fitbit or polar ft7

Brittany3914

Both are great, but it's really comparing apples to oranges. What will you use it for?

I have a Polar FT4, and I don't know much about fitbit, but here's what I've gathered:

Fitbit is meant for all-day wear. Like a pedometer, but suped up. Keeps track of calories burned throughout the entire day. A heart rate monitor is meant to be worn only during specific exercise (running, group fitness class, etc etc).

KarenJanine

I have a fitbit One and polar FT4. I use both, fitbit all day and HRM for workouts. I got my HRM first but then decided to get a fitbit too because I wanted to get a better idea of my total daily calorie burn. The two combined give me a good picture.

DivaMoe40

I'm glad that is was posted. I have been toying with the idea of whether or not I wanted to buy a Fitbit. Reading everyone's comments and experiences really helped me. I haven't totally decided which one to purchase but this was certainly helpful.

Coltsman4ever

If anyone here is using their HRM for weight training or wearing it all day and entering your calories burned on MFP, you are doing yourself a great disservice. Unless of course you don't eat back any of your exercise calories. Then who cares!

HRM's are only designed for cardio.

jallison12

I have a fitbit, but for HRM I use my phone and Bluetooth chest strap. I used to have my fitbit profile, connected through endomondo and then through to MFP (I think...it was complicated). But I've recently "disconnected" that. I felt I was being credited for too many cals burned, somehow. Am sure it was my way of connecting. Anyway, I still love the fitbit as it does get my out of my chair to walk. Very motivating. I use the phone/HRM for specific workouts and then (back to) logging them manually in MFP.

So, to me, 2 very different gadgets which do different things. If you wanted to track the whole day, I would get annoyed wearing a chest strap all day. So the fitbit is better in that regard.

contingencyplan

They're two totally different tools for two totally different purposes. If you're comparing them and trying to decide which one to buy then I strongly advise that you educate yourself on what they actually are and what they're for before making your purchase. And if anyone in here pipes in saying one is clearly better than the other then all that proves is they don't know any more than you do.

That being said pedometers by nature can't be even close to exact in their measurements. They can only get you "in the ballpark" because anything that jars them can incorrectly register as a step which will lead to improperly registering calories burned. Just an FYI.

And from what I gather a fitbit is more like a pedometer??

A fitbit isn't LIKE a pedometer. It IS a pedometer.

DonaA123

The fitbit is made for wearing all day while you're walking around. The Polar FT7 is only for use during cardio exercise. They're two different animals with different applications.

^^^ This

sammniamii

I had/Have both - Fitbit Ultra and Polar FT7 & WearLink Bluetooth.

Fitbit is ok, I got the older version NOT bluetooth, so I had to wait all day for an update. Also, changes made on MFP had made it very difficult to get a correct amount of calories to show up.

It's basically a fancy Pedometer - if you walk or run, great. Most other activity isn't recorded right and you will not get a correct reading from the FitBit.

I bought the FT7 so I could get acurate numbers of my burns - it showed me the FitBit wasn't great for anything but walking/jogging/running. It's a watch & chest strap and if very accurate.

I recently upgraded to the Polar WearLink BlueTooth to work w/ my smartphone & use the app Endomodo to record data. Still has a chest strap, just no watch. Same great HRM as the FT7, just more modern to work with what I needed.

Between the two devices - GO POLAR. A heart rate monitor will show you the burn of all of your workouts more accurately than the FitBit (with in mind some workout like weight lifting may not be the best w/ a "heart rate monitor").

Plus, unless you score an older FitBit or go with the Zip model - the FT7 (or many of the Polar models) are cheaper if you hunt around the internet.

Also - as others have stated, FitBit is for all day wear (i still wear mine from wake to sleep) - it tracks MOVEMENT, which can be deciving to a Pedometer (I used to sit on a balance ball and "bounce" - IT RECORDED THAT MOVEMENT). The Polar is more for wearing during a workout for tracking the calories burnt.

