HRM Vs FitBit Vs Body Media - Which is best?

MrsWells1983

Hi all, I'm in the market for a HRM and wanted some advice about which would be the best for me. I plan on doing some interval type training, circuits, cycling and weights/strength, I'd also be interested in seeing how many steps I take and how much I burn in a normal day.

Not sure what fitbit and body media actually does, any and all explanations and advice would be awesome.

Thanks in advance!

Tam x

SimplyDenyse

Well I have a fitbit one, it does great at tracking my steps, stair climbing and sleep patterns. I really like it in that it makes me try to reach my step/stair goals everyday and try to beat them. I do zumba and and walking/running and it works great for that.

I have a HRM too but I have no clue how to use it LOL.. I would love to be able to use it for when im cycling, doing interval training or even zumba so i would really know how much im burning.

Body Media - I have no clue.. Ive just heard you have to pay a monthly fee to see your stats vs. fitbit where its free. Im not sure how accurate that is but thats why I choose the fitbit.

hmatchison

I have a bodymedia armband which is what is used on the biggest loser. It is true you have a pay a monthly membership to use the program (or you can pay by year like I did). I got in on March 15th and have lost 5 pounds by simply being motivated to move more. I have the armband and the display. The nice thing about the online program they have it that it links with MFP so I can enter my food on here and it links with bodymedia.com. Bodymedia also gives you helpful tips and advice.

It's similar to fitbit in that it measures how you sleep, steps and calories burned throughout the day. I"m not sure about fitbit, but bodymedia has a setting where you can set a trip to know during a particular workout how much you burn. It will also beep at you when you reach a goal and when you reached the goal. It stores multiple days of data at a time and is surprisingly comfortable. I chose bodymedia for the accuracy. Bodymedia has a 90% accuracy, I'm not sure about fitbit's accuracy, but since bodymedia is an armband it does a great job with precision and accuracy. If I do not wear it for more than 30 minutes, when I plug it into the computer to sync it asks what I was doing during that time so it can accurately determine my calories. Over time it becomes more accurate based off of your activity.

HRM's by themselves just aren't that useful as it's not just your heartrate that determines how many calories you are burning at any particular time. When I'm walking and moving around my heartrate is about 80, my at rest is about 60, so the difference isn't large enough for the HRM to accurately depict how many calories I'm burning. Having a HRM as well as the fitbit or the bodymedia is the best method.

Either way you go is a great idea, not only to help lose weight but to be more active. I recently had an injury and can't workout hard like I was when I first got it, but I have found that I actually reach my goal earlier in the day because I am naturally being more active. It's a great motivator. And as you get more active you can up your personal goals through the website to fit your new active lifestyle.

MrsWells1983

Thanks! I looked at body media and noticed the fee for the use of the site. I don't have to run the app through my phone though do I? I have an old HTC so a FitBit wouldn't be compatible with it. Also which FitBit do you have?

melissa112

I'm really considering getting a fit bit. I walk my dog between 3-7 miles a day depending on which dog I walk. I also do 30DS. Would the fitbit be accurate when doing something like the 30 day shred where its a combo of cardio/strength/abs??

At the minute I use the runkeeper app to calculate my calories during walking and just half whatever it tells me as I dont know how accurate it is. With the 30DS I use the calories MFP gives me for circuit training but again not sure how accurate it is.

MrsWells1983

Well I worked out that I won't be getting the body media.... In Australia with the armband and display it costs $229 and at the moment in the US it's retailing for $129 (on the body media webstore).

Will no doubt end up with just the HRM (I can get a Polar FT4 for under $100 here so that might just do the trick for now). I am so bummed that the body media costs that much!

MrsWells1983

So with the fitbit (flex - which isn't available in Australia until June), do I HAVE to sync it with my phone? At the moment I don't have a compatible phone (crappy old HTC) so it's of no use to me if I have to sync it with a phone. The flex will retail in Australia for $119 so more within my price range.

ocragal

I love, love, love my Fitbit One. After I bought mine and became addicted, my boss, and several colleagues.

The display is terrific. Personally, I also enjoy the silent, vibrating alarm. It is such a gentle way to wake up.

Querian

I got a FitBit at the beginning of April and I totally LOVE it! You do not have to sync it to your phone, you can sync it to your home computer. It doesn't work with my phone but I still love the Fitbit. It encourages me to be more active. Since I got it my activity level has definitely increased and I started losing again after being on a 3-4 week plateau by following the calorie guidelines set by the Fitbit. You can set it up so the Fitbit and MFP talk to each other so you just continue to log everything into MFP and the Fitbit knows what you did too and makes adjustments based on what you tell MFP you are doing. I also like how it tracks sleep and the interface, the Fitbit dashboard, is very cool if you ask me. It cost me $100 on Amazon but luckily I had a $50 gift card so I only paid $50 out of pocket. I wear it attached to my bra and it is very inconspicuous and when I sleep there is a wristband included that you can put it in. It is tiny, like the size of a stick of gum, which is good because I don't want to wear a watch or an armband all the time. When I got the Fitbit I changed my settings on MFP to sedentary and I just let it tell me how much I can eat each day based on my activity level and I eat back most of my exercise calories. At firsts I was entering walks into MFP but after a week or two I decided that the Fitbit could adjust for walks on it's own so now I just enter non-walking exercise. I have an open diary so if you are interested in how it works take a look

I don't have an HRM but I know a lot of people love them. I don't know anything about the Body Media but I would not want to pay a monthly fee.

LissaK1981

I am a total gadget geek. I used to have the fitbit ultra, I broke it, so I bought the fitbit one. I also have the polar FT4 HRM and the Motorola Motoactv. Love all 3 I have to say. I will probably use a fitbit till I die. I always use my fitbit and HRM together because I want as much info as possible all the time. The fitbit is accurate for walking and hiking, not for weight training. The motoactv has the most features but I do not use it much because I am waiting to buy a bluetooth hrm chest strap and bluetooth headphones. I also don't have a smartphone to take advantage of the features yet. But it does have GPS and 16GB of music memory, and I love the touch screen and its compact size. Last hiking trip it was talking to me randomly though and I don't know why. It does keep track of what music you push harder to and creates a "fit list" of music for you. Downside is I can only put music I own on it, but I think there is a way to stream from a smartphone. I have not tried the body media......yet............. muahahaha! I am holding my breath for the Samsung S Health Bundle.

MrsWells1983

At this point I can't afford a HRM and say a fitbit at once. So it's one or the other for me!

Do you know which HRM/gadget is suitable for weight/strength training? I quite like the sound of the fitbit and its features.

Thanks for your advice everyone!

willdob3

None of the FitBits - not even the new FitBit Flex - have the HR feature. At least it is not listed as a feature for any of them & no reveiws mention it as a feature.

artickb22

I use a HRM, but that's because I only track calories burned and only when I'm exercising. I don't account for calories burned during the day or while at work. I'm a nurse so I know I burn major calories at work but my body's already use to that. So the HRM works well for me as I use it limitedly.

LissaK1981

I would say get the HRM 1st then. You can get an accurate TDEE and ad exercise counts with it. Plus if you go to the gym some of the equipment is also compatible like the precor ellipticles. Then next payday get ya a fitbit. It really is an addicting little device, plus you can track anything you want with it. I love the graphs and stuff and the personal challenges, oh and the sleep feature.