I’m an avid football fan – Green Bay is my team, which makes life interesting during Football season in our Pittsburgh-based office. I recently heard a BodyMedia success story from Alan Faneca, a great football player who spent most of his career with the Steelers.

Alan’s story shows how our technology helps users be aware of changes to their body. As a nine-time, All-Pro Guard in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers , New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals, most people would think the athletically gifted Faneca would have no problem continuing his health and fitness regimen once he retired from football. However, changes in his body challenged him more than he had anticipated.

Thank you for educating us about this important use for our technology, Alan. Oh and your College alma mater LSU ain’t so bad either!  Now, let’s here from Alan…

Playing in the National Football league is rough and during the thirteen years I played there were a lot of demands put on my body. For my position I had to change my diet to maintain my weight and consumed about 5,000 calories a day. Over time, these diet changes had an impact on my metabolism. Of course while I was playing, my body was burning every extra calorie I ate.

When I retired from the NFL, I knew I was going to have to make some adjustments to my eating and exercise habits to maintain a healthy weight. Initially, I was super busy with our young son. I was going to the gym and putting some effort into eating right, but the extra football weight just wasn’t coming off.

At my gym, I saw some people wearing the BodyMedia FIT Armband. I knew from The Biggest Loser that the technology can help you learn about your body. After purchasing one myself, I was surprised at how easy it became to take the weight off. I didn’t have to guess about the number of calories I was putting in and was shocked at how accurate my workouts were tracked with the Armband. One great feature of the product is the fact that all of your information is personalized based on inputting your own body parameters.

One big surprise for me was that cardio machines at the gym are basically lying about the amount of calories we are burning, which can really derail your weight loss efforts as you think you can eat more based on the calorie burn. The Armband also encouraged me to try new things, like I got a Street Strider, a great full body workout that burns a lot of calories. I also learned more about my sleep efficiency, which is helpful with a young family.

The other big benefit is understanding serving sizes better – nutritional information in BodyMedia’s Activity Manager gives you a good framework. Within three weeks of using BodyMedia, I lost 15 pounds and then it just kept coming off. After about 3½ months, my weight loss plateaued, which is pretty standard, so I was again able to study my data and make the necessary adjustments.

I am happy to say, I have reached my goal with hard work and the help of BodyMedia. The Armband definitely keeps you honest. Making changes to your body isn’t always easy, but don’t give up, chances are, right when you decide to give up is right when you will start to see results!

—Alan Faneca

Jonny Farringdon here, Director of Informatics at BodyMedia

At BodyMedia, we are proud to provide the most accurate 24 hour body-monitoring device on the market.* As we constantly strive to improve, we test our products as often as possible. This time, BodyMedia put a spin on the routine testing process while promoting a little team building.

Last week, approximately 25 BodyMedia team members, including myself, walked to the local YMCA to take a cycling class and get our butts kicked. The participants ranged in age, both male and female, all dressed in their fitness gear to help with product validation (as well as improvement). Everyone was wearing all of our gear – the LINK Armband on one arm and the CORE on the other. On our walk over to the gym, we joked that the YMCA employees would think we were performance athletes for how geared up we were!

Although it is recommended to wear Armband on the upper left arm, we know that a lot of people also wear it on their right arm. We wanted to capture the data from both Armbands on opposite arms so that we could ensure our latest and greatest algs are taking into account all forms of user behavior and that our results, no matter the placement of the Armband, are as accurate as possible.

Since indoor cycling requires minimal movement of the upper body, especially when you stabilize yourself by holding the handle bars, it’s known that identifying this type of activity with motion sensors is very difficult. It’s especially difficult for activity monitoring devices that use one sensor – an accelerometer, which only detects motion. As you know, BodyMedia Armbands have four sensors: 3-axis accelerometer, galvanic skin response, heat flux, and skin temperature, allowing the Armband to capture a broader “picture” of what is happening.

Getting an accurate calorie credit for cycling is very important to our users since cycling is an intense workout—so intense that some gyms even have rust-proof bikes (so much sweat!). At BodyMedia, we are continually improving the ways in which we determine calorie credit for activities. This is why we wanted to endure the sweat and tears ourselves. BodyMedia puts forth the time and is committed to getting involved and giving users the most accurate results.

