Fitbit or HMR?

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arlenem1974
arlenem1974 Posts: 437 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been thinking about buying a calorie counter but what one should I get? What do you guys reccomend?
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Replies

  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    A fitbit is a pedometer and nothing more. It can not be used to measure calorie burn during exercise, unless that exercise is limited to walking or jogging. It is meant to be worn throughout the day to get an idea of how many calories you burn as you walk from place to place. However it is not all that accurate and often greatly overestimates because it translates any and all sudden movements as steps.
  • krisiepoo
    krisiepoo Posts: 710 Member
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    neither of those count calories.

    a heart rate monitor will measure your heart rate during exercise and give you an amoutn of cals burned

    I don't have much info on fitbits, but if you search the forums, they are talked about all the time on here you can probably get some good info from them
  • GypsyNrs4Evr
    GypsyNrs4Evr Posts: 49 Member
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    I have both. I'm totally addicted to the fitbit as it motivates me for move my *kitten* more than normal to meet my daily step goal, however after being stuck without a loss for over 5 weeks I'm starting to question the amount of calories it says I'm burning each day. I'm consistently in a deficit of 5000+ at the end of every week so it makes no sense than I'm not losing. With that said I bought a HRM this past weekend so I will try to start logging according to that instead of MFP or FitBit estimates. We will see what happens. Either way I'm busting it working out and sticking to my calorie goal (just dropped it back to 1250 since I've been stuck since going with the TDEE -20% formula) so something has got to give!

    After typing all this a thought occurred to me. The FitBit and HRM serve 2 completely different purposes IMO in that the HRM will more accurately provide you with calories burned during your workouts. Also, just FYI, when I log my workouts in MFP I use the correct time and when I sync my fitbit the logged workout replaces the fitbit data for that time period so you are not double logging the burn.

    Bottom line.....I love them both and don't regret either purchase as they work together to help you accomplish your fitness goals
  • kimberly728
    kimberly728 Posts: 124
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    i bought a fitbit last month, and i returned it shortly after. i was fine with it not giving me my heart rate and those types of things but it seriously overexaggerated my steps and would tell me on the fitbit site that i burned thousands of calories, and then connect with mfp and only say i burned like 40 calories all day. its not accurate despite everything i had read on it before hand.
    i just got a polar ft4, and it is awesome. ive only used it a handful of times but i love it so far.
  • mdcjmom
    mdcjmom Posts: 597 Member
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    I personally use both. Fitbit for walking and motivation and the hrm for all other exercises
  • threesixten
    threesixten Posts: 134 Member
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    I have a bodymedia link—it seems pretty accurate (not overestimating, at least) and despite being kinda bulky.. it's pretty awesome.
  • chrislynn_marie
    chrislynn_marie Posts: 77 Member
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    I have a Nike+ Fuel Band and I love it! Definitely keeps you motivated. Counts calories and steps.
  • K_Serz
    K_Serz Posts: 1,299 Member
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    i bought a fitbit last month, and i returned it shortly after. i was fine with it not giving me my heart rate and those types of things but it seriously overexaggerated my steps and would tell me on the fitbit site that i burned thousands of calories, and then connect with mfp and only say i burned like 40 calories all day. its not accurate despite everything i had read on it before hand.
    i just got a polar ft4, and it is awesome. ive only used it a handful of times but i love it so far.

    Thanks for that feedback. I was interested in the new fitbit Flex. I have a Polar Ft7 that ive used during EVERY workout since I got it in Jan 2013 and I LOVE IT ALSO.

    Like a lot of other people, I wouldnt wear the HRM all day, but I would be curious to see what the fitbit says im doing during the day. Kinda crazy that the fibit would do that. Maybe you had a defective one? I liked the idea of the Flex. Constantly with you all the time. Even measuring a restful or restless nights sleep?
  • DarkFlutter
    DarkFlutter Posts: 408 Member
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    Jawbone UP!
    Much better than the FitBit. Basically everything wrong with the FitBit is corrected in the form of the Jawbone UP.
    I had a FitBit...but it was never accurate. It counts driving as steps!

    :heart: my UP!

    UP is a wristband. Tracks, steps, distance, active vs rest time. Calories burned. Stopwatch for activies. Idle alarm. Sleep functions are just as awesome!
  • eyeshuh
    eyeshuh Posts: 333
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    Depends on your goals. I have a Fitbit and I absolutely love it. I think that the people who say it over estimates likely just didn't take the time to put in their info correctly (i.e. stride length) and/or just aren't able to wrap their minds around the amount of calories they actually burn in a day. It uses the same sensors as a Wii controller and I've found that to be very good and predicting different movements. For example: it knows when I'm jumping vs. running vs. walking.

    A Heart Rate Monitor is for tracking specific cardio exercises and is not meant to be worn all day. You just use if for exercise calorie burn tracking. If you already have a realistic idea of your daily calorie burn, this would probably be the most useful as you would be able to then add your exercise better on top of it.

