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One of the things I like most about this monitor is, you only have to do or care about what YOU want to do or care about. In other words, if you aren't interested in increasing your exercise, you just work on your nutrition. If you aren't interested in changing your diet, you just work on your calorie expenditure. If you don't care about the quality of your sleep, just ignore that part. It doesn't require you to do anything you don't want to do. I like that! However, I'm doing ALL of it and enjoying it more than I thought I would.

Even though I have a good understanding of nutrition and a whole gym full of excellent exercise equipment, I needed a wake-up call. This little monitor is much more effective than I thought it would be. I hadn't considered getting one, but had to try it when I had the opportunity, just for fun. It's turning out to be much more than fun. It could literally be a life-saver.

At first I thought it would be a real pain having an arm band, but I rarely notice it. It's easy to download the information and check my progress once I figured out how to get it set up. That was really no big deal, but I always tend to make things harder than they have to be.

The packing is awful. I blame the dishonest people who steal things, requiring us to put up with this kind of packaging, which rips my hands when I open packages.

The armband is well made and very comfortable. After a short time I forgot it was there. It's easy to sleep in it.

First I charged the armband for 3 hours. No problem.

The step-by-step instructions were easy to follow. It has been stress free for me.

NEGATIVES:
There have been no negatives.

POSITIVES:

I love the little notes I get occasionally that say that I'm not reaching my exercise goal for today. Then it suggests a simple exercise I could do that would help get me closer to that goal. That encouragement helps nudge me to stay on track.

I absolutely love the way I can look at the graph and see the little red line, and then notice that my little 'blips' are on or even BELOW the line. That line shows me where I should be if I'm on track to reach my goal by the deadline I set for myself.

There is another 'blip' that shows me changes in my waistline, which have happened faster than my weight, and are significant in a very short period of time.

In setting that GOAL deadline, there is a 'slider' where you get to decide if you would rather cut back a little on fat/calories or if you prefer to exercise more, or maybe 50/50. You can always change it.

For example: I want to lose 30 lbs by July 15th and I want to use a combination of changes in both my diet and exercise. The red line tells me how I am doing toward that goal. I'm right on target, which is very motivating!

I have had some eye-opening experiences when evaluating my nutrition logs. There were some things that I really don't enjoy that much, and by eliminating or cutting back on those, I got to keep some of the things that I really do enjoy eating. Fantastic!

Another eye-opener from using this monitor was to see just how in trouble I really was. I was in denial, just playing around a little occasionally with doing a little exercise here and there, taking a cup less fat, (my favorite junk food) and feeling good about it when even that was piling on pounds, fat, cholesterol, and bad health. It's not easy to fool this little gadget. It works on facts. It doesn't believe the little fibs I tell it about how much fat or sugar I'm eating every day. It keeps me honest with myself.

I am making good progress, losing a little weight, losing even more inches, and gaining muscle strength. I'm pretty sure it will help with bone density (against osteoporosis) and range of motion as well, because I am being more consistent in both diet and exercise.

I am very happy with my little monitor. It's like a little instructor, teaching me how to become more fit. I love it!

Update March 4, 2012, I'm still using my BodyMedia monitor. I have learned more than ever before about food. The little monitor doesn't allow me to cheat or pretend that a certain food is what it isn't. It uses facts and tallies it all up for me every day with no room for excuses. That is working for me.