If you want all day movement record - try that BodyMedia thing.

da_bears10089

I have both, honestly, I have had the fitbit longer but I like the Polar ft7 for my total workout, I wear my fitbit 24/7 and only wear my HRM when I work out. they are better as a team, if i had to choose, I would say fitbit because it is more user friendly. but If you get one, you will buy a HRM later, it is a safe bet.

I do the same thing. I feel that the fitbit isn't quite accurate with my calories burned like my HRM is, especially when it comes to strength days. So my opinion, get both. Fitbit makes sure you are moving around enough, and HRM is better for during your workouts.

BOOMaggedon

I now have both. The FitBit is very nice for showing you all the steps you take in a day. I stopped using it with MFP though because the calorie counts it gave me credit for seem insanely high. I have been using the Polar FT7 for a few workouts now. I really like it. I love how the heart rate strap works with the machines I work on. I also like the data (I am a geek). It seems to give me a more accurate calorie count at the end of the workout (it has been 15% lower than the machine tells me and 25% lower than most of the MFP counts). I also like how the FitBit tracks my sleep patterns. But if I had to start over I would take the Polar FT7 first and the FitBit second.

WarriorCupcakeBlydnsr

I'm glad I saw this, I was talking to a trainer at my gym and because I'm not having luck losing weight, he recommended getting a HRM and wear it all day, over several days with different activities, to determine the average amount of calories burned so I can figure out how many calories to eat to lose. He recommended the Polar FT7, said it always worked well. So I got one, wore it all day yesterday (from 5am until 8pm, including during my walk/jog and my training session with my regular trainer) and it said that I burned 4500 calories during that time, and I know that can't be right.
So I guess I need to get a fitbit of some sort to wear to find out my calorie count per day and wear my FT7 during my workouts (I think I will do a day wearing both just to see the difference too)

contingencyplan

I'm glad I saw this, I was talking to a trainer at my gym and because I'm not having luck losing weight, he recommended getting a HRM and wear it all day, over several days with different activities, to determine the average amount of calories burned so I can figure out how many calories to eat to lose. He recommended the Polar FT7, said it always worked well. So I got one, wore it all day yesterday (from 5am until 8pm, including during my walk/jog and my training session with my regular trainer) and it said that I burned 4500 calories during that time, and I know that can't be right.
So I guess I need to get a fitbit of some sort to wear to find out my calorie count per day and wear my FT7 during my workouts (I think I will do a day wearing both just to see the difference too)

Fitbit doesn't determine your calorie count per day as it has no means of measuring your vitals. It is a pedometer, nothing more. It converts steps taken into calories to promote walking as exercise. There is no ACCURATE way of determining that through a device. The best you can do is use one of the many TDEE calculators available on the web as an estimate. And if you feel you need to be more exact than that estimate, then you are going about this with an attitude that is going to get you in trouble. NOTHING will determine exactly your calorie burn per day.

WarriorCupcakeBlydnsr

I'm glad I saw this, I was talking to a trainer at my gym and because I'm not having luck losing weight, he recommended getting a HRM and wear it all day, over several days with different activities, to determine the average amount of calories burned so I can figure out how many calories to eat to lose. He recommended the Polar FT7, said it always worked well. So I got one, wore it all day yesterday (from 5am until 8pm, including during my walk/jog and my training session with my regular trainer) and it said that I burned 4500 calories during that time, and I know that can't be right.
So I guess I need to get a fitbit of some sort to wear to find out my calorie count per day and wear my FT7 during my workouts (I think I will do a day wearing both just to see the difference too)

Fitbit doesn't determine your calorie count per day as it has no means of measuring your vitals. It is a pedometer, nothing more. It converts steps taken into calories to promote walking as exercise. There is no ACCURATE way of determining that through a device. The best you can do is use one of the many TDEE calculators available on the web as an estimate. And if you feel you need to be more exact than that estimate, then you are going about this with an attitude that is going to get you in trouble. NOTHING will determine exactly your calorie burn per day.

