Fitbit or Polar HRM? Please help me decide!!

ChrissyMaez
ChrissyMaez 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
    Bump. Been trying to decide this myself.
  • lacurandera1
    lacurandera1 Posts: 8,083 Member
    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
    I have a SportLine Duo, and I LOVE it.
  • SarahSosi
    SarahSosi Posts: 349 Member
    :bigsmile: HRM
  • porcelain_doll
    porcelain_doll Posts: 1,005 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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.
  • livitup85
    livitup85 Posts: 231 Member
    Just bought a Polar FT4. Can't wait to try it out at the gym tonight.
  • BobOki
    BobOki Posts: 245 Member
    These are two different things.

    Fitbit is only meant to track your steps through the day. Polar is meant to track your heart during intense exercise. Apples to oranges.

    I have both. I wear fitbit all day to track all steps (syncs with mfp). The polar is used if I am jogging or lifting (I have the reps one) to make sure I do not overdo it, and to track heart health etcetc.
  • t2kburl
    t2kburl Posts: 123 Member
    In my opinion, your best bet is to let the routine activities of your day go uncounted, since you were probably doing those things when you gained the weight. Then use a HRM for your workouts to get accurate burns. and just log those.

    I have both, and found the fitbit somewhat useless after a while, as it was nearly the same every day. I simply changed my MFP settings from sedentary to Lightly Active and moved on. I LOVE my Polar FT7!!! It has guided me through several different workout cycles.
  • grelca
    grelca Posts: 10 Member
    I'm waiting for the Fitbit Flex to come out.. I know I would have trouble remembering a clip-on, so something you wear all the time would be waay better for me.

    For calories burned a HRM will probably be way more accurate.
  • Ibarra951
    Ibarra951 Posts: 19 Member
    I have used a Polar HRM for some time and I find that it's awesome for keeping track of my HR during Cardio. It sync's with the cardio machines in my gym so I don't have to keep my hands on those silver heart rate readers (whatever you call them).

    The thing I like about the FitBit is that it has Smartphone connectivity, so you can do more with it in terms of keeping track of your steps taken during the day or estimated calroies burnt over the course of your day.

    It really depends on your goals and what your trying to use it for.

    If your trying to keep track of your numbers over the course of your day, I would reccomened the FitBit. BUT! Since money is not a problem, I would HIGHY suggest a Motoactiv by Motorola or the Nike+ Fuel Band. Both do a great job at keeping track of your progress over the course of a day.

    If your just trying to keep track of your heart rate during gym time, go for the Polar HRM. I find it difficult to deal with keeping the strap on my chest after 2 or so hours. It just stays all sweaty under the band, and you have this wierd bump protruding from your shirt...
  • ChrissyMaez
    ChrissyMaez Posts: 117 Member
    I plan to increase my exericse over the next few weeks. Right now, I am on Day 18 of 30DS and I wondered if the fitbit would be able to gage calories burned?? As the weather warms up, I will incorporate walking/jogging, along with elliptical workouts.
  • Run4UrHealth
    Run4UrHealth Posts: 348 Member
    I have both...I like the fitbit to challenge myself to move more and climb more stairs during the day to reach my goals but I absolutely have to use my Polar HRM w/ chest strap during my workouts for accurate calorie burning!
  • BlairCottier
    BlairCottier Posts: 171 Member
    I have a Polar FT7 and LOVE it!!! Polars and Fitbits do completely different things so it just depends on what you want to use it for. If you want something that will give you your calories burned for any type of workout, go with a Polar. If you want something to wear all day to get you motivated to move more, get a fitbit. Polar's are very accurate with heart rate if you get a chest strap and watch system. Some even give you which "zone" you are working out in, whether it is the "fat burn" zone or the "fitness" zone. That is what the FT7 does and I love that. The FT7 also stores your info so you can go back and compare you heart rates to see how your fitness level is getting better. Good luck! Feel free to message me if you want more info, because I did tons of research on HRM's before purchasing mine.
  • Ibarra951
    Ibarra951 Posts: 19 Member
    Polar HRM will do a better job of tracking calories.
  • ChangingAmanda
    ChangingAmanda Posts: 486 Member
    I plan to increase my exericse over the next few weeks. Right now, I am on Day 18 of 30DS and I wondered if the fitbit would be able to gage calories burned?? As the weather warms up, I will incorporate walking/jogging, along with elliptical workouts.

    A HRM would be better for calculating the calorie burn since you're doing exercises, like crunches, that don't register on the fitbit because you're not taking a step.

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