Fitbit or HRM?

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autumnk921
autumnk921 Posts: 1,376 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Or both? I walk at least 1-2 miles 5x per week and am definitely buying the Fitbit Ultra but was wondering if I should still use an HRM as well? I will be lifting starting tomorrow & wondering which would be more accurate for that as well as for the walking?

Not sure on this...Any help would be great!! Thanks. :happy:

ETA: I would think both...:ohwell:

Replies

  • dittmarml
    dittmarml Posts: 351 Member
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    There's another thread on exactly this topic right now - do a search on it, already has a few responses.

    I do both for the reasons you outline, plus I swim and the FitBit won't go there (but the HRM does). FitBit keeps me aware during the day.
  • Raynn1
    Raynn1 Posts: 1,164 Member
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    I have both and use both. I just started using the fitbit this week and so far I am loving it. However be cautious if you sync it to MFP. There seems to be a glitch running when it is counting for both your activity in fitbit and MFP (if you enter it manually into MFP).

    The fitbit works well for everyday movement and for walking and running, but it is no good for strength training. That is where the HRM works better.

    If you can afford both, go for it.. if you had to choose one, Id say the HRM works the best for calculating activity burns. The fitbit is a Pedometer on Crack basically:)
  • Mrshunts
    Mrshunts Posts: 160 Member
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    I have a fitbit and it doesn't calculate much of anything for lifting ......

    Not sure about the HRM, but lifting doesn't really get your heart rate UP there, i don't think, unless you're doing circuit training of some sort, with cardio included.....

    The fitbit is good for walking, I wish I had gotten a HRM instead.....FOR ME the fitbit is just a 100$ pedometer , I'll be purchasing a HRM next weekend....
  • verapamil
    verapamil Posts: 94
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    I think both for the activities you listed. I only have a fitbit (which I love) and for walking it's great but for lifting weights, it would be useless.
  • lois4468
    lois4468 Posts: 166 Member
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    There is another thread with same title.... so more info there. I personally think the Fitbit is over rated and pricey. I have a Sportsline 308 snapshot that keeps track of even more than Fitbit. It does, steps, cals, pace, distance and time. So easy to use. You can get it on Amazon for $13.00. My husband has the Fitbit and I have an HRM. Love the HRM for tracking my walks... Both just help you know that you are doing something. HRM makes me walk "harder" so I get in the "zone" with higher heart rate where you burn more. Truly just gimicks but can help depending on how you use them. I have a Polar FT4 that is easy and works well. I got a cheap one from Walmart that was just to hard to figure out.
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
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    Fitbit V Hrm? depends on what you need. if you are looking to log workout calories burnt withy respect to your heart rate then a fitbit won't do that for you. but if you need a pedometer and a sleep monitor, then a fitbit will deliver where a HRM won't.

    fitbit v nike fuel band? fuel band. by a MILE.
  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,376 Member
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    I would really like something that will tell me how many calories I burn each day (all day) so that I can find out what my actual TDEE should be & now how many calories I should eat each day instead of using the online calculators which are all different....The Fitbit ultra will do that right???
  • rachmass1
    rachmass1 Posts: 470 Member
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    Hi Autumn, I have a FB and use it to estimate my TDEE. It runs similar to what Scooby tells me based on walking at a relatively slow speed, and when I use the elliptical it pushes into the active minutes as opposed to lightly active, and that burn seems a bit higher than if I use the HRM (I have both but use the FB almost exclusively as the HRM is a PIA). My guess is that the FB reads a bit high.

    I walked 4.35 miles yesterday and it said I burned a total of 1,981 calories for the day. Per Scooby and other calculators, I have a BMR of about 1,340 +/- so it added about 650 over my BMR, or 42% which put me squarely in "moderately active" for the day which is probably about right, or possibly a tad on the high side (I would call it a lightly active day).
  • NataBost
    NataBost Posts: 418 Member
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    I love my FitBit. As others have mentioned, it keeps me "aware" of how I'm doing throughout the day. Unfortunately I've had some issues with it. Quick tip - it you sweat a lot, use the belt clip. I've had to reset mine a few times after doing a Turbo Fit class with it clipped to my sports bra.
  • rukcus
    rukcus Posts: 58
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    First off I currently use a Fitbit and I find it useful in monitoring my activity levels as they vary quite drastically day to day. A few days of the week I walk 4000 steps and others up to 15000 and the fitbit makes sure I know how much more i can eat. I am looking to get a HRM to better monitor my jogging to make sure I am training as efficiently as possible.
  • debvan5
    debvan5 Posts: 3
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    I have the FitBit Ultra, the scale and a heart rate monitor and use them all. Love the fact that everything sync's to both MFP and the FitBtt site. I use the hart rate monitor only at they gym and manually log that information. I never take my fitbit to they gym just so I don't have to deal with the possibility of "double logging" my gym workouts. Both of them are great tools to help you in your journey.

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