of prepaying for 12 months an a reduced monthly rate. I put this thing back in the box and returned it to Amazon after a week. Thank God I purchased it through Amazon instead of the BodyMedia website. I can only imagine what a nightmare it would be to try and get your money back. In closing, I would only ask one simple question. What happened to good, honest business and "world class" customer support? All they would have had to do is tell me there are some technical issues they are working through and ask me to bear with them. I would have gladly asked for a couple months of free use of their web app and been patient while they worked through the issues. Instead, they treat you like they could care less and instead of sales being honest, they tell you they are not equipped to answer a simple question. Don't waste your money on this product. Maybe in six to nine months, a dip in sales and a spike in returns, they will get the message and turn things around

I've been using the BodyMedia FIT BW for about a week and a half now and I feel some ambivalence towards the unit but am overall impressed with it. I would say the strongest benefit of using the Fit is that the website encourages a person to monitor every calorie they consume; with a large selection of foods in its database it is easy to see all of the nutritional information of your daily consumption. However, if you get lazy (like I have) and stop inputting info this benefit quickly disappears. If you stick with it, though, it is difficult to ignore what you eat what with the hard numbers and a little colorful graph staring you in the face with your total carb/protein/fat intake. Most of my ambivalence stems from the fact that this device won't pair with the app on my smartphone. The BodyMedia Fit app is a good little tool for inputting food and seeing one's progress on the go (when the app works) but it won't sync with my Fit. It is my own fault, I suppose, as my HTC Evo isn't one of the approved phones but I still fail to see how it can work with some, approved, Android phones but not with all of them. My Evo links to the device but the app won't sync. That aside, the Fit measures a good amount of my activity during the 23 hours I'm wearing it. Syncing the device to the website is beyond easy and the information is interesting. Using this along with the Adidas MiCoach Pacer and the CarioTrainer app on my smartphone has greatly increased my motivation to workout. A couple of issues I have noticed: It is supposed to start up within ten minutes of being placed on the arm but I regularly notice mine taking in excess of twenty minutes to start recording activity. I have also noticed that it does seem to measure time traveling in a car as physical activity (bad) but it doesn't add it to my total step count (good). All-in-all, I would recommend purchasing the regular Fit unit, without the bluetooth technology, even if you have one of the few approved phones: it can hold fourteen days worth of data before even needing to be synced. I sync mine with my desktop once per day, in the morning.

Watch out when ordering this armband from Amazon. First of all, we always look on Amazon first for anything. I was looking for a BodyMedia brand armband that worked on [...]. I was unschooled in the relationship between BodyMedia and [...]. While BodyMedia is the manufacturer of the armband, [...] sells it as the device for their fitness software package. Unfortunately, the Bluetooth version I bought on the Amazon site would not connect through the USB cable to the [...] site. I am writing this review hoping to help others from making the same mistake and having to return the unit. I am a Software engineer/architect who happens to be a partner and CEO of a Rich Interactive Adobe Content software company that creates Flash web applications for enterprise customers. (Flash is not dead, do you hear me Steve?!!). Without going into the driving philosophy behind our own company, let me say that if I purchase anything for myself that involves software, I am very careful and test the customer service as well as compare the software diligently before buying. There are three main competitors in this market. Two of them are manufacturers or have manufacturer supplied devices, one is the Body Bug, and as I understand it, is a product supplied by 24 hour fitness. The other is the BodyMedia armband who procures their own, or manufactures it. [...] also uses the BodyMedia manufactured device for their fitness website. Looking at each of the devices closely reveals that they all look very similar and have probably been procured from a single device maker under different brands. That's just an opinion based on the way I know the electronics industry to work. The point behind all of this is that [...] must rely on body media to supply their devices with a compatible interface to their software system. At the end of the day, it's not about the device, it's about the software that you choose to interact with over the web. My company designs software for use on the Web and for Android and iPhone applications. I can tell you that there are certain things you just don't want to do from your Smartphone at this time. Administering a complete fitness program is one of those things. Not unless you like to be frustrated. As some of the reviews point out, you need a robust Web application that allows you to integrate your meals, your activities, and any other information that helps you to pursue your goals in weight loss and fitness. That was my goal when researching which device to purchase. The simple question was who had the best Web application for me to use online? Body Bug I went out to the body bug site, and what did I find there? At body [...] I found a minimalist webpage with two buttons, one to buy from 24-hour fitness, and the other to buy from MyApex (a commodity name at best [masquerading through personalization]) which send you to the [...]