Fitness Trackers JUST for measuring calories - is this a thing?

Triplestep

I'm overwhelmed by the number and variety of fitness trackers out there, and honestly, I really just want to know how effective my workouts are for burning calories. Probably like many of you, I have a limited number of brain cells I can devote to weight loss, and I need to focus them on meal planning, meal prep, carving out time to exercise, and getting to the gym. I'm kind of a gadget geek (yes, this 52 year old lady is a technophile!) and if I start measuring body fat, steps, sleep, etc, I'm going to hyper focus on all of that at the expense of other things I'm going that, frankly, are finally showing some results. (Calories in/calories out.)

I'm thinking I can wear a fitness tracker just while working out to measure heart rate and/or calories burned for that set period of time. Then I can decide if I'm going to eat those calories back or not that day. I would enter them manually into MFP.

Does anyone do this, and if so, what tracker do you use?

Sued0nim

What kind of workout?

Step based like running, walking, dance then a basic fitbit like a zip or one (basic non HRM ones)

Steady state cardio like running, rowing, cycling .a chest strap HRM

Other types of workouts halve the MFP database as a starting point or use METs tables http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/pdf/PA_Intensity_table_2_1.pdf

Triplestep

Thanks, and good question. Strength training (with body weight and with weights) 3 days a week. Some kind of cardio 5 days a week typically. Actually what prompted this question is that I hurt my knee interval running on the treadmill, so I did some low impact aerobics today. Did not believe the MFP database; so it's a given we should halve it?

Edited to add: And thank you for the link. That table - and the explanation of "MET" below it - is pretty much why I want a tracker.

Sued0nim

Strength training is marginal calorie burn ...but amazingly beneficial..I'd log it as minimal calories, even 1 calorie

The cardio...if steady state an HRM ..or yes half MFP should be suitable for a starting point, judge your weight against goal over 6-8 weeks you will probably be able to eat more back

rainbowbow

It will be darn near impossible to calculate calories burned with strength training, and even if it did, they would be MUCH less than you think.

I was going to advise a Heart Rate Monitor with a chest strap like a polar. But the way i use mine is: I go to the gym and put the strap on, I lift weights, I click the start button ONLY for the 10-20 minutes of cardio i do after my lifting session. I only eat back calories from my cardio sesh.

And my Polar is FAR more accurate than MFP and the machines at the gym. In a 30 minute session i can burn between 200-250 calories if i'm really pushing myself. The machine will usually overestimate by 1-200 calories. Same with MFP.

Triplestep

Thanks, both. Yes, it intuitively seems like strength training would not burn a lot of calories, but MFP certainly seems to think it does! (I've been using this Harvard study as more of a guide.)

rainbowbow wrote: »

I go to the gym and put the strap on, I lift weights, I click the start button ONLY for the 10-20 minutes of cardio i do after my lifting session. I only eat back calories from my cardio sesh.

This is just what I was getting at, thanks. I actually have a chest strap heart rate monitor, but it's about 13 years old. (And hiding somewhere in my basement clutter ). I'm assuming the technology has improved.

Sued0nim

Mine's a polar ft4 and I've never had an issue with it

If it helps

rainbowbow

I also have the polar ft4. Never had a problem with it, it was relatively cheap, and all it requires is a periodic (every year and a half or so) battery change.

OldAssDude

Triplestep wrote: »

I'm overwhelmed by the number and variety of fitness trackers out there, and honestly, I really just want to know how effective my workouts are for burning calories. Probably like many of you, I have a limited number of brain cells I can devote to weight loss, and I need to focus them on meal planning, meal prep, carving out time to exercise, and getting to the gym. I'm kind of a gadget geek (yes, this 52 year old lady is a technophile!) and if I start measuring body fat, steps, sleep, etc, I'm going to hyper focus on all of that at the expense of other things I'm going that, frankly, are finally showing some results. (Calories in/calories out.)

I'm thinking I can wear a fitness tracker just while working out to measure heart rate and/or calories burned for that set period of time. Then I can decide if I'm going to eat those calories back or not that day. I would enter them manually into MFP.

Does anyone do this, and if so, what tracker do you use?

I have tried several activity trackers. Jawbone, Fitbit, Garmin, Basis, and Polar. I settled on the Polar V800. Unlike all the other trackers, it uses all your activity towards your goal and not just steps. It also seems to be the most accurate at measuring calories burned compared to the others. It has various tests you can do to monitor your cardio fitness improvement, and has just about any workout you can think of that you can customize and download right to the watch. It has GPS so it can track your pace, speed, and distance on any outside workout, and if you swim it can monitor your heart rate under water. It uses a chest strap heart rate monitor which is very accurate too.

Great device IMO. Many of the other devices overestimate calories burned, but the Polar seem to be much more accurate than the others.

I also have a Garmin fenix3, but it seems to be very inconsistent, and way too overcomplicated. Probably geared more toward higher level athletes.

Christine_72

I've got a fitbit zip, as the only exercise I do is walking. A HR monitor would be useless for me. I wear it every waking moment, only take it off when I shower and when I go to bed.
I have it synced to mfp, so I don't have to worry about how many calories I can and can't have, and don't have to go through the minefield of trying to figure out how many calories I'm burning... It makes life so much easier, and I love seeing my calories going up through out the day which spurs me on to be more active.

Triplestep

Thanks so much - I am going to read up on the models mentioned here and try not to get overwhelmed.