Anyone using a standard pedometer/cal counter during their exercise? How accurate are these things? I'm sure the bodybugg type of device works great, but I just bought a much cheaper pedometer and I dwonder how accurate the cal counting can be.

I have the OMRON Pocket pedometer. It find it is pretty accurate. I have both the one with the software and the one without. I wouldn't waste the extra money on the one with software. I find it is easier to keep an excel spreadsheet for the information I want. Many of my friends have also purchased them after seeing mine. I hated wearing one on my hip. This one I just put in my pants pocket.

Of note also - it was washed and dried and still works; I ran it over with my care and it still works; spilled an entire pot of hot Soup on it and it still works.

I would prefer the bodybugg but $19 versus $350?! There is no question. I need the $350 to pay for my fills.

I use a Nike heart rate monitor. They are supposed to be really accurate. It tracks my heart rate during exercise and provides data about how many calories I burned. It was about $100.

the Bodybugg sounds amazing, but you are supposed to wear it 24/7 which is not something I'm interesting in doing.

I only use one occasionally to track a running route - since I've found there's a BIG difference to driving it in the car and running the actual route, I've overestimated by as much as a 2 kms in the car (since you drive round the "outside" of the route on the road, rather than on the footpath type of thing.

Yeah, do an 11km run and the calories burned is MASSIVE, but really what matters is how it affects your weight and I find at this point in time I can quite easily burn 1100 calories in a run, and eat 1500 that day and not lose any weight! In fact I've done that routinely for months and months and months and stayed the same. So I dont obsess over it.

I can quite easily burn 1100 calories in a run, and eat 1500 that day and not lose any weight! In fact I've done that routinely for months and months and months and stayed the same. So I dont obsess over it.

I know, that is really difficult and perplexing. I still haven't figured out how I can run a calorie deficit and not lose weight. What gives?

Its because for starters, I'm a seasoned runner and my body has become efficient at it so I probably DONT burn 1100 calories even though the *charts* or my HRM which I plug my height, weight, age, gender into says I should. I probably burn significantly less. Secondly just because *charts* say I should burn X calories a day doesnt mean my body actually does it - I mean, I've forced 80lb off my body over the last 18 months, its smarter than I am, perhaps its figured out a way to react so that I dont starve to death?

Who knows?

I mean, I've forced 80lb off my body over the last 18 months, its smarter than I am, perhaps its figured out a way to react so that I dont starve to death?

LOL...I love that Jachut....

I received a free pedometer/radio from the Lap-Band System people, but cannot figure out how to calibrate it, so I haven't used it at all. I probably should, however, because I'm very sedentary (I'm a crafter/greeting card designer), and have a desk job during the daytime, and really need to get those 10,000 steps a day...

Do you find them helpful?