Fitbit question

fruitloop2
fruitloop2 Posts: 437 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I know so there are so many forgot questions and I tried doing a search but can find what I'm looking for. :/

OK, to the question...I have a Fitbit One and just bought a Fitbit Charge 2. I wanted something with a hrm because in my job I'm fairly active and my heart rate fluctuates up and down so wanted something to reflect that. So today I'm wearing both so I can compare steps and calorie count between the 2. The Charger is counting 1000 steps higher than the One. The calorie count is about 200 calories apart so far and I'm assuming that will go up through the day. I unpaired my One from Fitbit and I'm not sure if that's what is making the difference or if it even matters if it's paired to the site or not.

Anyway, my question...has anyone ever compared a pedometer style to a HR style...I don't know which one is more accurate for calorie count or steps. Anyone have any input on this?

Replies

  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    pedometer style are known to be more accurate than the bracelet style. It's a trade-off. Neither are perfect though. There was a study published not long ago estimating that activity trackers can be off by 20% or so... that's significant considering most people's deficit is 20% or less of the TDEE.

    Think about this - if you move your wrist quickly, it is going to count a "step". As for the HRM on the wrist, I don't have much info for you there about how fitbit incorporates it into the calorie calculation, but HRM's are not accurate unless you are doing steady state activity that increases your heart rate. Maybe fitbit ignores the HRM unless it gets up to a certain level.

    If your fitbit one was giving you a pretty accurate burn based on the results you were seeing, I'd not trust the charge. on the contrary, if you were losing faster than expected, I would trust the charge.
  • fruitloop2
    fruitloop2 Posts: 437 Member
    We'll, I know roughly what my TDEE is and what I need to eat in a day to lose. I read in here in one if the posts that the Charge needs a few days to learn your habits so was wondering if that is part of why it's measuring kinda high right now. I have 27 more days to analyze it and return it if I don't like it, lol.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    If you have been logging your food for a while and tracking weight, then you can back-calculate your TDEE based on the results you have achieved. That is what I was meaning by using the results you are seeing.

    For example, if you logged an average of 2000 calories for a month and during that month you lost 2 lbs, then your results based TDEE would be (2000*30days+2lbs*3500calories)/30days = 2,233 cal/day

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