My goal as the Director of Informatics is to take the sensor values from the Armband and continue to discover useful things to feed back to you about your life, like how you exercise and sleep. The BodyMedia team (from this trial) includes men and women of a variety of ages, heights, weights, and fitness levels, which I know will help to give me a good variety of results – on top of the fun we had together completing yet another real world test of our Bands.

The team at BodyMedia enjoyed helping out by taking this spin class. Though the hour-long cycling class was physically difficult, the real work begins now. The Armband data from the class will be used to test our latest algorithms, and then gets added to our vast data base of activity. My team will now be sitting at our desks plugging away at these results, evaluating and refining our algorithms even further. This is just one small example of all of the testing we do. As for you, I hope you try a cycling class. It’s a challenging, fun way to exercise AND significantly increases your calorie burn – really, what could be better?

*Data on file.

Adventures by Nic Series

Although I’ve been back from the SXSW conference that was held in Austin for a few weeks now, I’m still keyed-up from all of the energy around our product at the show and from the increased interest in technology healthcare solutions among the tech community.

Now we all know that Austin is known for its great music and tasty BBQ, but for the week of SXSW Interactive, it’s all about technology and social media.  This was the first official year that healthcare was a track at the show. So, as leaders in the health and wellness body monitoring space, we had to shake things up and build upon our data API kickoff from the SXSW show last year.

Some might think a BodyMedia marketing team member might be out of place among all of these tech gurus at the party, oops, I mean conference.  Well, not when I’m hooking people up with free product, literally, in return for making them do crazy stuff.

During the conference we hosted the “Work Your App Off” contest. The contest featured twenty influential members of the tech community who wore the BodyMedia FIT LINK Armband throughout the conference and competed for the titles of Craziest with the highest level activity and then the other side of the coin, Laziest with the least amount of activity, STEPPrimacy (most steps), and Insomniac (least sleep).The challengers used an upcoming Bluetooth upload feature to send real-time BodyMedia FIT data from the mobile application to the cloud server- so we could see their progress, or lack of it, in real-time online.

We then developed a custom application using our open data API – a leader board Facebook application that showed each challengers’ progress in real-time for each category. We showcased the app in the Circus Mashimus Lounge in the Austin Convention Center with our API partner, Mashery, and on the Pepsi jumbo-tron. The contest brought a lot of exposure to our API among attendees as people closely monitored the progress of participants and saw firsthand some of the cool things developers can create using health and fitness data.

The board helped to illustrate and highlight some recent updates to the API that includes a faster, more interactive iteration for different categorizations of the data. The real-time experiment proved endless opportunities can be created with the combination of BodyMedia data, our open API, and the technology.  It also provided a great backdrop for all of the discussions about the world of health colliding with technology.

By bringing to life a real-time application of the API, we had a lot of great interest in the API among developers and we are excited about future collaborations with these developers to expand the uses for BodyMedia data. You can find more information about our data API at developer.bodymedia.com

The passion for our product at SXSW was energizing and until my next adventure, I will look forward to seeing some of the applications that come from participants at the show, oh and let me know if anyone has an idea of where we should adventure to next!

Motivation has always been a big piece of the puzzle for trying to lose weight and manage a healthy lifestyle. When we make a resolution or set out to accomplish something, we are always razor- focused initially….but then let’s face it, your daily routine gets in the way, or the method you are using just doesn’t seem to be right for you.

To me, these two points illustrate a need for new ways and options to help people stay on-track and this is why everyone is excited about the role technology can play, a notion that is starting to become commonplace in the healthcare and technology dialogue.

And…it’s not only the tech and medical community that sees the value of weight loss technology, but also some big name fitness experts, like Jillian Michaels. As some of you may know, Jillian has long been a supporter of BodyMedia, dating back to The Biggest Loser television show. We love Jillian as a partner because she is such a believer in how knowledge and technology can be a powerful motivator in helping to achieve wellness goals and we are equally excited to introduce the Jillian Michaels 360° Weight Loss Navigator program.

I have heard from many that Jillian‘s tough- as- nails approach has been a proven method for motivation, including my own sister who pretended Jillian was looking over her shoulder during her weight loss efforts. Now there doesn’t have to be any pretending. Participants in the 360° program can wear their BodyMedia FIT Armband to track all of their data. Then, when they log on to JillianMichaels.com to sync their data, they can also access support, recipes, exercises and advice from Jillian, including daily feedback from Jillian based on personalized goals, progress, and body metrics.