I never said I was looking for an exact, I was looking for an average (these are two different things, last I checked.) I did the TDEE on each of the calculators that I've seen posted on the message boards, they all came out with similar answers, I subtracted 20% (as instructed in the websites they come from) and followed them for 3 months... I have gained 10 lbs in those three months alone, after following what MFP recommended for 9 months (gained 15 lbs from that one.) So I would say that method was a fail for me. I am trying something new and gathering information on how to get an approximate calorie burn count for me so that way I can have some success with this. If that is the wrong attitude to take, then so be it.

LisaGod85

I had/Have both - Fitbit Ultra and Polar FT7 & WearLink Bluetooth.

Fitbit is ok, I got the older version NOT bluetooth, so I had to wait all day for an update. Also, changes made on MFP had made it very difficult to get a correct amount of calories to show up.

It's basically a fancy Pedometer - if you walk or run, great. Most other activity isn't recorded right and you will not get a correct reading from the FitBit.

I bought the FT7 so I could get acurate numbers of my burns - it showed me the FitBit wasn't great for anything but walking/jogging/running. It's a watch & chest strap and if very accurate.

I recently upgraded to the Polar WearLink BlueTooth to work w/ my smartphone & use the app Endomodo to record data. Still has a chest strap, just no watch. Same great HRM as the FT7, just more modern to work with what I needed.

Between the two devices - GO POLAR. A heart rate monitor will show you the burn of all of your workouts more accurately than the FitBit (with in mind some workout like weight lifting may not be the best w/ a "heart rate monitor").

Plus, unless you score an older FitBit or go with the Zip model - the FT7 (or many of the Polar models) are cheaper if you hunt around the internet.

Also - as others have stated, FitBit is for all day wear (i still wear mine from wake to sleep) - it tracks MOVEMENT, which can be deciving to a Pedometer (I used to sit on a balance ball and "bounce" - IT RECORDED THAT MOVEMENT). The Polar is more for wearing during a workout for tracking the calories burnt.

If you want all day movement record - try that BodyMedia thing.

THIS! i have a Polar F6 and could not recommend it more! Whereas I have an older version (would love to upgrade) this little beast has been with me through thick and thin and taken tons of abuse -- it's been my best motivational tool to keep me at the gym working hard.

contingencyplan

I'm glad I saw this, I was talking to a trainer at my gym and because I'm not having luck losing weight, he recommended getting a HRM and wear it all day, over several days with different activities, to determine the average amount of calories burned so I can figure out how many calories to eat to lose. He recommended the Polar FT7, said it always worked well. So I got one, wore it all day yesterday (from 5am until 8pm, including during my walk/jog and my training session with my regular trainer) and it said that I burned 4500 calories during that time, and I know that can't be right.
So I guess I need to get a fitbit of some sort to wear to find out my calorie count per day and wear my FT7 during my workouts (I think I will do a day wearing both just to see the difference too)

Fitbit doesn't determine your calorie count per day as it has no means of measuring your vitals. It is a pedometer, nothing more. It converts steps taken into calories to promote walking as exercise. There is no ACCURATE way of determining that through a device. The best you can do is use one of the many TDEE calculators available on the web as an estimate. And if you feel you need to be more exact than that estimate, then you are going about this with an attitude that is going to get you in trouble. NOTHING will determine exactly your calorie burn per day.

I never said I was looking for an exact, I was looking for an average (these are two different things, last I checked.) I did the TDEE on each of the calculators that I've seen posted on the message boards, they all came out with similar answers, I subtracted 20% (as instructed in the websites they come from) and followed them for 3 months... I have gained 10 lbs in those three months alone, after following what MFP recommended for 9 months (gained 15 lbs from that one.) So I would say that method was a fail for me. I am trying something new and gathering information on how to get an approximate calorie burn count for me so that way I can have some success with this. If that is the wrong attitude to take, then so be it.

If you eating below TDEE and gaining weight then you are doing one of two things:

1. You did not input correct information (overestimating activity level is common) when calculating TDEE.

2. You are eating more than you think you are. The fact is the TDEE is the amount needed to fuel your body through activity. Eating below that number and still gaining weight is scientifically impossible. Redo your calculations, measure how much you eat, and be honest with yourself about activity level when doing initial calculations. Eat above BMR and below TDEE.