Fitbit or Polar HRM? Please help me decide!!

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chrissylovescj
chrissylovescj Posts: 117 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello beautiful people! I'm getting ready to purchase either a fitbit or Polar HRM for the primary purpose of keeping up with calories burned per day. For anyone who has either of these, or even better BOTH, please give me your opinion about them (pros/cons) and which one you would suggest. I've read different reviews online but I'd rather hear opions from MFPs.

Thanks so much! :flowerforyou:
Chrissy

P.S. Cost is not a deciding factor.
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Replies

  • karllundy
    karllundy Posts: 1,490 Member
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    Bump. Been trying to decide this myself.
  • lacurandera1
    lacurandera1 Posts: 8,083 Member
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    I have a fitbit. I was unaware when I bought it that it's pretty much a glorified pedometer. As I do a lot of running, i'm kind of okay with that. it bases its calorie burn off steps taken (I wonder how accurate this really is...)

    BUT....I'm totally getting a Polar HRM for my birthday. The fitbit is better for running and walking, but obviously would be totally useless for something where you're not taking steps, like biking.

    I haven't used a Polar so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but if I had it to do over again and only had the money for one, I'd get the Polar. I'm kind of okay with having both, too, though! :)

    ETA: Fitbit's page is sort of neat, it shows your activity in different graphs, etc. Plus it has a sleep tracker. Which I always forget to use.
  • mapnerd2005
    mapnerd2005 Posts: 363
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    I have a SportLine Duo, and I LOVE it.
  • SarahSosi
    SarahSosi Posts: 349 Member
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    :bigsmile: HRM
  • porcelain_doll
    porcelain_doll Posts: 1,005 Member
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    Polars aren't meant to be worn all day, only during workouts. If you want something to wear all day, go with a FitBit or BodyBugg.
  • sigsby
    sigsby Posts: 220 Member
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    I use a MOTOACTV and I love it. It acts as a pedometer, has GPS and is also an MP3 player.
  • RikkiDominey
    RikkiDominey Posts: 134 Member
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    Polars aren't meant to be worn all day, only during workouts. If you want something to wear all day, go with a FitBit or BodyBugg.

    This^^
    I personally have a Polar FT7 and LOVE it!! I only use a HRM for my workouts though.
  • sugboog29
    sugboog29 Posts: 630 Member
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    I have a fitbit and love it. I guess part of it depends on how much you want to spend. I've used mine for about 1 1/2 months and wear it daily. I don't know much about the Polar HRM but if you are looking for something that does what a HRM is suppose to...then I would go with the Polar. If you are just wanting to keep track of steps, miles, calories...go with the fitbit!
  • da_bears10089
    da_bears10089 Posts: 1,791 Member
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    I have both. I have the Polar FT4 and the Fitbit One. I like the fitbit for keeping me moving throughout the day and i like the HRM for during my workouts. I feel like the calorie estimate on the HRM is much more accurate during my workouts. I used to log my workout calories and then if i was more active throught the day than usual, the fitbit would adjust my calories on MFP.
  • halinds
    halinds Posts: 3 Member
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    I LOVE my Polar HRM!!!! I got it for christmas this past year and started really tracking my work out calories and consumption calories and have lost about 10 pounds since! It has really taken my gym routines to a whole new level since I am able to motivate myself more when I can look down and see where my heart rate is during a work out and where my calorie levels are. I finally reached 1,000 calories during my last gym session! Feels so good to truly see how many calories you are burning off at the gym and to see the hard work pay off on the scale.
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
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    Honestly, both! But I'd get the HRM first if you have choose. The HRM is going to give you a better estimate during your workouts than a fitbit. (I have both and had the HRM for 2 years before my FB). I have found that my daily burn with the FB is pretty close to all the online calculators I've used.
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
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    Hello gorgeous! I have a Polar FT4 and I love it. It wouldn't be useful for tracking the amount of calories burned in a whole day. It's just specifically for when you're working out. It comes with the chest strap and I've found it to be pretty accurate. Most of my workouts consist of DVDs and running outside so it has come in very handy for me. It's also great for controlling my speed while running (HR too high = slow down).
  • jamimari777
    jamimari777 Posts: 101 Member
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    I have a Nike FuelBand that I wear all day. It keeps me motivated to move around at work. When I'm at the gym doing activities where I don't use my arms, like biking or the stepmill, I just click it throuh my shoe laces. Love it. It's similar to the Fitbit.

    But all in all, my HRM is what I love the most. It keeps me honest at the gym. I push myself harder, or know when to take a break based upon my heart rate. Also, I trust the calorie count. I hate working out without it!
  • mfoster1019
    mfoster1019 Posts: 152 Member
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    I have the Polar FT7 and I like it. Like a previous poster mentioned, I only wear during workouts. I've never had/tried Fitbit.
  • npalacios78
    npalacios78 Posts: 31
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    I just pre ordered my FitBit which is coming out in March. I´m interested in the measurement of my sleep cycle as well, and that´s what closed the deal for me.
  • BrawlerBella
    BrawlerBella Posts: 400 Member
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    I have both. I have the Polar FT4 and the Fitbit One. I like the fitbit for keeping me moving throughout the day and i like the HRM for during my workouts. I feel like the calorie estimate on the HRM is much more accurate during my workouts. I used to log my workout calories and then if i was more active throught the day than usual, the fitbit would adjust my calories on MFP.

    ^^True Story^^
  • sfphelan
    sfphelan Posts: 53 Member
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    I have both! I got the fitbit for christmas and i love the idea of wearing it all day and kinda motivates me to be more active.. I get to see my patterns of activity and overall calorie burn just from daily activity. (and the sleep tracker is really neat) great website.. but i also have a polar hrm (with chest strap) and i use it to be more accurate with my calorie burn... I love both but only wear my polar for workouts!! hope it helps!
  • mapnerd2005
    mapnerd2005 Posts: 363
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    I forgot to say, I have a Fitbit too. I wear it all day long, and then the HRM only when I'm working out. When I enter my activity on the fitbit site, I manually enter the calories off my HRM for my workouts (which include Zumba, cycling, swimming, strength training, running, kick boxing, etc).
  • rfsatar
    rfsatar Posts: 599 Member
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    I have both - I started with a FitBit last year and as I gradually started to get myself more active, it became clear that Santa was gonna have to spring for a HRM ( as Fitty is useless when it comes to counting cals on a Spin-bike, rower and in the pool... But it is fantastic for having on me for the rest of the day after I do my morning work outs.

    I have a Polar FT7 and I love it ... Although their website for logging stuff is just woeful!!!

    Edited to add: I log everything on MFP and just let FB do it's thing - plus the sleep tracker has been very good for me.
  • ChangingAmanda
    ChangingAmanda Posts: 486 Member
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    Polars aren't meant to be worn all day, only during workouts. If you want something to wear all day, go with a FitBit or BodyBugg.

    This. I have a FitBit One and a Polar FT4. I use the FitBit to keep track of steps and stairs and the HRM workouts.

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