We all know there is no silver bullet of motivation. What motivates me might be very different from what motivates others. That’s what makes us individuals! Over time we will look to integrate with a range of partners that can find value in our body monitoring data in unique and motivating ways. Partnering with Jillian to create this new program for her community is the first step of this journey.

So for some extra motivation, your personal fitness trainer Jillian Michaels can come in to give you some helpful and powerful motivation, Jillian style! If you have already tried the 360 Weight Loss Navigator, let us know how it’s helped to motivate you.

I recently returned from an exciting week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The action-packed show is always a great way to energize me and kickoff the New Year, and this year was no exception. During the week, BodyMedia participated in several panel discussions about the evolution and importance of body monitoring. As the leaders in body monitoring, it is very fulfilling to see all of the lively discussion about the different innovations and applications for our unique technology. What was once   considered just a great idea,  has become mainstream as a clinically proven lifestyle management solution. This is evidenced by all of the partners we are working with like IBM, Qualcomm, and Sprint, to name a few, on new innovations and applications. During the show, we had demos at many of our partner booths to highlight new products, one of which is an exciting new form of body monitoring.

Because the CES show is all about innovation, we seized the opportunity to display a prototype of a new product we are launching in 2012 with Avery Dennison Medical Solutions.  The output of this partnership will revolutionize the category, a slick new body monitoring patch that will enable more people to utilize the benefit of our technology. The patch can be worn for seven days as a tool for consumers to see how body monitoring can help them change their behavior. Although weight loss is the initial application for the patch, many opportunities are present in new areas ,  such as  corporate wellness programs, remote elder care and safety, and monitoring of lifestyle conditions for a variety of health conditions for the patch.

My New Year’s resolution to you is to continue our innovation efforts to enhance your customer experience and ensure more people can access the benefit of using the BodyMedia technology to take control of their health and wellness. One of the best things about the New Year’s Resolution is knowing that you have the power to make changes; we are all self-empowered to take control and ignite passion for change.  I am proud to say that it’s only January and we as a Company have already made great progress against one of our own resolutions…to expand the benefit of body monitoring with our new partnership announcements.

This week hear from Katrina, our Innovation Manager, about some great new product features for BodyMedia FIT:

Sometimes work doesn’t have to feel like work.  And, when you get a chance to work on and play with features in the new Activity Manager release, it doesn’t always feel like work.  And, as the Product Innovation Manager here at BodyMedia, I’m very excited that we can finally share some new features with BodyMedia FIT users.

Over the past month, we have launched four new features to the Activity Manager.  Some are open to all of our consumers, and others are BETA versions available to select consumers.  Why are some BETA, you may ask?  Well, that’s because we have great features, but we know that we’ll need input from you to make them better.

New enhancements and images include:

•  FIT coach personalized feedback was created thanks to all of the data and learnings from the data collected (5,000 data points per minute) from our users over the years. The system analyzes your daily calorie burn and food log data to predict whether you are falling short, right on track, or doing better than your daily calorie burn, activity, nutrition, and weight loss goals. If you are behind, it provides you with personalized feedback on how to reach your goals. Feedback will also provide praise and tips.  A little known fact, until now, is that many of the system tips were provided by the people who know the system best – BodyMedia employees.

You can read your feedback by clicking on the blue thought bubbles.  For physical activity, we built a little interactivity.  For any activity suggestion that we provide you with, you also have the option to choose from a list of other activities that you may like to do as well.  To learn more about the Feedback and view some examples, click here.

• Estimated Calorie Burn, available to all users, is utilized by the BETA Feedback feature to determine how many calories you are expected to burn by the end of the day.  The system calculates your daily expected calorie burn using your actual calories burned so far for the day and an estimate of your typical daily activities for the rest the day based on your historical data.  Your normal high intensity workouts, such as running or aerobics, are not included in the historical data estimate. Why? Because we want to motivate you to keep doing them and give you options to mix up your routine.  Scroll over the light blue bar in the calories burned row to see your estimated calorie burn number for the day.

