heart rate tracker/fitbit type thing? advice?

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misskarne
misskarne Posts: 1,767 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been thinking about investing in a fitbit-type device, but the actual fitbit, and its counterparts, seem to only track steps and sleep, and not other types of activity or a heart rate. Is this so?

I don't do a lot of walking, but I figure skate twice a week when I can and I plan to ride to work as the weather gets warmer. Would a fitbit flex track that accurately or is there some other kind of device I should use? I'm so confused.

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  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    You are correct, fitbit tracks steps. It sounds like you would be better served by a HRM. There are several models you put on while you work out to get more accurate calculations of your calories burned. I do not know or one that you wear 24/7 but its possible it is out there and I just am not familiar with it.
  • nosebag1212
    nosebag1212 Posts: 621 Member
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    bodymedia fit is the best and most accurate one on the market (proven with clinical trials) but also more expensive, all depends on what you're willing to spend
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    bodymedia fit is the best and most accurate one on the market (proven with clinical trials) but also more expensive, all depends on what you're willing to spend

    This!
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    I don't think a Fitbit would track skating- its a different movement. But I can't be sure. You could buy a cheap $10-20 pedometer to see how it handles, without spending much $.

    I love my Fitbit One. But there are a # of devices on the market, with different features and designs. Just ordered a Polar Loop for my husband. Fitbit does not have a product that matches his criteria. He likes the Loop because a) its water proof b) can connect to a HRM for more accurate cardio session calories burned c) has information available on the display of the unit itself. The reviews and writeup on the Loop indicate it has more ability for determining different types/levels of activity.
  • BuddhaMom74
    BuddhaMom74 Posts: 147
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    I have a Garmin Vivofit which is basically a FitBit - however you can bundle it with a heart rate monitor, which is what sold me on the Vivofit. I've been using it for 2 weeks now - love it!
  • NelsonMoore
    NelsonMoore Posts: 6 Member
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    I have looked into this quite a bit over the past couple of months and you are correct that the activity trackers will track steps and your movements during sleep. If you want to add the monitoring of heart rate to those other features, I have found three options. All are available on Amazon.

    1. Basis Health Tracker. It is a pretty fat-looking watch, though.

    2. Polar Loop Activity Monitor AND also the Polar H7 Heart Rate Monitor. Two pieces that work together.

    3. Garmin Vivofit AND a Garmin heart rate monitor. Again, two pieces that integrate.

    Each of these has ups and downs. For example, the Basis is all one piece but it is kind of clunky. The Polar option does not work well, I am told, with third party software. The Garmin option is nice because instead of a rechargeable battery, it uses something like a watch battery and will go for more than a year.

    The Polar Loop option was just reduced in price by Amazon but I am told that it does not integrate at all with MFP software.
  • stacyjh1979
    stacyjh1979 Posts: 188 Member
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    For the most accurate calories burned you are best to use a HRM. A fitbit tracks your steps/movement and then "guesses" how many calories you burned based on your age/height/weight...about the same as how MFP estimates your calories burned. It cannot track exertion and the more exertion the more calories you are burning. A friend of mine at work has the Polar FT60 and she loves it. It tracks even more things than what I was looking for so I got the Polar FT4. I found mine on Amazon for $50. The chest strap is pretty comfortable and the watch is just the size of basically a regular watch. If you wanted to wear it all day you could (just below your bra around your chest) but I only use mine to track calories burned during actual exercise. The one I have tracks heart rate, time of session and calories burned which was all I wanted. I originally bought a fitbit not realizing that it didn't track heart rate. My friend's Polar gives her all kinds of other info, not even sure what all but more than what I wanted/needed.

    ETA: Mine also tracks how many minutes of your exercise that you were in the target heart rate zone.

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