    However, just guessing from your OP, you may want to look into a Body Media. It is a device you wear on your arm that is meant to be worn all day and track your calories from whatever it is you're doing, including exercise. It uses a combination of movement and body heat to track.
  • rhondadwyer69
    rhondadwyer69 Posts: 75 Member
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    I personally use both. Fitbit for walking and motivation and the hrm for all other exercises

    Bingo - this is me - I use Fitbit for walking and for motivation for moving more and my heart monitor during exercise. I log exercise into MFP and use the cals burned from the HM NOT fitbit bec/yes fitbit does exaggerate cals burned and steps taken. I LOVE BOTH devices and I too hit a 6 week no loss platue, but I started losing again - so keep moving and keep eating right it will all work out!!!! Good Luck!!!! :flowerforyou:
  • FitForLife81
    FitForLife81 Posts: 372 Member
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    I have both and love both!!! If I had to choose one it would be HRM aas it gives you the most accurate burn for high cardio activities. A fitbit is good if you are only doing walking but it wont be 100% accurate as a calorie counter.
  • GypsyNrs4Evr
    GypsyNrs4Evr Posts: 49 Member
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    Jawbone UP!
    Much better than the FitBit. Basically everything wrong with the FitBit is corrected in the form of the Jawbone UP.
    I had a FitBit...but it was never accurate. It counts driving as steps!

    :heart: my UP!

    UP is a wristband. Tracks, steps, distance, active vs rest time. Calories burned. Stopwatch for activies. Idle alarm. Sleep functions are just as awesome!

    Glad to hear somebody is having a good experience with UP. I bought one before I tried FitBit and had the worst experience. It wouldn't hold a charge and the cap kept falling off. I returned it and moved on the Fitbit..
  • breezylee75
    breezylee75 Posts: 101 Member
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    I love my Polar FT7, it showed me that sometimes (a lot of times), the calorie burn estimates on the website can be high. I do want a Fitbit also, but haven't gotten one yet. I have heard that the Fitbit measures lots of things that it shouldn't, but I thought there must be a way to minus that, or maybe pause the tracking while in a vehicle. I don't know, but a HRM is definitely worth investing in. :)
  • shoppingdiva2011
    shoppingdiva2011 Posts: 127 Member
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    I love my HRM. It calculates how many calories I burn and is much more accurate I think.
  • donnacervelli11
    donnacervelli11 Posts: 109 Member
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    I've been using the Body Media fit link armband for a week now. Like another poster mentioned, it's kind of bulky but I've found it to be a wonderful tool. It seems to be pretty accurate in measuring my calorie burn. The bonus is that it syncs with MFP for calorie intake info, and updates MFP with my exercise totals.
  • lucysmommy
    lucysmommy Posts: 460
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    i have both as they both do different things x
  • notenoughspeed
    notenoughspeed Posts: 290 Member
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    I think it depends on your type of daily activity. Since I am sedentary at the office all day, I would get a HRM to help me better estimate my burn while at the gym. Fitbits help with all day estimations.
  • kimberly728
    kimberly728 Posts: 124
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    Depends on your goals. I have a Fitbit and I absolutely love it. I think that the people who say it over estimates likely just didn't take the time to put in their info correctly (i.e. stride length) and/or just aren't able to wrap their minds around the amount of calories they actually burn in a day. It uses the same sensors as a Wii controller and I've found that to be very good and predicting different movements. For example: it knows when I'm jumping vs. running vs. walking.

    A Heart Rate Monitor is for tracking specific cardio exercises and is not meant to be worn all day. You just use if for exercise calorie burn tracking. If you already have a realistic idea of your daily calorie burn, this would probably be the most useful as you would be able to then add your exercise better on top of it.

    However, just guessing from your OP, you may want to look into a Body Media. It is a device you wear on your arm that is meant to be worn all day and track your calories from whatever it is you're doing, including exercise. It uses a combination of movement and body heat to track.

    I'm sure some people didnt calculate their stride length and such when they got their fitbit, but I did. I setup everything I needed to set up so I would get the most accurate results. It counted "steps" while i was driving in a car, as well as while I was sitting at my desk in a chair doing nothing but typing. I got the fitbit because I walk a lot of stairs (I park my car on the roof of the parking garage and never take the elevator) and even those calculations were incorrect.
  • eyeshuh
    eyeshuh Posts: 333
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    Depends on your goals. I have a Fitbit and I absolutely love it. I think that the people who say it over estimates likely just didn't take the time to put in their info correctly (i.e. stride length) and/or just aren't able to wrap their minds around the amount of calories they actually burn in a day. It uses the same sensors as a Wii controller and I've found that to be very good and predicting different movements. For example: it knows when I'm jumping vs. running vs. walking.

    A Heart Rate Monitor is for tracking specific cardio exercises and is not meant to be worn all day. You just use if for exercise calorie burn tracking. If you already have a realistic idea of your daily calorie burn, this would probably be the most useful as you would be able to then add your exercise better on top of it.

    However, just guessing from your OP, you may want to look into a Body Media. It is a device you wear on your arm that is meant to be worn all day and track your calories from whatever it is you're doing, including exercise. It uses a combination of movement and body heat to track.

    I'm sure some people didnt calculate their stride length and such when they got their fitbit, but I did. I setup everything I needed to set up so I would get the most accurate results. It counted "steps" while i was driving in a car, as well as while I was sitting at my desk in a chair doing nothing but typing. I got the fitbit because I walk a lot of stairs (I park my car on the roof of the parking garage and never take the elevator) and even those calculations were incorrect.

    For the car thing - I have never had it count steps while driving, but if it does, it's very easy to go into the website and just log driving as an activity for that time to over-ride any errors.

    Where did you wear your Fitbit? Also, did it count steps or did it count calories? The Fitbit automatically adds your BMR, since you still burn energy just sitting doing nothing. Also, if you had the calorie estimation turned on and are still for too long, sometimes the Fitbit will think that you left it at home and start guessing based on your previous activity how much you are doing without it. Easy to just turn that off.

    For the stairs, those calculations were incorrect compared to what?

    Just curious about your bad experience, since mine has been so excellent. :)

    Oh, last question, what KIND of Fitbit did you have? I am using the One.

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