• Heart Rate is a valuable fitness measurement and many users have expressed interest in viewing this data in the Activity Manager. The Activity Manager now adds the ability to import and display heart rate data from select devices.
• Detailed Weight Summary Bar was added by popular request.  Many users wanted a tool to quickly see where they stand within their current weight loss program and understand how much weight they’ve lost since starting with BodyMedia FIT. Learn more about the last three features here.

Know that we do listen to your ideas to enhance the BodyMedia product offerings.  And,  I hope you find value in the new features.  I did.  After a few weeks of product testing, this mom to a toddler was finally able to drop those last few pounds and fit into pants I haven’t been able to wear for a couple of  years.   I hope you find a similar reward for yourself for the holidays!

Let me know your thoughts! Post a comment.

Check out the post below from Andres Moran, co-founder of Earndit, about collaborating with BodyMedia to allow users to earn rewards for being active.

Is the simple pleasure of completing a great workout enough to keep you going back to the gym?  Well, sometimes, but earning rewards is definitely better. Earndit, a fitness rewards platform, is thrilled about the recent launch of the integration with BodyMedia and the potential it has for both communities. Earndit allows you to get free rewards from high-quality companies simply by being active. Devices, such as BodyMedia FIT, are a perfect integration with Earndit since we don’t allow users to manually enter their workout information. Points are awarded based on how active you are and then you spend your points on the rewards you want such as clothing, healthy snacks, jewelry, personal training, skincare, art, gadgets and more.  All of our rewards are generously provided by companies that share our mission to motivate you to lead a healthier life, so they want to recognize your efforts by making it possible for you to try their amazing products.

 In addition to getting free rewards, you can also compete in challenges on Earndit. There are two types of challenges that you can join.  Sponsored challenges are open to everyone, and the prizes are given by the company sponsoring the challenge.  You can also create your own private challenges among a group of friends, family or co-workers. These private challenges can even include a prize for the winner if you each want to pony up a few bucks for the prize (that always makes things more fun!).

 We’ve known for a while that BodyMedia makes a really sophisticated body monitoring device and has an avid, dedicated user base. It’s for those reasons that we were flattered when the company approached us about integrating with Earndit. Through this integration, we’re able to add value to BodyMedia by giving all of you free rewards for using the Armband, and in turn, you are adding value to Earndit by connecting with our reward partners and participating in challenges. Each of you brings a little spark to our growing community!

 Getting Technical

The integration of BodyMedia with Earndit was done by way of BodyMedia’s API (short for “Application Programming Interface”). BodyMedia provides a simple and secure API solution for developers to interact with their data. The data includes many different types of measurements from the BodyMedia FIT Armband (i.e. steps, calorie burn, activity levels, METs, sleep duration and efficiency) and information provided manually by users (weight, caloric intake, etc.). Using OAuth authentication, BodyMedia FIT users have complete control over their information by opting in to third-party services, such as Earndit, before these services can retrieve data from BodyMedia’s API.

 We have found the minute-by-minute breakdown of MET information to be particularly useful when developing a formula to accurately reward BodyMedia’s users for their activities. We give you points for every minute where your MET level is 3 or higher, and the higher the MET level the more points you get.

 Let’s Get Moving

Working with BodyMedia has been a positive experience as their team has been responsive throughout the implementation and enthusiastic in making sure we had a successful launch. As for you, we have found BodyMedia FIT users are not only a dedicated group, but have proven to be an extremely kind group, who are respectful of others and grateful for the rewards provided by our reward partners.

 Thank you! We look forward to seeing all of you earn rewards for being active and with the upcoming holidays, maybe you can spread the joy of rewards.

 www.earndit.com

This week hear from Steve, our CIO, about a recent Developer Challenge hosted by BodyMedia:

Anyone who is trying to make changes to their lifestyle knows that staying motivated and engaged increases your chances of achieving and maintaining your wellness goals.  At BodyMedia, we are looking closely at the tools we can give our users
to increase their chances of success.

As the Chief Information Officer, an area of focus for me is to enable the success of our users by looking at new ways to use the Armband’s data as well as through building new social media communities. One way we will accomplish our goals is through our API process, and working with developers to come up with new uses for our product.

