Shoul I get a Fitbit or HRM?

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  • beccalongnecker07
    beccalongnecker07 Posts: 54 Member
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    I absolutely love my Fitbit!!! I recommend it to all my friends and family.
  • Mawskittykat
    Mawskittykat Posts: 241 Member
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    I have the Body Media Fit Link and I absolutely LOVE IT, I have a HRM but dont wear it anymore since I got the body media. Good luck. :smile:
  • ExplorinLauren
    ExplorinLauren Posts: 991 Member
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    I have both.
    I loved my FitBit at 1st, but linking it with MFP was the worst thing I ever did! I hate it now. It gives me a false sense of security, and changes everything for me! In fact I took it off last night and refuse to wear it! lol .... After 4 months of wearing it.

    I guess it depends what you want? I wanted something to tell me what I burned in a 24 hour period. Fit Bit did that ON Estimation! ... I have a Polar f7... Its great too...but I would have to wear it 24/7 to see those same results. Which would be annoying... I only wear it for my workouts.

    What I got from fit bit is that I burn between 2500-3000 cals a day... If I had a deficit of 1000 I can eat about 1500 cals a day... and stay in my "realm" ... So I guess it depends what you are looking for??
  • SJCon
    SJCon Posts: 224
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    I have both and would agree that the HRM is the way to go for tracking Major effort BUT what most fail to mention is that you can easily wear a FB all day and get a good estimate of your TDEE. Assuming that you enter your exercise that FB doesn't measure well from your HRM. So they both work well together. A PP mentioned the body media fit / body bugg, both of these would be closer to the accuracy of a HRM but you wear it all day like a FB. They cost more and also have a monthly fee for the website you need so a HRM and a FB is a cheap choice. The HRM is not a good measure of calories for strength training as you are working only limited muscles at a time and the logarithms used by most HRM are for large muscle work like aerobics, cardio, etc. Circuit style resistance can be close because it is more working the whole body at the same time so your HR is more reflective of the effort.
  • Redladystl
    Redladystl Posts: 351 Member
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    I have them both Polar FT4 and fitbit. Fitbit makes me wanna move more (can't explain that.) It syncs with MFP - big mistake. HRM excellent for workouts, any kind!!!!!!

    To answer your original statement go with the HRM.
  • fuzzysham
    fuzzysham Posts: 75 Member
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    I highly recommend both. I love love love my fitbit, I wear it all day. You become so addicted to it and it really makes me want to move more so I can get those extra steps in before midnight! 30 minutes ago I was at 3.94 miles and I literally ran up and down the hallway to get to that 4.00! Then I use my HRM for elliptical, badminton, tennis, bike, boxing etc. I have the Polar ft4 and I got it off amazon-really good deal and I really love it. I had a new balance one before but I hated it. I wanted to throw it against the wall ><
    but anyways, like I said, I highly recommend both. I don't know what I would do without my fitbit!
  • melonclarinet
    melonclarinet Posts: 163 Member
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    I agree with a lot on here. I have both and love them both. I like the FB because it tells me how active I have been throughout the day. I like the HRM because it's more accurate for work outs. A problem I had at the beginning was that I would say, well...I worked out and burned 600 calories, so I'll eat them back. Then i wasn't thinking about the fact that I had been lazy for the rest of the day...or maybe there was a day when I didn't get to go to the gym because I was running around too much, and then I realized how much running around I really did and I burned a ton of calories.

    So, if you can, a combination is great. If you're looking for overall burn- fit bit, if you're looking to see what you burn in a work out- HRM.
  • englishmiller
    englishmiller Posts: 1 Member
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    I love my fitbit. I have found that it gets me moving and I try and beat my steps from the previous day. I find it kinda addictive and although it doesnt calculate your calories burned when lifting weights, it does track sleep, calories burned, stairs climbed,and miles walked!! Its sincs with MFP and then I get to eat more. Ive had it since the middle of July and my weight is coming off. I'd go with the fitbit!! I LOVE IT!!!!
  • 02tods
    02tods Posts: 126 Member
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    bump
  • yeowiepower
    yeowiepower Posts: 31 Member
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    if you want to track calories id lean towards a HRM, and like alot of posters here have a POLAR FT7. to accurately track calories you need height, weight, heart rate and VO2 Max to get a decently accurate measure.

    HRM doesnt track VO2 Max, but it tracks heart rate which a fitbit i believe doesnt. so it wont be super accurate, but at least moreso. you can offset this somewhat by logging your weight slightly lower than what you are and also rounding down if you want to take that step further (i do for both).

    fitbt however does look appealing, and considering the investment.
  • arcticfox04
    arcticfox04 Posts: 1,011 Member
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    Go for the HRM if you do serious workouts. Namely one that uses a chest strap. Much more accurate results. I recommend an Polar FT4/7 or a Bluetooth HRM that works with Smartphone Apps.