. The Apex site has you looking all over the place for information on their software package. In the end I was unable to find anything of value on the User Interface, the features or the ease of use and reporting that was available. Next, I switched to the 24 Hour fitness site. They have a couple of informative videos and you actually get to see someone demonstrate the web application for the device. However, one thing I noticed was that the marketing focus for the web app was on counting caloric burn in total. Of course it goes without saying that the main focus of these devices is to measure and report caloric burn. But I want to know more about what happens during my day and maybe how I can look at the parts of my day and the burn rate and see if there's something that I should change or improve on. The website did not give me the information I needed to make an informed decision for or against the Body Bug. BodyMedia Searching the BodyMedia site resulted in an experience close to the other two sites above. Quite a bit of marketing on what the device does for you how it improves your life, and so on and so forth. In reading the company history, and doing a little extra research on the web, it appears that BodyMedia also makes the Body Bug. As all the claims for 90% accuracy are the same, the packaging the design the same, everything except for the color and branding are the same. Also 24-hour fitness and Apex are definitely not in the manufacturing business and BodyMedia is. But I again came across the same problems associated with the other two websites. I could not find any definitive examples explaining the Web application features that the BodyMedia device interfaces with. Allow me to reiterate, the device is just a sensor. Sophisticated as it is, it's the data you're after, and the data presentation can make a difference in how you organize your lifestyle. Therefore, my interest is focused on, "How do I get to manipulate and mash up the data to suit my particular lifestyle and needs?" Granted I'm a bigger geek than most, but I'm also practical when it comes to cool stuff. It may be cool but am I really going to use it? Before I can answer that question I need more information than what was provided in any of the sites above. [...] The Dotfit website is definitely designed for more interactive marketing and presentation of the company's products. With very little effort you can find the Web application that you will be using, and you can sign up for a two week free period. After perusing the site for a time, I thought, okay, let's give it a test drive. I e-mailed support and expressed my most important evaluation factors, fantastic usability and flexibility in software development, and great customer service. Within 30 minutes I had an e-mail from Chad, who just happens to be the director of IT. This was really nice, kind of like calling up the hotline and getting the President of a company to complain to... However, what it really says is that this is a lean company with a young staff who wears many hats. Having been around the block a few times, I can claim that this is a good thing and means that the company will step up and do everything it can to capture and convert customers (my apologies to those who might classify my terminology adversarial or divisive, capture and conversion rates are a common metric in online sales). I replied in the affirmative, and since I had an idea floating around in my head I presented it, and asked him to pass it along to his marketing department, and by the next day I was signed up without having to do anything. Great customer service, and with that I could even forgive a not so good Web application! Thankfully though, I don't have to forgive a bad implementation of a web app. Because they have one of the best web apps I've seen. I say this because the technology they use allows them to build highly interactive features. Great choice of technology and it will take them well into the future. So back to the original reason that I wrote this tome on these devices, when I'm really very busy and don't have the time. That is, I don't want anyone else to buy one of these Bluetooth devices thinking that they can use it for the [...] Web application. The Bluetooth version will not connect to any web application except BodyMedia. Without boring you to death on the technical details, let me give you my opinion on why this is so. Manufacturers of hardware normally stick to just that, building good hardware. However, BodyMedia has decided to enter into the fitness market by supplying their own software in their own system, while selling to "partners" the devices in a branded or non-branded agreement. Again this is conjecture, but the fact that Body Bug has almost the exact same system as BodyMedia leads me to believe that they are willing to pay what we call a "white label" fee so that Body Bug can brand the same system that body media uses. If this is the case, maybe Dotfit isn't willing to pay the fee or doesn't follow lockstep with the direction BodyMedia wants to move in. Maybe it's a little of both. Well, because of this mix-up, I called the Dotfit service because I couldn't get my device to hook up to my account. The first person I connected with was Chad and after a hearty greeting, we begin troubleshooting. After a few moments he asked me where I obtain the device and whether it was Bluetooth or not. That's where I learned my mistake. I am a loyal Amazon customer, and I will always come to Amazon before I purchase anything in a brick-and-mortar or on the web outside of Amazon. It's reviews that reveal the real world details the products