Fitbit...How accurate?

I wear my Fitbit to mostly to count my steps per day. How accurate do you think it is for calories burned per day? Would I be better off just wearing a HRM for a day to get a better idea?

TIA!

Replies

  • bre1833
    bre1833 Posts: 34 Member
    Bump
  • judykat7
    judykat7 Posts: 576 Member
    I got a lot of opinons before purchasing a tool for this and based on the opinoins I received the FitBit does an excellent job of recording your steps but for calorie burn you need an HRM. I purchased a Polar FT40 from Amazon and am loving it. Amazing how much my calorie burn was exaggerated before using the HRM for that purpose.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    For steps counted fitbit is fairly accurate, you should just keep in mind that anything that bumps or jars it will cause it to incorrectly register a step. For calorie count there is no way of measuring all day calorie expenditure that is accurate. HRMs are good for use during workouts but because of how they are calibrated they will give you inaccurate readings if your heart rate isn't elevated past a certain point. So you can not wear one all day long to get an idea of your all day calorie expenditure. All you can do is guesstimate.
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
    For steps counted fitbit is fairly accurate, you should just keep in mind that anything that bumps or jars it will cause it to incorrectly register a step. For calorie count there is no way of measuring all day calorie expenditure that is accurate. HRMs are good for use during workouts but because of how they are calibrated they will give you inaccurate readings if your heart rate isn't elevated past a certain point. So you can not wear one all day long to get an idea of your all day calorie expenditure. All you can do is guesstimate.
    The Bodymedia fit is 90% accurate for all day wear!