    Fitbit if you take it casual.
  • JenniferSpindel
    JenniferSpindel Posts: 56 Member
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    Love my FitBit! If I do some other workout that doesn't include steps (such as cycling or strength) I add those into MFP.... Plus I'd rather undercut my calories than overstate them :)

    Plus, the sleep thing is kinda a fun feature (though not that useful)
  • Lrdoflamancha
    Lrdoflamancha Posts: 1,280 Member
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    Bumping so I can see answers
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
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    HRM will be more accurate than anything. Personally I own both. I use my FitBit to accrue extra calories while chasing after my son all day and my HRM for my daily workouts. I have the Polar FT7. The FT4 is also a good model.

    Have your adjustments been right? I don't eat any of my adjustments because I think they are off a bit. When I did eat them I gained :o( I only use my fitbit for walks and to get mileage in. I use my HRM on the elliptical and Strength training sessions.

    My adjustments have been within +/- 50 cal or so of correct. I have a custom profile here though so I do eat most of my exercise calories back (although not all and depending on the day).

    I have had zero problems with linking my FB to MFP. The only 'issue' I've seen, which is a non-issue for me, is that if I enter food on MFP and it copies over to the FB site then I change it later on MFP, it won't change on FB and will make it look like I went over my daily goal. But since I don't use the FB site for my food goals, I don't bother to go fix it or even care. I use the FB site to track how well I'm sleeping and how much I'm moving. :)

    http://www.fitbit.com/user/22HTZ2
  • eljulia
    eljulia Posts: 40
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    Bumping so I can see answers

    THANK YOU for posting that--now i finally understand why people post "bump"..... and the piece of the puzzle falls into place! LOL!!


    i also love my Polar FT7, i had my gym trainer help me set it up for the "fitness zones" and it's been quite revolutionizing. I have fibromyalgia and so i am somewhat careful about the types of exercise i do, plus the pain and fatigue issues have a bearing on the level of my exercise from day to day. The HRM has been really helpful for me, i even did a 24 hour test of what i actually burn in a low-key day to get an idea of what i really burn, and yesterday i wore it into the infrared sauna at the gym because i'd been told "it burns anywhere from 300 to 600 calories in 30 minutes." They lie, i only burned 135, which is still 4 X more than i normally would by just lounging and reading (which is what i do in the sauna.) Can you tell i'm easily amused?

    If you just want to know basic calories, either the Fitbit or a HRM will give you the basics, i'm only familiar with the fitbit through friends who own them. i do enjoy the HRM and my trainer tells me it will be more accurate for my calories than the MFP database, plus it helps me keep within the heart rate range i need to be since it warns me when my heart rate goes too high. She's told me that my best burn will be in that 80 percent range for at least 30 minutes (and she had scientific reasons for that but i can't quite remember them) so the HRM telling me my heart rate really keeps me where i want to be for the best overall burn. (Something about burning all the sugar and then moving on to the fat?? Maybe??? *sigh* i'll have to ask her again!)

    The Polar HRMs have such comfortable chest straps, and that makes wearing them super easy. Very easy to use. And for the price range, the FT7 has been a great one, tho there are certainly ones on either side of that one that would be great too! Now i'm curious to see what you pick! i saw the itty bitty Fitbit at our local Brookstone store, so i can certainly see the draw to it!
  • happycauseIride
    happycauseIride Posts: 536 Member
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    So do the HRM that don't use a chest strap, just attach at the wrist, work ok? I've been looking into them, but I'm unsure of the chest strap.

    What do you think?
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    The Fitbit is more or less a pedometer with a computer built in. It has no real capability of measuring your vitals and only estimates calories burned based on steps taken. In other words it's basically useless for forms of exercise that don't revolve around taking steps (running, walking, etc...). It can't be used for circuit training, calisthenics, yoga, plyometrics, or anything else.
  • morgansmom02
    morgansmom02 Posts: 1,139 Member
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    I have a FitBit and it is awesome. I had a HRM but the strap broke. The HRM was uncomfortable. The FitBit clips to your bra and you forget about it all day.
  • morgansmom02
    morgansmom02 Posts: 1,139 Member
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    AND Fitbit tracks how you sleep. It is pretty awesome
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
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    So do the HRM that don't use a chest strap, just attach at the wrist, work ok? I've been looking into them, but I'm unsure of the chest strap.

    What do you think?

    No, HRMs that don't actually *actively* monitor your heart rate are not as accurate. It is making a guess at what your heart rate is between the times you have to touch the contacts to measure it. While the chest straps are not 100% accurate (nothing is), it is *the most* accurate.

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