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A fitbit helps a LOT..My tale..

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  • norcal_yogi
    norcal_yogi Posts: 675 Member
    bump!!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    If there is just no way of obtaining a fitbit at the present, I am still safe to trust online calculators, right?

    lol, I'm in the same boat... but am really excited that this works for when I can get my own fitbit

    For walking level yes. Notice MFP has no description of incline though.

    If you are walking flat or incline, or slow jogging, this is exactly what FitBit would be using to estimate calorie burn too. Except it has to figure out your pace by motion. If going on a treadmill, you know pace and incline already.

    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

    And the thing here is - if you see what your avg HR is for a certain calorie burn, then that applies no matter what you are doing.

    So say the avgHR is 140 walking 4mph at 5% incline. And you burn 250 calories in 30 min.

    If you do Zumba with same avg HR, that is also your calorie burn there.

    Of course, you need means to record your HR from time to time to get an avg.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    When I got my fitbit I tested it by wearing my HRM for 24 hours and the results were very similar which gave me confidence that it was accurate enough for me. This also tied in with what Scooby was telling me too :)

    Than that means it was wrong. Why?

    Because a HRM (except certain Garmins) is only valid for calorie burns during steady-state aerobic exercise, between about 90 - 160 bpm.
    Daily activity below that is inflated badly.
    Weight lifting and HIIT which is NOT aerobic but anaerobic is also inflated.

    Polar funded study at link here.
    http://www.braydenwm.com/calburn.htm
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Exactly why I got one!

    I have a HRM too, does anyone will a Fitbit use it for HIIT or running? I'm thinking I should use the HRM on those.

    Thanks for the updates :):flowerforyou:

    And BTW, yesterday, which was a pretty lazy day with the exception of a 35 minute brisk walk was 2058 calories burned. I love all this data and numbers :love:

    Your HRM for HIIT is going to be wrong and inflated. It thinks you got that high HR aerobically, and you did not. Therefore the calorie estimate is off too.

    Probably 1/2 what is reported. And since you are getting up near your HRmax, if that stat is wrong, like too low for what yours really is, really inflated too.
  • woodsygirl
    woodsygirl Posts: 354 Member
    Seriously? I only do weights and HIIT, which was what I was going to use the HRM for estimating.

    Honestly, sometimes I wish I could just eat sensibly, lose weight and forget the numbers game.. lol
  • rubybeach
    rubybeach Posts: 529 Member
    Exactly why I got one!

    I have a HRM too, does anyone will a Fitbit use it for HIIT or running? I'm thinking I should use the HRM on those.

    Thanks for the updates :):flowerforyou:

    And BTW, yesterday, which was a pretty lazy day with the exception of a 35 minute brisk walk was 2058 calories burned. I love all this data and numbers :love:

    Your HRM for HIIT is going to be wrong and inflated. It thinks you got that high HR aerobically, and you did not. Therefore the calorie estimate is off too.

    Probably 1/2 what is reported. And since you are getting up near your HRmax, if that stat is wrong, like too low for what yours really is, really inflated too.

    HeyBales, thanks for the input.......definitely will take that into consideration :flowerforyou:
  • rubybeach
    rubybeach Posts: 529 Member
    Seriously? I only do weights and HIIT, which was what I was going to use the HRM for estimating.

    Honestly, sometimes I wish I could just eat sensibly, lose weight and forget the numbers game.. lol

    +1 sometimes I feel like I'm spinning in circles.........

    I've been using the HRM for weights and HIIT too......
  • charliecat39
    charliecat39 Posts: 31
    I've been reading the reviews on amazon for the fitbit.

    Seems like a problem people are having is that it monitors when you are driving from the motion of the car and bumps etc.

    Does anyone have this problem with theirs?

    It's such a lot of money for me so I need to be really sure its going to work!
  • rubybeach
    rubybeach Posts: 529 Member
    I've been reading the reviews on amazon for the fitbit.

    Seems like a problem people are having is that it monitors when you are driving from the motion of the car and bumps etc.

    Does anyone have this problem with theirs?

    It's such a lot of money for me so I need to be really sure its going to work!

    I read about this problem as well....... When I drove yesterday, it was NOT a problem. I only drive once a week, so I'll let you know if that changes.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member

    I don't want one in case my TDEE is less that Scooby gives me and I have to deal with the fact that in general I'm lazy :0

    I was concerned about this too as I couldn't really get my head round that Scooby was telling me my TDEE was around 2800. I figured I really couldn't be that active! But I got my fitbit around 2 months ago and was amazed to find that it was actually pretty spot on and my daily burns vary from around 2500 to 3100, averaging at around 2800. This was really reassuring for me and gave me the confidence to know that upping my calories that far was the way to go. It's also nice to know that the Scooby calculator is pretty accurate so if you don't want to spend the money on getting a fitbit you can trust Scooby.

    That being said I love my fitbit and wouldn't be without it now :)
  • mphlab
    mphlab Posts: 187 Member
    OP-Thanks for sharing your story! Very encouraging.

    I was also afraid that fitbit would give me less than Scooby but being disabled, it was really dificult to estimate which level to pick for myself! Fitbit has me a little over sedentary not quite halfway to light. I really would not have guessed that without a lot of trial and error (emphasis on the word error). It also has encouraged me to walk as much as I can. It is nothing compared to how much my friends exercise but it is huge for me! And you are really the only one who you can truly compare yourself to! It is supposed to rain tonight and I am already thinking about how to get my exercise in!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Seriously? I only do weights and HIIT, which was what I was going to use the HRM for estimating.

    Honestly, sometimes I wish I could just eat sensibly, lose weight and forget the numbers game.. lol

    I found comparing the Polar to a Garmin that is usable for HIIT and weight lifting, it was very reliably different.

    Weight lifting was 1/4 to 1/3 the calories that the Polar reported, and actually right about what MFP gave as estimate.

    HIIT with 15 to 60 sec high and 45 to 60 low, was about 1/2 to 2/3 what the Polar reported. Higher highs was 1/2, lower highs was 2/3.
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