FitBit vs. HRM

mamasmaltz3

I have been thinking about getting one of the two devices. Wondering which is better? The main exercise I do is eliptical, circuit training with weights and Pilates. Are these even going to register on the Fitbit? My goal with buying a device is to get a more accurate count of calories burned. MFP's estimates seem high to me.

mamasmaltz3

Anyone?

amyhoss

BUMP

holly3585

No idea about the FitBit, but I KNOW that for a better calorie count a HRM is awesome!! I literally just got the Polar Ft4 in the mail yestaerday and am already IN LOVE. I was looking for one for the exact reason as you. I think you should go with a HRM--- but take my opinion with a grain of salt lol. I honestly haven't even looked into the capabilities of a fitbit! Good luck

peteb79

I don't have either, but have looked into them both.

The fitbit is basically a pedometer, so it measures motion, great for walking, or running (but not both, because strides change..) and great for sleep monitoring.


HRM sounds like it would be better for you.

Vegan_Chick

HRM is more accurate for exercises that do not involve forward motion. I would recommend HRM. Unless you walk or run a lot

Shell_7609

I think the heart rate monitor would be better for what you're wanting to judge calories for. I have a fitbit & a HRM watch, I normally only use the fitbit to track steps taken/miles walked. for actual burns during workouts at the gym a HRM is better

Tennessee2019

I tried an HRM & found it not as reliable as my FitBit. Especially since you can connect FitBit with MFP.

mamasmaltz3

Thanks for the replies!

reneecgc

They are too high. I love my polar HRM because everyone starting heart rate is different. I love
to use it when I jog and I set my pace around my HR.

mamasmaltz3

I tried an HRM & found it not as reliable as my FitBit. Especially since you can connect FitBit with MFP.

What do you mean by not reliable?

Psychoanalytic

I use a fitbit since my heart rate is unreliable for calculating my activity levels. The sleep tracking feature is accurate in comparison to the $1500 sleep study I've done. Measurements of distance and such is comparable to what GPS on my phone says when I go out for a run. When my heart isn't being a PITA, it's comparable calorie count wise to the outcomes of my stress tests. I give it two thumbs up. I have zero complaints about fitbit. (Well except that for some people it's a little difficult to set it up at first. But that's also why I posted a step-by-step with photos blog about that.)
Not to mention their customer service is outstanding.

AnnyaSB

I have both. My Fitbit is great for motivating me to move more, but my HRM is more accurate for calorie burn. For example, I went on an hour long (mostly uphill) hike this morning and my Fitbit calories were out by around 90 calories (lower) in comparison to my HRM, and the MFP calculation was WAY over (like over 100 calories over!).

I love them both for very different reasons, but if you care doing lots of cycling, elliptical, circuit training, weight lifting etc then I would say an HRM will give you more accurate information about your calorie burn. IMO nothing is dead on for calorie burn, but out of the three I would say HRM is probably the closest - just remember to set it up right otherwise you can get skewed results.

Psychoanalytic

I don't have either, but have looked into them both.

The fitbit is basically a pedometer, so it measures motion, great for walking, or running (but not both, because strides change..) and great for sleep monitoring.


HRM sounds like it would be better for you.

Actually it's an accelerometer, measuring acceleration in any direction. A pedometer measures steps in terms of up and down movement.

jedikrissy

I have a HRM I like it very much, it's seems to be fairly accurate to my workouts. I can run for 30min on the elliptical at a leisurely pace and then when I do the same amount of time and I run as hard as I can my calories burned are mush higher. So HRM do work and can be quite accurate, from people I have spoke with that have them they told me not to buy one that is really cheap because it will suck. I spent $60 on mine at Canadian Tire. Now I am looking into buying a FitBit because it counts way more than calories burned and seems to be much better than a HRM, from the people I have talked to that have a FitBit say they all had HRM's first and then got a FitBit and they all say they like the FitBit more. But I guess that's all just personal preference, I will be getting a FitBit soon and be wearing both to compare. I like that you don't have to wear the FitBit on the wrist, and apparently it's use's the same technology as a Wii to tally your movements. Hope this helps Cheers

ladyluch99

I have them both and I love my Fitbit. However it does mostly measure calories burned by steps taken. I just started using my Polar FT7 and I thought the calorie burns were low but I'm sure way more accurate than the ones MFP gives you. I did a Leslie Sanson video last night for 50 minutes and wore both my HRM and FitBit. The HRM said I burned 312 calories and the Fitbit said I burned 467. Not sure which is more accurate. Fitbit measures all day calorie burns and the HRM is only good for sessions of exercise. I hope I come to love my FT7 as much as my Fitbit.

mamasmaltz3

I use a fitbit since my heart rate is unreliable for calculating my activity levels. The sleep tracking feature is accurate in comparison to the $1500 sleep study I've done. Measurements of distance and such is comparable to what GPS on my phone says when I go out for a run. When my heart isn't being a PITA, it's comparable calorie count wise to the outcomes of my stress tests. I give it two thumbs up. I have zero complaints about fitbit. (Well except that for some people it's a little difficult to set it up at first. But that's also why I posted a step-by-step with photos blog about that.)
Not to mention their customer service is outstanding.

I don't run and I walk for exercise infrequently. I am a stay at home Mom of three kids which I homeschool so if I want to exercise outside I have to take them all with me. Getting my heart rate up with a 3 year old in tow just doesn't happen with all the stops to look at bugs, lol. So, I use my eliptical and I use videos and strength training. Does the Fitbit register these activities?

