All day HRM?

makelemonade14

I have a fitbit flex, but am curious if there is a more accurate way to estimate all day calorie burn? I'm a teacher so my day to day activity fluctuates quite a bit. I also have been doing piyo, so would like a hr reading for that workout too. Any recommendations? I know a polar with chest strap isn't meant for that use, the fitbit charge hr doesn't have great reviews for accuracy, and I think the jawbone up3 will only measure resting hr (when it eventually comes out.) am I missing an obvious option? I have 60 more pounds to lose but really like data, and want to learn more about how my body works for long term success.

KarenJanine

2 of the new Fitbit models (Charge HR and Surge) are all-day activity trackers that have HRMs built in to give a good estimation of all day calorie burn. I hope to upgrade my older Fitbit as soon as finaces allow.

oops, just re-read that you've read reviews on the Charge HR.

blankiefinder

A Polar HRM is only meant to be used while working out and as per Polar itself, will not give you an accurate calorie burn for the day. I'll try to find the link.

blankiefinder

Oh, I just wanted to add that what you do at work that wouldn't be considered exercise is better taken care of by adjusting your mfp activity level (i.e. sedentary, lightly active etc) and then you don't have to log the little stuff, just the true exercise that you do. I think that would help with losing.

MeanderingMammal

makelemonade14 wrote: »

...and want to learn more about how my body works for long term success.

Do a bit of that first, then you'll identify that an HRM isn't appropriate for either your training, or assessing your BMR

makelemonade14

I have my activity level set as lightly active, which is how I usually end up with an extra 400-600 fitbit calories at the end of the day. I usually get between 4000-9000 steps in at work, and 10-20 "active minutes" on my fitbit. My weekend days at home fit more closely to true lightly active. I've only been logging my dedicated exercise calories, but I was hoping to better understand the huge fitbit adjustment. I'm not sure I believe it's accurate... I'm new to learning abut the relationship between fitness and nutrition, so just looking for tools to better understand. I'm a nerd that way.

MeanderingMammal

Avoid the marketing blurb related to HRMs and look into how HRMs are designed to operate. Marketeers are third up against the wall come the time of the glorious revolution.

Essentially the relationship between HR and calorie consumption is only valid in a limited range of scenarios. Note that lots of people on here don't understand that and pimp them as some kind of magic bullet.

makelemonade14

MeanderingMammal wrote: »

Avoid the marketing blurb related to HRMs and look into how HRMs are designed to operate. Marketeers are third up against the wall come the time of the glorious revolution.

Essentially the relationship between HR and calorie consumption is only valid in a limited range of scenarios. Note that lots of people on here don't understand that and pimp them as some kind of magic bullet.

That's a good point, thank you. I will keep reading. I'm probably looking for a way to see data that probably isn't possible to obtain.

blankiefinder

Personally I wouldn't log or eat back the extra calories from the fitbit unless you had done something unusual. If you just want to log for your personal reference later, you can always add a note to your diary when you log (it's at the bottom) or log it but change the calories to 1.

makelemonade14

blankiefinder wrote: »

Personally I wouldn't log or eat back the extra calories from the fitbit unless you had done something unusual. If you just want to log for your personal reference later, you can always add a note to your diary when you log (it's at the bottom) or log it but change the calories to 1.

Thanks!
I don't eat them back, because I'm working hard for the calorie deficit right now. I'm sticking to around 1200 cals/day, but like I said my activity level is all over the place from day to day so I'm just trying to learn my daily needs a bit better. Almost every day is a bit unusual as a special ed teacher. It takes 2 minutes of fast walking to get from one end of my school building to the other, and I do that a gazillion times some days. Sometimes at a sprint if I'm tailing a kid who ran. I'm transferring 80 pound kids from wheelchairs to equipment multiple times too. Then there are days when I do paperwork for a big chunk and am truly lightly active.

Anyways, I really have read quite a bit, and the overall message is eat less than you use, but not below a certain threshold. I was hoping there was a way to figure out my daily info a bit, but it appears not so that's ok. I'm losing at a fair clip right now and should probably increase my calories a bit on work days. (My next purchase will be a food scale for accuracy. With not measuring weight of food and every drop of oil I use for roasting veggies, I'm sure I'm already eating a bit more than logged. I figure 100-150 calories, so I aim to log 1050-1100.)

blankiefinder

Once you have your food scale, if you accurately track all of your calories and weight for the month, you can calculate how fast you are losing compared to your projected loss and figure out where you need to be for your goals.

