Everyone knows if you eat fewer calories than you expend, you lose weight.

But if it were as simple as that, there would be no multibillion-dollar industry pushing out diet books, weight-loss pills, Jenny Craig meals and all the other options out there for losing those love handles.

Some work. Some don't.

The makers of a new electronic device called the Bodybugg hope their weight-loss solution falls in the first group.

"It's a self-service tool. It coaches you how to eat and exercise, and you set your own goals so the program can more accordingly fit the calorie needs for each person," says Neal Spruce, president and chief executive of Apex Fitness Group, which makes the Bodybugg.

Users wear the 5-inch-long, oval-shaped device on their upper right arms. Four sensors gather data as long as the device is worn, tracking calorie consumption and expenditure, physical activity, skin and environment temperatures and body motion.

At night after all meals have been eaten and activity in on the decline, users download information and log food eaten onto a Web site, where all the data is analyzed and graphed to show daily results. Did you eat more calories than you used? Bodybugg can tell you the answer.

While most users download information once a day, users can access the Bodybugg Web site to download data and track progress any time.

"I like it so far . . . I want to know how [many calories] I really burn, so that was the most exciting thing to see," said Jessica Orrock, who has been wearing the Bodybugg for several weeks.

The device retails for $399, a price that includes a three-month membership to the Web site, which is the only way to access and log data. People can buy monthly memberships to the site for $14 a month or $99 a year.

Local gyms including 24-Hour Fitness and Xcel Gym sell the Bodybugg as part of packages that include sessions with personal trainers to help set weight goals and create a workout plan. If purchased online through Apex Fitness, the Bodybugg includes two phone sessions with a corporate trainer who will help activate the program and answer questions. Additional sessions with a trainer are available for an additional cost; this option applies to purchases online or through local gyms.

Many users love that the device can tell them how many calories they're burning, but a common complaint is that it can be difficult to log food. Most of the food listed on the Web site is either frozen dinners or fast food. To "build a meal" on the site, users must enter the serving size and ingredients, which some users say is harder than it sounds.

"A lot of restaurants I would go to, like Chili's and Applebee's, aren't listed, so it was difficult to log my food," said Tara Fay, who has been wearing the Bodybugg as she tries to build muscle. "Some restaurants like these have nutrition facts on their Web site, so you can enter that, but that takes a long time, so I don't do it very often."

The same can be said for meals cooked at home: All the ingredients, portions and nutrition facts must be entered manually, otherwise calorie intake isn't accurate.

"So many things I enter are not on the food list so I have to settle for something similar" said Orrock. That leads her to wonder whether her calorie burn is accurate.

Apex recognizes it can take some effort to log in food, but emphasizes that if users make sure to burn more calories than they consume, less-than-perfect documentation of food will not make a huge difference in results.

The company also offers a customer support line to address concerns about the program.

Nutritionists and even those who use the Bodybugg say it can be an effective tool, but add any attempt at weight loss requires dedication to a permanent lifestyle change.

The Bodybugg and other weight-loss tools are useful "to get your body out of a rut, out of the habits that have made you gain weight," said Julie Metos, a registered dietician and clinical instructor for the Division of Nutrition at the University of Utah.

But, "you still have to change your whole lifestyle and eat healthier [to lose or maintain weight]. When you take the Bodybugg off, you still have to eat better," Fay said.

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* ALICIA GREENLEIGH can be reached at agreenleigh@sltrib.com or 801-257-8791. Send comments to livingeditor@sltrib.com.

Try it on

FOR MORE INFORMATION

about the Bodybugg, call

1-800-656-2739 or visit

www.bodybugg.com.

UTAH GYMS that carry the

device include:

* All 24-Hour Fitness clubs

* All Xcel Spa & Fitness clubs

* The Fit Stop, 380 E. 1500 South, Heber City

* Sports Academy Inc., 1655 N. 200 East, Logan

* Focus Health & Fitness, 3939 S. Wasatch Blvd., Holladay

* The Edge Complete Personal Training, 7819 S. Highland Drive, Cottonwood Heights

* Square 1 Fitness 1206 W. South Jordan Pkwy, South Jordan

* Crossroads Fitness, 1394 E. 6000 S. South Ogden