Recently through Health 2.0, we hosted a Developer Challenge called “Get Moving” which was a challenge to address both overall health and fitness by creating social media engagements using our technology.

The winning team CTIS, which specializes in health information technology, created an app called FitTogether: A Social Application for BodyMedia FIT using Google+.

The new social media prototype application is a great example of using our technology to create connectivity among our users.  This allows users to participate in health challenges and seek out additional resources to help them manage their health. It also illustrates the many opportunities that can be created using our BodyMedia data.

Below, David Dimock, Sr. Health Analyst & Associate of CTIS shares his thoughts on FitToghether:

The FitToghether prototype application was developed to expand the capabilities of social media networks, promoting behavioral changes in health. Currently, supporters of social media technologies typically use interactive sites such as Facebook and Google+ to promote ideas and events, share social experiences, and participate in interactive application based games.  Expanding the social  media landscape to include health applications that engage patients in their wellness provides an avenue for long-term health maintenance.

The question now becomes what types of health applications promote long-term behavioral change?  Socializing fitness – an element that is central to our FitTogether application – supports peer encouragement and friendly accountability resulting in prolonged fitness and wellness.  The emergence of health devices, such as the BodyMedia FIT Armband, empowers people to be more health conscious by closely monitoring their health status. Through combining the popularity and influence of social media with technologies and devices to promote health engagement, we came up with FitTogether.

FitTogether is a dynamic fitness application developed for groups of people to encourage and challenge peers through shared biometric tracking.  Biometrics such as calories consumed, steps taken, and weight can be used a as an objective way to evaluate progress.  The Google+ users can selectively choose both who gets to see their respective biometrics and which challenges to participate in.

The FitTogether application will have a range of challenges suitable for every age and fitness level, allowing users to form groups around appropriate fitness levels. Awards and accolades are granted for participants completing a fitness challenge.  By altering exercises and the complexity of challenges, the users remain engaged in their health and socialize their experiences with peers, friends and family.

Using the BodyMedia data and metric dashboard provided a seamless fit for our concept.  The metrics from the BodyMedia FIT Activity Manager database are easily understood by the user and provide a comprehensive health snapshot – ultimately forming a holistic view of a person’s wellness profile.

As evidenced by FitTogether, there are emerging opportunities for social media to integrate within the healthcare space. Permeating the healthcare space is a progressive way that social media platforms can energize people to manage their health and wellness.

I believe it’s important for BodyMedia to be involved in both research and in building relationships with key opinion and thought leaders on subjects related to weight management and wellness.  I recently had the opportunity to attend the annual gathering of the Obesity Society meeting in Orlando, where I had the chance to see firsthand all of the great developments and passion in addressing America’s Obesity epidemic.

Conferences such as these provide a forum for participants, professionals and researchers who have a finger on the pulse of what’s happening – to discuss treatment tools, technology, and information.  It’s also an opportunity to form new collaborations that can advance the benefit of body monitoring devices and highlight the contributions BodyMedia is already making in this arena.

BodyMedia’s twelve years of body monitoring experience have put us in the unique position of having amassed one of the largest living databases of information about the human body.  We realize the value of this information, especially when shared with experts in related fields who share our goals of advancing the understanding and treatment of obesity and weight management.

During the conference, we presented research findings of an innovative new study conducted with Dr. Bob Kushner from The Northwestern Comprehensive Center on Obesity. I am pleased that as a lifestyle management company we were able to make a significant contribution to the dialogue on the importance that sleeps plays in weight management.

It’s no secret that a good night’s sleep can contribute, in some cases significantly, to improved overall health.  Our research focused on the role that gender and weight management play in overall sleep patterns and its impact on Body Mass Index (BMI).

The information used for the study was taken from participants wearing the BodyMedia FIT™ Armband.  It represents one of the largest epidemiological studies to illustrate a link between BMI and sleep using actual measurements taken from the body.  Following are some of the studies’ key findings:

• Although there is wide variation, there are significant differences in mean sleep time between certain BMI categories.
• Gender is an important factor in explaining the relationship between sleep and BMI.
• Overall, people with higher BMIs had less sleep, but the increase in weight and sleep is more closely related in women than men.

I was excited to be a part of some lively and thought provoking discussions at the conference in Orlando and left there believing, more strongly than ever, that we have an important role to play in addressing the obesity epidemic both at the research and patient care level.