Psychoanalytic

So, I use my eliptical and I use videos and strength training. Does the Fitbit register these activities?

In my experience, when I used to go to the gym, fitbit was within 75 calories of what the elliptical registered me at. There's a little bit of a difference for me though since I have an irregular heartbeat. That's why I use a fitbit instead of a hrm.

shmiracles

i love my fitbit. i know it's lower in calculating my burned calories, but i don't mind that. it's never off by a ton, maybe 50-80cals. but despite how careful i am, i figure i probably have inaccuracies in my food too.

my fitbit hasn't left my side since i got it.
sometimes i leave my desk and go up and down stairs in the middle of the work day so i can get some extra flights counted in my log

i have a heartrate monitor that came with my GPS running watch. i worked great for the first year but now it always seems off. and i can never trust it's numbers. but that just means i probably need a better HRM.

it does sound like a HRM would be best for what you do. but if you are a gadget person like i am, and are considering a fitbit, i definitely think you should get one.

Captain_Tightpants

Just expanding the conversation a little bit... what about Bodybugg and Nike Fuel bands?

mamasmaltz3

My Birthday is coming up and I am trying to decide which to ask my hubby for. Lol, maybe it will be both? What HRM's do you recommend and what is a reasonable price point?

mamasmaltz3

Just expanding the conversation a little bit... what about Bodybugg and Nike Fuel bands?

Never heard of those! Are you going to confuse me even more, lol?

ladyluch99

My Birthday is coming up and I am trying to decide which to ask my hubby for. Lol, maybe it will be both? What HRM's do you recommend and what is a reasonable price point?

I have a Polar FT7 and it cost $75.50 through Amazon but was shipped from Heartratemonitors.com. The Fitbit is always $99.

ScarlettVamp

I have a Polar FT4 HRM and I love it. I've been using it since January and refuse to work out without it. It's the best $79 (on sale) that I ever spent.

peteb79

Actually it's an accelerometer, measuring acceleration in any direction. A pedometer measures steps in terms of up and down movement.

Actually it's a pedometer that uses an Accelerometer.

Captain_Tightpants

Just expanding the conversation a little bit... what about Bodybugg and Nike Fuel bands?

Never heard of those! Are you going to confuse me even more, lol?

I believe they are both similar to the FitBit (i.e. glorified pedometers) but I'm not certain. I just threw them in here because I'd like to know more about them. The Fuelband is certainly stylish though.

Psychoanalytic

Actually it's an accelerometer, measuring acceleration in any direction. A pedometer measures steps in terms of up and down movement.

Actually it's a pedometer that uses an Accelerometer.

"The Fitbit Tracker uses a three-dimensional accelerometer, similar to that in the Wii Remote, to sense user movement. The Tracker measures steps taken, distance walked, calories burned, floors climbed, and activity duration and intensity. It uses an OLED display to display this and other information such as the battery level. It also measures sleep quality: how long it takes the wearer to fall asleep, how often they wake up over the course of the night, and how long they are actually asleep."

"A pedometer is a device, usually portable and electronic or electromechanical, that counts each step a person takes by detecting the motion of the person's hips. Because the distance of each person's step varies, an informal calibration, performed by the user, is required if presentation of the distance covered in a unit of length (such as in kilometres or miles) is desired."


Edit: Your wording that the device *uses* an accelerometer is correct. However, the fitbit is not a pedometer.

teinepalagi

I have both. I use my fitbit to count every day running around and purposeful walks and runs. I use my HRM for things the fitbit isn't good at (like strength training, biking, etc.)

My advice...if you do a lor of walking, running as your main activity..fitbit. If you like to do other things more.....HRM. And I absolutely LOVE my fibit.

shannond1980

If you had a really active job where you walked a lot and wanted an idea of calories you're burning including total calories for just existing plus all the daily grind activity then I would suggest getting the fitbit.

From what you've said though you just want something that'll help calculate your gym session caloric output so I would go with HRM.

I have the fitbit, I don't use it to log exercise, only additional walking and as a tool to motivate me to add more steps in a day. I'm looking into an HRM myself for the same reasons as you (mfp calculations seem way high).

Athena98501

Maybe this will help? http://www.wired.com/reviews/2012/04/reviews_bodymonitors/

This is a re-post from someone I don't know. But it helped me make my decision. I went with the BodyMedia FIT Link. Whatever you decide to get, you should do a search on eBay first. I got mine for $90 shipped, and it was NIB. I'm going to go look for the site I've seen with a good deal on a huge variety of hrms, and I'll add it when I find it.

www.bodytronics.com Use code POPO for 5% off.

I should add that I also use the Polar FT4. One consideration is that only the hrms can be waterproof (at this point).

tameejean

I have both. I use the fitbit for everyday type of activity and my HRM for running and other types of cardio. Surprisingly, the fitbit is pretty darn close to my GPS/HRM when I run, but it can't calculate calorie burn for things like bike riding or gym-type cardio, etc. I just bought a BodyMedia Fit Core off eBay today actually. I had considered buying that instead of the fitbit, but I didn't want to wear the armband all of the time. I won it (today actually) for a really good price, so I figure I can wear it to get an idea of my real TDEE and if I hate it, no big loss