For those that don't eat back exericse calories.

JenniTheVeggie
JenniTheVeggie Posts: 2,474 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Is a HRM, fitbit, etc. etc. etc. necessary? I'm 310+ days into this and I have done well without one. I occasionally think about getting one.

Thoughts?

Edited for typos. Blah.

Replies

  • Richie2shoes
    Richie2shoes Posts: 411 Member
    You lost 118lbs in less than a year without one. Unless you've hit a plateau or want to change things up, I'd say it isn't necessary. I don't use one and don't eat back exercise calories.
  • emmabeckemeyer1
    emmabeckemeyer1 Posts: 298 Member
    I love my HRM!!
  • klackey23
    klackey23 Posts: 26
    I love my HRM. It's helped me actually increase my calories since I found out my heart rate gets pretty high during exercise despite being in good shape. I burn more calories when I exercise than what MFP estimates for running, elliptical, etc.
  • RobWilkens
    RobWilkens Posts: 8
    The fitbit works for me about as well as the bodybugg worked for me (but the fitbit doesn't require a monthly fee like the bodybugg did), but then my background is in computer science and engineering so gadgets like this appeal to me for their own sake.

    I use it more as a motivator to do 'just a little more exercise', at least now. Yesterday i climbed 75 flights of stairs for the first time since i've had it (on purpose, i was climbing for no particular reason).. Today i did 25 flights.. I was at 17 earlier tonight and when i saw i could get a '25 floor badge' again by just doing 8 more over the following 5 hours, it got me to push a little extra to get there. Also, i did a lot of walking today just with the snow, so by 8pm i was at about 9450 steps. I knew 10,000 was the next badge, so i got on the treadmill for what was about 4 minutes just to hit the 10,000 step mark.

    UPDATE: BTW - as per "eating extra calories" - the MFP site says i have 1,650 calories left for the day in my budget (which really means i am 2,150 calories below the number of calories i burned).
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    I don't eat my exercise but I use my HRM for running just to monitor my heart rate. It's an interesting toy if you want to see what you're really burning.
  • JenniTheVeggie
    JenniTheVeggie Posts: 2,474 Member
    In my mind just knowing that I am moving more and more is enough. But then again....having that accurate count might push me even more.
  • essbe
    essbe Posts: 65 Member
    I love mine, I find it amazing motivation.
  • walkwithme1
    walkwithme1 Posts: 492 Member
    My advice: don't get it. I became overly obsessed with the Cals I was burning, which made me obsess about my food. Which for me, lead to no weigh loss. Did more harm than good for me.....just my 2 cents worth.
  • Xiaolongbao
    Xiaolongbao Posts: 854 Member
    Of course it's not necessary. But for those of us that get inspired by data it's fun.
  • shayemimi
    shayemimi Posts: 203 Member
    I don't really eat back exercise calories, unless I have an incredibly active day, or I'm just extra hungry... BUT I did just get a fitbit one last week, just to encourage more steps/activity in my day. It's cool to see how much you move and it gets me up off the couch and up and down the stairs more!
  • rodeothedog
    rodeothedog Posts: 45 Member
    can you guys explain what this means. I only count calories nothing else and don't add my exercise calories. Feel they are a bonus
  • JenniTheVeggie
    JenniTheVeggie Posts: 2,474 Member
    I guess necessary wasn't the right word. Extremely helpful would of been a better way to describe it.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    No.
  • JenniTheVeggie
    JenniTheVeggie Posts: 2,474 Member
    okay, thanks! I got my answer. I felt like I was missing something by not having one!
  • bsharrah
    bsharrah Posts: 129 Member
    Definitely not needed. About all they are good for is to motivate those who feel the need to put a number to their exercise effort, but that number can do more harm than good sometimes. They are only moderately accurate with steady state cardio. Most of the time people use them for other forms of exercise and get inflated readings that they would swear on their children are completely accurate. Even when used under the best circumstances, they are not accurate enough to track like you would with calories consumed.