Technology is becoming more embraced by obesity thought leaders and body monitoring is starting to gain momentum, but we have a tremendous opportunity for more collaboration and education.

Our technology is already being used and recognized by leaders and physicians in the field of obesity and weight management as an evidenced-based technology solution that can serve as an important bridge in the patient-healthcare professional relationship. Clinicians are able to monitor patients’ progress without having the patient visit the office on a regular basis.

I am committed to continue to develop and strengthen relationships among the medical community, in part by demonstrating that the data provided by our products can serve as a trusted partner to use in treating their patients, leading to more success, which is a shared goal among all of us in the field.

Note: The BodyMedia Armband has been used in over 120 clinical studies. Contact us at research@bodymedia.com  if you are interested in using the Armband for a study.

Note from Chris:  There are many aspects of the BodyMedia experience that make us unique, one being the versatility of the Armband. I must admit when I saw the success story of a rising star in the emerging sport of female cage fighting, it wasn’t a use I had thought of but it’s a great example!

Laura’s story illustrates professional strength and dedication. I’m thrilled that our Armband helped her win her competition and achieve an important personal milestone.  Laura has an amateur record of 3-1 for female mixed martial arts fighting and has been acclaimed as a rising star to watch in a sport that is just starting to see females as legitimate competitors.

Way to go on your accomplishments, Laura!

 Now here from BodyMedia user, Laura: 

  A lot weighs on my mind when preparing for a competition. Is my training regimen vigorous enough to get into shape or burn enough calories to qualify me for my weight class?  Am I eating enough of the right kind of foods? Mixed martial arts require a lot of body and mind preparation. Being in tune with your body and knowing its signs are keys to success.

 I feel like I’m on the cutting edge of an exciting sport that can really help women feel self-confident about their body’s ability.  It’s a challenging and self-empowering sport, one that gives me a lot of confidence about my physicality that also spills over into other parts of my life. But along with the highs from the sport, there are also many obstacles to overcome.

Four weeks from my competition, I find myself needing to lose 9 percent of my body weight in a month to fight in the Strawweight class – the class that will give me the best chance of winning and best matches my body type.

With a full-time day job as retail entrepreneur, I face the same challenges that a lot of people do – how to fit in my gym time and eat the right kinds of foods so my body can keep up with the demands of training.  I know it’s going to be quite a challenge, but the chance to compete in the sport I love is worth the effort.

There is one big piece of my training regime that helps keep me focused and motivated – my BodyMedia FIT Armband.  By using the Armband, I am able to count the calories I am burning from my workouts and understand my levels of vigorous activity. I log my food into the online Activity Manager or directly into the mobile app to understand my calories in and calories out, and identify eating trends to give me the optimal energy.

I use the Armband’s data to make needed adjustments to my diet and exercise.  For instance, after day one of training, I was able to see my calorie ratio was not going to be enough to reach my weight goal, so I had to make some changes.  I can also identify the activities that burn the most calories, like a crazy new exercise I tried one day (don’t try it at home) – a side plank with my free arm lifting a heavy rope and banging it to the floor to burn 7.4 calories a minute.

Using the BodyMedia FIT system, I am able to track my diet closely to ensure I know my protein, carb, and fat ratio. Ideally during my weight loss periods I consume 130-150g of protein, 75-100g of carbs and 50-60g of healthy fat a day. Keeping close track of my intake levels is essential and the Activity Manager is my best friend when it comes to helping me meet my diet goals.

Another great aspect is the accuracy. By gathering so many different data points off of the body like skin conductivity and steps taken, the Armband is able to give me numbers with precision accuracy which is imperative when it comes to weigh-in time. I am lucky to work with an amazing team of trainers, but having the valuable information has definitely been a secret training weapon.

With much fluxation and retooling, I make weight for my bout.  However there is one more glitch to overcome before the match.  The night before the Titan Fighting Championship, I learn my opponent is unable to fight.  So at 9 pm the night before, my mind begins to relax only to find hours later that an opponent was identified at the last minute, so I am back on!

I am excited about my win and with the next competition looming, the process will soon start over again, but I will be armed with my band and know I will be mentally and physically prepared, easing all of the pre-competition factors that weigh on my mind.