and services. I wanted to buy from Amazon because of the customer service and prime shipping. In closing, I'll summarize by saying it doesn't matter to me what device I'm buying, for in truth all of them are manufactured to the same specifications by the same company. It's the Web application that makes the difference. Being able to view my results on my smart phone is a low priority in comparison to get those results into a web app seamlessly and with little interaction on my part. The fact that both Body Bug and BodyMedia Smartphone apps do not talk to the Web application through the Smartphone, but act primarily as a display, tells me that they are in an interim stage at this point. In development, we normally build for the web, then build a subset of functionality for Android or iPhone use. In this case, what they have done is converted the digital readouts into a Bluetooth interface for your Smartphone. Just like a digital readout which does not connect to the Web application, neither does your Smartphone application. To me that's the fatal flaw for this app, and it's my opinion that they will replace it entirely as time moves forward. I have boxed my purchase back up and am getting ready to return it, even though I have to pay some shipping to do so. There wasn't anything on the Amazon site or Dotfit site that indicated the incompatibility of the Bluetooth device with clarity. This is a great product, you just have to decide what software package you want to use to change your life with. I'm going with Dotfit for now. Thanks for reading. With gratitude... With gratitude... Curtis Fisher CEO Professional Content LLC Link to me on Linked-In [...] Advanced Flash Components [...]

I've had my BodyMedia LINK armband since 2011. In 2011, I used it for several months and lost weight consistently, but then stopped for whatever reason. Last June (2013) I started using it again. I've lost over 80 pounds since then. What the armband does is give you data, lots of it. It tells you how many calories you burn in a day, how many steps you take, your various levels of activity, etc. All of this information is great for helping you lose weight, but it's not going to lose the weight for you. It's a tool, plain and simple. If you really want to lose weight, you have to eat less than you burn, period. There is nothing else to it. This tells you how much you burn, which tells you how much you can eat. I've found that having this data at hand has been absolutely pivotal in my recent weight loss success. Even though there are a lot of calculators that provide estimates for your calorie burn, they are just that, estimates. My bodymedia armband gives me a much more accurate reading. I know it is accurate (mostly) because when I use it I lose the weight I am expecting to lose. All that said, the device isn't perfect. As an armband I find it far too uncomfortable. It cuts into my arm and after a while I get sharp pains shooting into my armpit. To get past that, I had to relocate the armband. I either wear it on the outside of my calf, just below the knee, or I tuck it into my bra. I did experiments wearing it each way and found the accuracy to be the same no matter how I wore it, so that's ultimately not a huge problem. Another issue is that the BodyMedia food log is terrible. The good news is they have partnered with MyFitnessPal and you can use the MFP log and the data automatically syncs to the BMF site. It's a workable solution, but this is still my number one complaint about the band. If I am paying $6.95 a month for the service, I want the service to be good. I shouldn't have to go to an outside source to get an acceptable food logging experience, imo. There are some cases where the BMF armband is not as accurate. In particular cross-training, HIIT and similar types of workouts that use a lot of resistance training. The BMF relies a lot on motion, so workouts that don't involve a lot of motion end up showing a lower calorie burn on the BMF software than you really get. I use an HRM as a supplement to deal with this. I do DDP Yoga and thr BMF data tends to show about a 30% - 50% lower calorie burn than my HRM. The BMF software allows me to sync my HRM data with my BMF dashboard, but it doesn't use that data to calibrate the BMF data, which I think is unfortunate. It would be nice if BMF allowed me to manually adjust a workout to be more inline with the HRM, but it doesn't. So, I have to just keep it in mind as I view the data in my dashboard. The bluetooth syncing works, but it can be really persnickety. I frequently have to hold in the button and put the armband back into sync mode to get my phone to pick it up. By frequently, I mean I have to do this at least once a day, sometimes more. As a result of having to do this so frequently, the plastic around the button has worn down and now has a hole in it. I figure it is only a matter of time before moisture seeps into the delicate electronics and the things dies on me. I've had the armband for three years. I don't know how much life is left in it. Given the above mentioned issue with the button, I am thinking maybe another 6 - 8 months, if I'm lucky. I am holding out buying a new one hoping that the Core II will come out eventually, but that project seems to have been scrapped, so who knows. If it dies before the Core II comes out, I will absolutely buy another LINK. It has it's problems, but it is still the best I have found. Despite whatever issues it may have, I would still recommend it without hesitation to anyone who wants to lose weight (or build muscle). It's not magic and it's not your mom. It won't wag a finger at you if you make bad eating choices. What it will do is give you the knowledge you need to make better eating choices. It's still up to you to make those choices.

