What has made maintenance a snap for me

so it tells your your resting metabolism too?

I mostly got the dunk tank to see how much of me was fat and how much of me I did not want going anywhere!

I can see the beauty of the bodybugg fosho!

The iPhone compatible Bodybuggs just came out for $249, and they put the basic model on sale for $159 until the end of November. So unless you were dying to have a Bodybugg that communicated with an iPhone, this is a good time to buy one. It's like getting to do a dunk tank every single day, so $159 is not too bad.

The dunk tank gives you a theoretical number for how much you would burn if you laid in bed all day. But no one lays in bed all day, and while you might know how much you burn during exercise, it's harder to tell how much you burn shopping, cleaning the house, etc.

With the Bodybugg you can compare your daily calorie burn with exercise to without exercise, see what really happens at your desk job etc. It also functions as a pedometer and counts your steps.

You know what might be a good idea is for a few people to go in on a Bodybugg together... you could wear it for a week and then send it to the next person. I wear mine every day, but in reality you would only need to wear it for a few sample days to get an idea where your metabolism is.

The main thing I have learned from the Bodybugg is not about exercise- we all know exercise is good for burning calories. It's about the difference between sedentary and light activity. Turns out things like shopping and running errands have a bigger impact on my calorie burn than planned exercise.

If I sit at my desk all day, or watch tv all day- I'm burning maybe 60-80 calories per hour. Being on the internet is the same calorie burn, for me, as being asleep. But at the mall trying on clothes, or cooking dinner, or at the supermarket, I burn 200 calories per hour.  That adds up! A day running errands and organizing the closet burns more calories for me than a day at a desk job with 1 hour planned exercise.

So, I've learned that the little things I do during the day really make a difference. That's what they say about Europeans and naturally thin people, they move more, and it may be true. I went for a 3 hour walk the other day- regular pace, no hills, and burned 1000 calories!!! I could never stay on the elliptical at the gym long enough to burn 1000 calories. Not that I have time for a 3 hour walk every day!

That is some great insight.  Thank you for sharing. 

As much as I've tried, I cannot seem to get into an exercise routine.  I do know that I am A LOT more active these days.  I used to dread going up and down our stairs due to knee pain and exhaustion.  These days, I find  myself up and down 10+ times a day.

I am going to eBay right now (my transfer addiction???) to see if I can find a Body Bugg.

Thanks!

Dunking actually tells you how much of your body if Fat vs. Skin vs. Muscle

The Metabolic test tells you basically how many calories it takes your body to just live on a given day.  Just like the poster said, she found out that HER body has a calorie maintenance of 936 calories.  Valuable information if you are sedentary and are eating say 1200 calories...over time you'll gain.

The BodyBug tells you about the calories you burn on a given day given the activity.  Which is GREAT because given the example you supplied of learning you burn say 25 calories an hour doing nothing.  So during an 8 hour work day you would have burned 200 caloires.  NOW you could add 200 to your 936 and SEE if you gain to determine how really accurate BOTH are.

ALL of them together give you GREAT information for maintaince and just YOUR body.  Maintenance is a GAME of knowing YOUR body and what works for you.

Thanks Ms Shell for clarifying!

I would be interested in doing the dunk test at some point for body fat percentage. I feel like the calipers they use at the gym are not accurate- the skin on my belly is not super firm and I think that makes the number look higher. Or maybe that is just wishful thinking.

The other thing I like about the Bodybugg is the IMMEDIATE feedback. Like, if I eat 500 calories more than I burn, I will know that very night that I gained 1/6 of a pound. That's not going to show up on the scale, but I know if I do that for the whole week I'll gain a pound. So I can get myself back in line right away before I gain that pound.

I'm also one of those people who has huge water weight fluctuations during the month. So logging my food and calorie burn keeps me sane. If the scale suddenly jumps up 5 pounds I KNOW it can't be fat, because I've been keeping track every single day.

Maybe at some point I can be one of those people with a more relaxed approach to maintenance. But I started gaining weight almost immediately after hitting goal, so for me right now, I'm going to have to track everything.

I personally WILL weigh and measure for the rest of my life God willing.  My eyes are bigger then I think so over time my portions can grow and I too have water weight issues.  I went on a week long vacation had ankles the size of my calves and had "gained" 24lbs when I returned so I know about the water weight fluctuations you speak of.

Ms Shell