    You seem to be doing fine with what you are doing. Keep it up and don't let others over complicate it for you. Consume less than your TDEE and you are golden, simple as that. Track what you eat and stay consistent. As you have already experienced, tracking calories burned, then trying to eat them back, is a needless step in the process, and only increases the likelihood of miscalculating your intake at the end of the day.

    Great job, btw.
  • gaffneycj
    gaffneycj Posts: 9
    Got a Fitbit and linked to my MFP. I was at a plateau for about 4 months. I am slightly competitive, so it is a great motivator for me. I also changed to just working off what I eat in a day and I finally broke through the plateau and have started steadily losing again.
  • 1Fizzle
    1Fizzle Posts: 241 Member
    Is a HRM, fitbit, etc. etc. etc. necessary? I'm 310+ days into this and I have done well without one. I occasionally think about getting one.

    Thoughts?

    Edited for typos. Blah.

    What you're doing is already working. I would forgo the expense of a HRM.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    I'm a year in. I got a fitbit about 3 months ago. HRM about 7 months ago. If you want to be more accurate then yes you need one. If you want to motivate yourself more.... fitbit is the way to go. I would workout & then stop for the rest of the day.... now with my fitbit I am working out all day.... I'll walk 17km to get a light globe. I just walked 5.5km to get a bread roll for my husband.

    You don't NEED it.... but they do motivate. I know how long I run for, how much I burn & what time I should log it starting at with my HRM. Without it MFP would have it being way way more burnt at times.

    My fitbit keeps me moving from the moment I wake up. I o at least 20,000 steps a day. I dont go to bed till that goal is reached, even if I have to be up till almost midnight.

    You don't NEED them & I sure don't eat any of my exercise calories back, I can hardly eat what MFP gives me to start with. I reached my goal in 7 months, other people I've noticed have taken over a year to get that far...same amount lost.
  • mygrl4meee
    mygrl4meee Posts: 943 Member
    I love my hrm. It was sad at first when I realized that I wasn't burning over 800 on zumba and was more like 400 to 500. After I got over the shock I use it as a way to motivate me. I have got it up to 584 and its neat to see new numbers.
  • bsharrah
    bsharrah Posts: 129 Member
    If you want to be more accurate then yes you need one.

    This is the kind of false information you will find all over these forums. Don't drink the kool aid.
  • LeeBee2012
    LeeBee2012 Posts: 94 Member
    bump.
  • meadow_sage
    meadow_sage Posts: 308 Member
    If you want to be more accurate then yes you need one.

    This is the kind of false information you will find all over these forums. Don't drink the kool aid.

    Okay, I don't think anyone NEEDS one but I don't see how that statement is false.
  • bsharrah
    bsharrah Posts: 129 Member
    If you want to be more accurate then yes you need one.

    This is the kind of false information you will find all over these forums. Don't drink the kool aid.

    Okay, I don't think anyone NEEDS one but I don't see how that statement is false.

    Because the statement is not true. A HRM will not make your tracking more accurate because their readings are not that accurate. They offer a rough guess regarding calories burned, and then only under the best conditions (steady state cardio). People here are so caught up with wanting to see numbers that they don't stop to consider the accuracy of those numbers.
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
    I don't eat back my exercise calories but I got my HRM (Polar FT4) to make sure I was working hard enough at the gym. I'm not very connected to my body so it's been really helpful to make sure I'm "in the zone" - working hard enough but not over-doing it.
  • cld111
    cld111 Posts: 300 Member
    Well, I will say that I LOVE my fitbit. I wear it all the time, and I love checking the stats. Also, I base the calories I have left off of the fitbit site versus MFP, as I think it's more accurate throughout the day.

    But the best past about it is what others have said. It's a great motivator for me to get up and move and to get my steps in. While I'm working (I work from home), I will set a timer for 1 minute every once in a while and jog in place to get extra steps.

    I love all the numbers from MFP and fitbit, so it works for me. Obviously, it's not a necessity, but I'm sure glad I have one!

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