[Ruthie]

Originally Posted by Aoife

I think some of it they state themselves somewhere.
Remember that in the end, everything is using estimates and formulas… and no matter how careful you are about your intake… those calorie amounts are estimates from sampling and therefore also subject to margin of error (assuming you're getting the right info in the first place, even). So at the end of the day… it's all about the individual and how you observe your trend is relative to what your "illusion" of your burn and consumption is. So, it is certainly useful for that. You can learn what you "burn" and track that with what you "consume" and figure out what difference between those 2 numbers you need for the results you want… precisely accurate or not. ya know?

If you get it you'll likely find it useful and a big help… but it remains to be seen how closely the number it gives you matches "truth." But, it's variance will be stable and not all over the place, so that's helpful at least.

Thanks for the detailed reply. I know that nothing will be 100% accurate but formulas etc are at least free. For the money and the claims made, I would expect something more elaborate than just a formula. Also, if there is inaccuracy I am not sure that you can assume variance is stable - without knowing the causes of the inaccuracy, variance could be very different from day to day depending on the individual and the activities they are doing. For example if it does underestimate cycling then cycling 2h one day will show up as a much bigger error than on a day when you did nothing.

But readings for cardio pretty close to my treadmill or a heart monitor.
The biggest benefit is that I am so aware of my activity outside of working out. I have made many little changes (parking far away, using stairs, not hanging on the couch as much) because of this gadget. I want to hit my burns for the day, and will move more to make that happen. And, that knowledge is priceless.

It's good that it matches with your treadmill. It's true about what you say about increasing activity but then I can get that same information from my pedometer which was considerably cheaper.

I have looked on their website and they cite a single study as evidence of accuracy. I only have access to the abstract of that study but it looked at 14 individuals over 2h which is not very extensive. I am not saying all this to be awkward (I can feel everyone saying "well don't get one if you don't like it!). It's just I would love this to be good and work accurately but I have a scientific background and I am a little sceptical that they can sell it based on so little apparent evidence.