Automatically Track Calories – No More Food Logs!

When I visit the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) each year, I have the opportunity to see tech products that most people will never hear about.  Why won’t you hear about them?  Because every year, 20,000 new products are introduced at CES and not all of them will be featured in the news or even make it to the market.

Many times it’s all about survival of the fittest.  Those companies with the most money are more likely to get their messages out so consumers can hear about them.

But I’m happy to report that there are still a good number of smaller tech companies with amazing products that are still going strong, they just lack the funding to advertise on a grand scale. 

One company, HealBe, I’ve been watching at CES for them the past three years.  They created a wearable that can track calories for you…and it actually works!

This year at CES I visited them again and was pleased to see they debuted their second version of the GoBe, now called the GoBe 2.  It has come a long way since their first release, greatly improving its features and functions.

HealBe calls the GoBe 2 a smart life band for good reason.  It can track your calories eaten and expended, steps, heart rate, water levels, stress level, and more.  It’s a pretty amazing tracker.

Automatically Track Calories?

The GoBe is the first of its kind to track calories automatically, without the need of a food log.  In addition, it tracks hydration levels – it’s the first time I’ve ever seen visually what happens when I drink coffee first thing in the morning.  It takes me quite a while to get my water level back up.

Is the GoBe 2 accurate?  HealBe claims it’s accurate by 85% right out of the box but improves over time after you enter more information during the registration period and wear it more. 

This 85% has the advantage over nutrition labels which FDA allows a wide latitude by 20% in either direction (20% more or 20% less than stated).  In addition, with food logs, you need to remember to enter everything in for them to be accurate.

So How Does it Work? 

The patented Healbe FLOW technology  “uses a non-invasive impedance sensor that calculates the volume of water inside and outside cells in the user’s body. Measurements are made continuously (every minute) tracking the movement of water in the cells, which is affected by the consumption of carbs and protein, to evaluate nutritional intake and calculate fat and calories digested over 24 hour periods.”

So basically, after you eat, the cells in your bloodstream begin to release water over time as they absorb the new glucose.  HealBe FLOW technology tracks the change in water by assessing the size and shape of your cells.  Based on this information, the HealBe FLOW algorithm calculates the amount of calories you’ve eaten.

It’s important to note, however, that the GoBe 2 can only track digested calories, not calories consumed.  Food can take anywhere from 1 to 72 hours to move through your digestive tract.  The process of digestion depends upon the amounts and types of food you’ve eaten as well as your gender, metabolism, and any digestive issues you may have that speeds up or slows down the process.

Interestingly enough, sugary junk foods and candy bars are the quickest to be processed, taking only a matter of hours.  This is why you often hunger again after eating sweet junk foods.

 

Your Energy Balance score equates to the calories used by the number of your steps minus the calories you consumed.

Typically, I have seen spikes in my calories consumed between four and six hours after food was consumed.  It’s not uncommon to see that more food digestion data occurring while you’re sleeping.

How Many Calories Can You Eat?

In case you don’t know how many calories you need each day to maintain (or lose weight), you can find your Basal Metabolic Rate (per LiveStrong.com) using these calculations:

WOMEN:  Calculate (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x your age) + 655 to find your BMR.

In addition to knowing how many calories I consumed and expended, the GoBe 2 app also breaks your nutrition into Fats, Carbs, and protein, which I found pretty fascinating.  To get a better idea of what to shoot for, I researched online and found the following US Dietary Guidelines from 2010:

• 45%-65%   CARBS
• 10%-35%   PROTEIN
• 20-35%      FAT

Of course, this depends upon the type of diet you’re on.  Certainly, these numbers need to change if your Keto, Gluten-free, Adkins, etc.

Though note that HealBe states that the calorie intake feature has proven accuracy above 85% if you have mixed diet (carbs+fat+protein in usual proportion) and don’t have any significant metabolic deviation.