I have been using this device for about a month now to help me figure out how active I really am, I have long suspected that I am underestimating this due to my need of always going to the next level in Myfitnesspal in order to lose weight. I was right! This has seriously helped me figure things out. At first, I was skeptical it was tracking well, since my more intense workouts do seem to be under measure, but I think it is pretty accurate on the 24 hour basis. Long term is tough to say, but I do think it is worth the price and subscription as it has been rather eye opening. I got EXCELLENT customer service when I called with a question and really helped me understand the product better without being deceptive (he freely admitted that it is not the best for people who want to have more precise measurements for the actual workout, but for more of a 24 hour count). Connection to handheld: For those who concerned about the device losing connection, I have very little trouble. I am using a Samsung Galaxy Note with Android 4.1. I can continue to use my headset with it connected as well. Only time it seems to lose connection is when the phone goes to a more deep sleep mode, and I cannot fault the device for that, but my phone. Pros: Usually don't even feel it. Links in seconds for up to the minute counts. Links to MyFitnessPal and other food logging apps for a more complete food list. Gives credit for working harder to make sure you do not under eat. I have seen nothing to suggest that this is not quite accurate despite extensive research. Most complaints I see involve price and subscription. (when I called in he told me that they occasionally offer and annual subscription price for less and to watch the notifications in the system). Helps push yourself on days you are more sedentary. Those can sneak up on you! Cons: Tweeking to myfitnesspal can take some time. The calorie counts will not be perfect, but I found that when I set my FitnessPal to the same as the settings in BodyMedia, I was given too many extra calories. The best way I have found around this is to set your my fitnesspal to SEDENTARY and whatever rate you want to lose. Smaller people may have to adjust calorie amount down like I did to 960. I know this sounds scary, but trust me, it gets better. The bodymedia then kicks in and bumps you up to the amount you should be eating after a few hours to a more accurate count of what you should be that day, in my opinion. I am not going to lose sleep over 50 calories +/- difference as long as you are close; I don't think you should not either. It is still going to be way more accurate than guessing. One thing I would like to say is that the additional number can vary sometimes through out the day since it is estimating what your end of day will be. This may be most important if you workout hard in AM but are sedentary the rest of the day, so make sure you track as you go and by nightfall you will probably be more stable. It sounds annoying, but it really has not been for me. You must remove the device for at least 1 hour a day. I get this, but you want to choose your time wisely. You still get credit for time removed but as sedentary, so try to do it when driving or watching a movie. You can adjust the time not worn though so if you mess up, you can tell it you did something else. Not water proof. Not a huge deal, but worth mentioning.

