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