I have used the GoBe 2 for the last couple of months.  I wear it every day for about 23 hours a day. I charge it daily while taking my daughter to school and put it back on after taking my shower.  On average, I tend to have a negative balance anywhere from -40 to -300. I do not necessarily lose weight the next day, even with a negative balance of -300.

Nonetheless, I know that if I have a surplus of calories on one day, I need to cut back more the next day or two, so it really helps to have the energy balance number.  It also keeps me off the scale more and puts more control into my hands in evaluating my choices throughout the day.

Three Options to See Your Results:

1.  Sync up your GoBe 2 with your HealBe app, available from Apple Store & Google Play (keeps data for a week)
2.  Sign into your account at myhealbe.com, this method gives your latest stats every 5 minutes and no syncing is necessary (keeps data since you began wearing it)
3.  Just check your GoBe 2 band to see (real-time):
   • Time
   • Battery percentage left
   • Current heart rate
   • Energy balance
   • Steps taken
   • Mileage walked
   • H20 balance

Again for real-time, checking the GoBe 2 band is the way to do it.  The heart rate sensor is very helpful when exercising to keep an eye on your heart’s reaction to your fitness. 

Is the GoBe 2 Accurate?

As stated above, the GoBe 2 is 85% accurate right out of the box and improves after you enter some additional information upon registration and consistent use.  The big question is, will it help you lose weight?  

HealBe allows you to export your data from the myhealbe.com website.  Although I didn’t do this, I found someone online, Angus Logan, who not only exported his GoBe 2 data but also logged his food intake in his Fitness Pal app at the same time.  He also exported his Fitness Pal data and did some analysis of the results from the two sources.

After a month, he found the calories consumed to be extremely close between Fitness Pal and his GoBe 2 data, he was shocked.  He actually lost 5.4 pounds of fat.  According to Angus’ analysis of fat loss in both the Fitness Pal and the GoBe 2, he should have lost 6 pounds.  So his fat loss was very close to what the GoBe 2 shows (with calculations done by Angus).

The GoBe 2 tracks your heart rate throughout the day and the app even allows you to take your blood pressure!

Features:

The GoBe 2 Measures…

1. Tracks calories automatically
2. Calories burned
3. Steps taken
4. Distance traveled
5. Heart rate
6. Sleep quality
7. Hydration levels
8. Stress level
9. Energy balance
10. Blood pressure (done through app)

One an hour the GoBe 2 checks your stress level by assessing your heart rate along with the complex analysis of your sleep quality data and anthropometrical parameters like weight, height, sex, and age.

Pros:

• Tracks calories AUTOMATICALLY!
• Educates you on how your body transports glucose
• The Energy Balance is so helpful to help motivate you and stay on track
• Gives a fuller picture of your health than any other wearable
• GoBe 2 is water-resistant for most daily activities, including swimming (except in saltwater), showering and bathing
• Continuous heartbeat shows how you react to different exercise, events, etc.
• GoBe 2 will tell you when you are experiencing noticeable “emotion,” or in other words a bit of stress for a period of 10 minutes or more
• Shows your length of sleep, REM, when you awoke, and even your anxiety through the night
• Shows your stress level throughout the day too
• Shows your hydration levels – I found I am way underhydrated, even though I drink iced tea throughout the day
• Using the app, you can actually take your blood pressure (with no squeezing!)
• Can encourage you to exercise more each day to obtain a negative energy balance

Cons:

• It’s clunky and large on your wrist
• The band needs to be on TIGHT for its calculations to compute
• A negative Energy Balance doesn’t necessarily equate to weight loss the next day
• A bit pricey
• For me, the battery lasts about 24 hours (but enough to record sleep!)
• Sometimes the Bluetooth syncing is faulty when trying to sync with the app

The HealBe GoBe 2 is available from the HealBe website for $199.99 plus shipping.  However, HealBe is offering our readers a special 10% promo code.  Use WELLCONNECTEDMOM to receive your discount.  The new colored wristbands are priced at $19.00; extra charging docks are $25.00 and charging cables are $5.00.

A Mom’s Perspective