Armband Monitoring

My employer has a strong wellness program for employees including health-related lunchtime lectures, inexpensive fitness classes, health screenings on site, etc. Recently, they started a new program that is a team weight-loss competition. They have tried to structure it to focus on healthy, long-term changes by promoting healthy weight loss through better diet and exercise. They asked me, as someone who took full advantage of this program and lost about 100 lbs, to speak at the kick-off event. It went well, though I was a bit nervous and found that I forgot several things that I wanted to say while telling my story:

• That I had testing of my body fat using the BodPod ( an accurate way to measure body fat % ) fairly early on, which indicated I was above 40% body fat when I started to work . I have had a couple more done along the way, and the last one I had last fall measured my body fat % at 14%.
• My medications have gone from five required prescriptions ( most $50/month co-pay ) to two prescriptions ( generics- a free one and a $5/month one ). And those two are ones that I wouldn't technically have to stay on- based on my research regarding their long-term use by type 2 diabetics, I've decided that it's best to stay on those two for now.
• ... and a few others

However, part of that was the struggle I had with picking out the important things to say in the talk, and my rush to complete it before it got past the scheduled time. For me, my success in getting this far wasn't because of two or three things- it was a million tiny decisions and adjustments. And I give credit for being able to do those tiny decisions mostly to a few things:

• Talking over my decisions with a number of people around me, especially my wife. She's struggled with her weight and was working on the same kinds of changes as I. She had great feedback and information on any particular decision I was trying to make. Talking with someone helps you explore possible answers until you find the right one- even if their answer isn't the one you end up with. 
• Having specific, reasonable goals that challenge me and have a set deadline. If I had started with a goal to "eventually lose 100 pounds", I don't think I would have gone terribly far. I did have that general idea in my mind, but I had goals like, "Get my protein intake up above 15% in the next two weeks, while still eating healthy" and "Run the Turkey Trot 5-mile race next Thanksgiving at a pace of 10 minutes / mile or better". These goals had a deadline and a measurable goal that weren't easy but weren't beyond my grasp. These short-term, reasonable goals helped me keep making day-to-day decisions that contributed to the ultimate goal- a healthier body and lifestyle.
• Having great data to help me understand if I am progressing towards my goals right this second. I couldn't believe in things that calculated my calorie burn by, for example, having me say I ran for 20 minutes. How hard was I running? How does it know how hard my particular body had to work to do that? Granted, this could produce and estimate, but it was too easy to be way off through cumulative estimation errors. 

The data mostly came through the  BodyMedia Fit device that I found fairly early on. This device is worn on your arm all day long, and measures a number of pieces of data about your activity. It has been evaluated and found to be highly accurate. By using the display device on your belt or as a watch, I can see at a glance where I stand for the day with my activities. Using the "Activity Manager" software, I can log the food I eat and track my calorie intake. I can also set daily activity goals, and easily get feedback to achieve them. It even evaluates your sleep, so you know how soundly you are sleeping and how long each night- another essential to health and weight loss.
Thc BodyMedia company has recently release their latest version, which includes a Bluetooth-enabled version that will sync in real-time using your Bluetooth-enabled Droid or iPhone. I haven't spent the money to replace mine, but I will definitely go that way when I do. With the release of the Bluetooth device, prices dropped a bit, but it's still expensive to do the initial purchase- around $200, without the Display Device.
A couple of quirks / notes if you get one of these. If you use the display device in the wristband strap, be careful that it doesn't fall out of the device. After I lost it a couple of times (and had to spend $80 to replace it), I started using just a dab of silicone seal to make sure it didn't fall out. This is one thing that BodyMedia needs to fix, thought it's possible they have already done that. The other area of weakness that they had problems is in the velcro strap that holds the armband on your arm. The velcro would pull loose from the plastic tab long before the strap itself was worn out. After I had spent over $100 just on replacement straps, I had enough and complained loudly to their customer service. They said it was a known issue that they were working on, and they would send me another strap free. I've done that a couple of times now. In my opinion, these straps should last at least a year.

The big positive here is Customer Service. I've gotten upset at BodyMedia a few times in this process, but once I got a Customer Service rep on the phone, they have always made it right. Just remember my final tip in this area: call them on the phone. I've had less responsive answers from email queries for some reason.
Putting all of these pieces together worked for me. If you decide to make a similar change, consider what will work for you in a similar way. Get solid information, set challenging but achievable goals, and get feedback as often as you can on how you are doing in your progress towards those goals.