For example, if over that month your projected loss based on your MFP deficit + any excess deficits - any overages, you have lost more or less than you should have, then you can figure out where your calories should be for the loss you want. If you've lost more, then either you've burned more calories in your logged exercise, or you burn more in your day than your settings.

makelemonade14

That's a reasonable solution. Thank you!

pattyjoshockley

I have the fitbit surge for 2 days now. I doubt that it is super accurate, but combined with diligent food tracking it does help me to see how much of a deficit I am getting each day. For some reason I find having it motivating. I find that I exercise more often and at a higher intensity when I have the feedback from the surge. I wore it on the treadmill and used the chest strap for the treadmill at the same time. Both heart rates were within a few beats of each other for the duration of the workout. It is accurate enough in my opinion. The increased motivation to meet step goals and calorie goals has been helpful to me.

I don't think anyone needs to have this kind of tech. It's not a magic bullet of any kind. I'm just kind of nerdy and like gadgets.

blankiefinder

pattyjoshockley wrote: »

I have the fitbit surge for 2 days now. I doubt that it is super accurate, but combined with diligent food tracking it does help me to see how much of a deficit I am getting each day. For some reason I find having it motivating. I find that I exercise more often and at a higher intensity when I have the feedback from the surge. I wore it on the treadmill and used the chest strap for the treadmill at the same time. Both heart rates were within a few beats of each other for the duration of the workout. It is accurate enough in my opinion. The increased motivation to meet step goals and calorie goals has been helpful to me.

I don't think anyone needs to have this kind of tech. It's not a magic bullet of any kind. I'm just kind of nerdy and like gadgets.

I use a heart rate monitor at the gym too, Patty, for that it is great! It just doesn't work to wear it all day to calculate your TDEE

ivygirl1937

I have had the Fitbit Charge HR for about a month and a half and I think the calorie burns are pretty accurate, actually. I still don't eat back my exercise calories but I definitely know how I'm doing during the day.

T1DCarnivoreRunner

I have been using the Surge since yesterday, so not an expert. Also, even if I had been using a Surge since the beginning of time, different consumers have different experiences.

Having said that, I was curious about accuracy at rest because that is what everyone was saying will be way off. At one point yesterday, at rest, I took my pulse manually and compared to the Surge. My manual count was 60 and the Surge showed 61 at the time, so it was basically right on. That is just one instance, and I'm just one user, but it works really well based on my experience thus far.

RichardDiggins

The Microsoft Band is what I use. It tracks HR all day and reports it back to MFP and can be used to track workouts too. It tracks your sleeping HR and restful sleep as well. I would recommend it to anyone.

blankiefinder

midwesterner85 wrote: »

I have been using the Surge since yesterday, so not an expert. Also, even if I had been using a Surge since the beginning of time, different consumers have different experiences.

Having said that, I was curious about accuracy at rest because that is what everyone was saying will be way off. At one point yesterday, at rest, I took my pulse manually and compared to the Surge. My manual count was 60 and the Surge showed 61 at the time, so it was basically right on. That is just one instance, and I'm just one user, but it works really well based on my experience thus far.

The heart rate will be accurate at all times if it's decent, but the calorie burn will not.

spingirl605

I have a bodymedia, and it does exactly what you're looking for. I absolutely love it, and I wear it every day and love the data it provides. Only problem is that they were bought out by jawbone. Oh, and you have to pay a monthly fee (first 3 months are free) but I don't even mind that because the data is so awesome. I bought the BodyMedia Core on amazon for 79.99 which is a heck of a lot cheaper than jawbone's new one that is supposed to be as good...I'm not sure...Anyway, i do not regret buying my body media at all!!!

MeanderingMammal

makelemonade14 wrote: »

I don't eat them back, because I'm working hard for the calorie deficit right now. I'm sticking to around 1200 cals/day, but like I said my activity level is all over the place from day to day so I'm just trying to learn my daily needs a bit better. Almost every day is a bit unusual as a special ed teacher. It takes 2 minutes of fast walking to get from one end of my school building to the other, and I do that a gazillion times some days. Sometimes at a sprint if I'm tailing a kid who ran. I'm transferring 80 pound kids from wheelchairs to equipment multiple times too. Then there are days when I do paperwork for a big chunk and am truly lightly active.

I would suggest that something of the ilk of a Fitbit or Vivofit would probably give you a good approximation of your background calorie expenditure. Whilst the wheelchair lifting and the like plays in the actual calories expended from that kind of thing is more limited, so you may have a perception of higher expenditure that actual.

