Fitbit/ fitness trackers, how reliable are they? Any user reviews for fitbit charge HR?

soulpolka

Hi everyone,

I just ordered my fitbit charge HR with the heart rate tracker and I was wondering if there are some tips to effectively calculate the net energy burnt? I wanted to know the nuances because I am sure the numbers won't be as accurate - any suggestions to make the most of the fitness trackers?

lanalovestar

I've had a Fitbit charge hr for two weeks now and it's super accurate and I love it. I previously had a charge but I wanted to know for how long and when my body was in fat burning/cardio mode. I tested the accuracy against the heart rate monitor on cardio equipment at the gym and my heart rate on the Fitbit always matches or it's a couple degrees lower in difference. Hope my review helps

Bshmerlie

I have a Fitbit charge HR. I feel it has been very accurate with the type of exercise (walking on a treadmill) that I do. I have actually done my own study where I have tracked (based on Fitbit) the amount of calories burned versus how many calories I consume to see how close it is to the amount of pounds I have lost. And so far after three months it has been dead on. I believe the Fitbit does an excellent job of determining how much I am burning and that helps to motivate me to stay on track.

beatua1

You can find lots of good info in this thread: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10098937/faq-syncing-logging-food-exercise-calorie-adjustments-activity-levels-accuracy/p1

I have an HR, and this is what I do:

1. Set my activity level to sedentary
2. Link MFP with my fitbit for calorie burn (It will automatically adjust your calories to your fitbit calculated burn).
3. Enable negative adjustments (This is important) Do this at: MFP - Settings - Diary Settings - Calorie Adjustments - Enable Negative Adjustments.
4. Log everything I eat and weigh everything I eat on a food scale
5. Eat most of my exercise calories back

I have noticed my fitbit seems to overestimate my burn a little bit (or possibly I am eating more than I am logging) because I have my goal set to 2 lbs lost and for the past 3 months I have very consistently lost 1.5lbs / week.

Note: The HR monitor is terrible for me if I am moving my arm at all. It is almost never right when I am doing even simple things like walking, when lifting or doing active cardio it is nowhere near accurate unless I hold completely still for 20-30 seconds. I have tried every recommendation from fitbit and on this site to try and make it more accurate, but none of them have worked. I have made peace with it though, because it is close enough that I am able to accurately lose weight at 1.5 lbs / week with the way everything is working now (between my fitbit calculation and my logging).

soulpolka

Thanks everyone for responding and @beatua1 that's quite informative! Thanks for sharing. I will try it out for a week and update.