Yes this is a longer review, but I wanted to accurately describe my experience to those considering this product for those considering purchasing it but have concerns due to the number of negative reviews. I received the BodyMedia FIT LINK on July 23rd, 2013 while weighing approximately 265.5 lbs and needing to drop about 80 lbs to get to my ideal weight. I had started out at over 280 before worrying about the potential of slowing down my metabolism during my weight loss. I thought the BodyMedia FIT system would help me track my metabolism and to adjust my activities and eating to avoid kicking myself into a severe conservation mode. The set up was relatively uncomplicated. The quick start guide helped get things up and running and the website interface was easy to work with. Some individuals may find it beneficial to download the user’s manual from the website prior to beginning the initial set up as it is a bit better at describing the various tasks required and the order they are done in order to avoid a problem. The only issue I found was that if you take too long to enter some information on the account set up, it may time out on you. It synced up quickly, and linked with my phone without a single problem. I was able to set up the Android App and linked the account with MyRunKeeper and MyFitnessPal and they seem to work seamlessly. The unit charged up completely in a little over an hour. My first workout was on an elliptical machine and I had no issues. It is possible if you use a machine without the arm attachments that it won’t accurately record the movement as a workout, but since mine allowed me to move my arms in sync with the feet, it did very well. The calories consumed doing the workout were pretty close to the reading on the machine (machine showed approximately 30 additional calories consumed – but those are notoriously inaccurate). The device accurately recorded my sleep and reflected what I could remember of my nightly trip to the bathroom or when I woke up to move my daughter to a better position in bed when she decided to join me. The band itself was quite comfortable and for the most part I was unaware of it through the workout and later falling asleep with it on turned out to be easy and the unit was non-obtrusive even though I am a side sleeper that frequently switches sides. My second workout was a walk through the neighborhood recorded via MyRunKeeper. The app meshed easily with my BodyMedia account and recorded it perfectly (the only issue was with the MyRunKeeper app as it shut off during my last lap, but BodyMedia kept recording and showed the right amount of time. The Calories consumed during that workout was transferred to the MyFitnessPal app. I have had no issues at this time with uploading information from the band to the BodyMedia website via the Android app or via USB cable. The information I am receiving is definitely pushing me forward on my weight loss journey. After two weeks of use (ending on August 6th) I have noted the following (with a weight loss goal of 2 lbs per week and high level of activity): Pros: • It keeps me honest with the amount of work I do during the day. I am hampered by having a desk job and have to find other ways to complete my activity for the day. • It accurately measures the intensity of my workouts. I generally fall in the 4-5 METS range during a workout according to the machines I use and it captures it spot on. • It meshes easily with third party apps which allow for easier food logging through MyFitnessPal and workout tracking like runs/walks through MyRunKeeper. • It is comfortable to wear. It takes a little practice to get the band just right. If it is too tight it will leave impressions in the skin and if it is too loose it will slide down during the day. However, once you get it set you shouldn’t have either problem. • It accurately predicts weight loss for the week according to the information it obtains and the information you provide it (calories used vs. calories consumed). • It has allowed me to drop approximately 16 lbs since I received it by monitoring the changes to my metabolism in response to exercise and diet. Not bad considering that I had already been dieting for a little over 2 weeks before getting the BodyMedia Fit Link and had dropped 15 lbs during that time. Normally I stall after two weeks and give up when the scale doesn’t budge week after week. This time I was able to power through and continue to lose. • The battery life is great. I purposely went through three days without a recharge to see how it did. Even with multiple checks of the device with my android phone via Bluetooth, it was still at 47%. • Allowed me to know how to adjust my eating to compensate for a foot injury during the time to still ensure my weight loss goals were met. If I had continued to eat my healthy diet but didn’t work out my net calories would have been positive and I would have gained. Cons: • Requires some investment of time in order to track workouts and calories consumed – but the accountability for your own weight loss journey always requires you to invest some effort. • It does require a subscription to use beyond the three month trial – but the benefits you receive are worth it in my own opinion. • It isn’t the most fashionable device, but they do make different skins and bands for it – so if you are fashion conscious, you can probably find a skin and band to mesh with just about any clothing and accessory. Hope this review helps. I will update it if I come across any durability issues – but so far, it has been great. (Also, I have heard and seen a few preliminary articles about the BodyMedia CORE 2 slated to come out soon. It is looking like it may address the fashion issue and will be a bit smaller and with include the Bluetooth connection like the link version does. However, it may be a bit pricey in the beginning. Do some research online to check out the preliminary information on it as you may want to delay your purchase if it looks like a better option for you.)