Note that given whaqt you describe an HRM is of absolutely no value to you. I use one when I'm running and cycling, but if I'm doing interval sessions or sprint training I'm very sceptical of any calorie approximations that come from that. Similarly if you're below their optimal operating range.

If you are losing rapidly then the value of having this information is that your landing should be easier. It really sounds to me as if you're underfueling yourself, given that you're limiting yourself to 1200, then intentionally going under that to compensate for measurement error. Not a sustainable situation really.

You could probably afford to come up on your intake, and still lose at a sustainable rate.

Personally I don't weight or measure anything, but the amount of phys that I do means that I'm expending several hundred calories per session, so I'm left with a big deficit anyway. I currently have 1600 cals allowance for my dinner and at best I'll eat 1200.

MeanderingMammal

midwesterner85 wrote: »

different consumers have different experiences.

The physics tends to not be particularly variable though, that's the nature of the science.

Whilst it may measure spot HR with reasonable accuracy, that datum is meaningless without context.

Have you been in a lab and had your maximum heart rate and lactate threshold measured? Without those key items anything else is pretty arbitrary.

An HRM is a useful tool to understand how the heart performs under training stress, and to support analysis of performance improvement over time. Within a fairly narrow set of circumstances it can provide a reasonable approximation of calorie expenditure. The vast majority of consumer grade usage isn't within those parameters.

Note my point about googly eyed marketeers and the fate that they deserve.

dunnodunno

I can't wait to hear how the Jawbone UP3 is once it finally hits market.

yellowdaisy3321

I don't like that the Charge HR is not shower or water proof like the Flex so I am jumping ship. I'm considering the Basis Peak which has a continuous HRM. Also curious about the Jawbone UP3, I personally don't think there's enough info out to make a call on how the HRM actually works, so I am in wait and see mode. I believe the Mio Alpha also has a continuous HRM although I don't know much about this brand. Right now I am leaning towards the new Basis, but am waiting to see what the reviews are like of the UP3 first.

SnuggleSmacks

dunnodunno wrote: »

I can't wait to hear how the Jawbone UP3 is once it finally hits market.

If it ever does. Jawbone has been downright dishonest and shady with its customers who pre-ordered it.

dougpconnell219

I have had the fitbit hr for a couple of days now. I have found the hr reasons to be pretty dead on with the readings I get from treadmills and eliptical machines while on them.

As for all day hr, it definately picks up a little when I get up and go do something at work. My reading will jump ten points just walking to the bathroom.

Today I had it track a strength workout... It recorded a mild hr gain, about 30 bpm.

Overall, I think it's useful, but it isn't really the "how many calories have I burned today " silver bullet. It is most useful for runs and other step based steady cardio.

I also like the social aspect of it... I have found myself doing laps of the building at work just to edge ahead of one of my friends step count. Lol

All in all, id recommend it, but the technology still has a ways to go.

brianpperkins

HRMs will accurately count heart beats all day long. HRMs will not turn that data into an accurate estimated calorie calculation. Even Polar admits that very fact. For certain events, there are formulae based on a scientifically established relationship between measured HR, max HR, effort, lactate threshold, VO2 max, actual oxygen uptake, and other factors ... HR gets plugged into the formula that already contains the rest of the variables (either measured, user input, or estimated) and a calorie estimation gets created. There is no established relationship between HR and calories for anaerobic activities, for the rest period of intervals when the HR remains elevated after the workload decreases, for sitting on your butt at work (no matter how variable your HR is during that time), etc. In the absence of a formula for those activities, the HRM plugs the HR data into a formula it has programmed and bases its estimates off that relationship which generates an inaccurate result.

dunnodunno

SnuggleSmacks wrote: »

dunnodunno wrote: »

I can't wait to hear how the Jawbone UP3 is once it finally hits market.

If it ever does. Jawbone has been downright dishonest and shady with its customers who pre-ordered it.

That sucks. I remember seeing you write you were supposed to get it a little after Christmas.

donnysoule

I have the Microsoft Band and I'm thrilled with it.

kcjchang

HR is a one of many metrics used to gauge intensity but it's not a panacea. Heart rate monitor does one thing and one thing only, counts your heart rate (see http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472). It's akin to rpm and gas level in a car where HR is the amount of gas left and you are drawing conclusion on the engine's rpm base on it. It's reflective what is happening, higher rpm tends to require more gas, but cannot tell you everything.