body fat scale and/or hrm investment

JeneticTraining
JeneticTraining Posts: 663 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Should I get a HRM or body fat scale? Or neither?

My goal is to lower my body fat. I'm not sure how accurate the scales are.
As for the HRM, I want to know how many calories I'm actually burning instead of relying on mfp calculations or the machine.

Replies

  • bokodasu
    bokodasu Posts: 629 Member
    I'd definitely get a HRM. You don't need a super fancy one, just the basic model with a chest strap should have everything you need.

    The scales aren't really that accurate - calipers will be better for tracking BF changes.
  • JeneticTraining
    JeneticTraining Posts: 663 Member
    Do you have one? Or any hrm recommendations
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    Neither HRM or fat scales are accurate enough to be worth the prices they are.

    I sold both of mine on eBay and invested the money in a couple of kettlebells and a season ticket at the swimming pool - now I don't care how many calories I am burning and I can pretty much eat what I like and still lose fat.
  • misssiri
    misssiri Posts: 335 Member
    Polar for HRM. Don't bother with the body fat scale. Not accurate
  • tequila09
    tequila09 Posts: 764 Member
    Hi!!

    I would recommend getting an hrm! I have thr polar ft4 and I love it! You can also buy a cheap body fat caliper for like 5-10 dollara off amazon. I got one and mine was surprisingly accurate as I went to a dunk tank to get professionally measured and I was actually only lower by .3% anyway that way you can get both!
  • missmegan831
    missmegan831 Posts: 824 Member
    I have a Polar Ft4 and absolutely love it!! Its simple to use, comfy to wear and far more accurate than any online calorie burning calculators... as far as body weight scales go.. I would purchase a pair of calipers
  • jamimari777
    jamimari777 Posts: 101 Member
    Heart rate monitor! I love mine :) I have the Garmin FR70 - it works indoors and out. It's also durable.

    I know that gadgets are not perfect, but my HR monitor motivates me to keep my heart rate up. I use a Nike Fuelband too - and that thing is not perfect either. However, both keep me moving and engaged while working out.
  • DaughterOfTheMostHighKing
    DaughterOfTheMostHighKing Posts: 1,436 Member
    Neither HRM or fat scales are accurate enough to be worth the prices they are.

    I sold both of mine on eBay and invested the money in a couple of kettlebells and a season ticket at the swimming pool - now I don't care how many calories I am burning and I can pretty much eat what I like and still lose fat.

    love it! I used to get so upset at the scale cause my body was smaller and my clothes were really lose and the darm scale just wouldn't budge! :P what ever. lol! go by how you look, feel and what the doctor says about your blood work and cardio and stuff.. the scale just tells you how much you weigh not what you are.
  • thisisme13
    thisisme13 Posts: 150
    I vote for HRM.

    A body fat scale is not all that accurate so personally I don't think it's worth the money. I bought a scale a few years ago that was on a really good sale so that's the only reason I have one that measures body fat... but I know it's not totally accurate so I don't put much faith in it.

    A HRM is an amazing investment. I love mine (Polar FT7)! It has been a great addition to my weight loss. I find it motivates me and makes me go longer or increase my intensity when I'm working out.

    Should you invest in a HRM make sure you get one that has a chest strap so it's more accurate. The watch only ones are not all that accurate unless you are stopping to take your HR every min or two. Also make sure it has the ability for you to enter your age, sex, height and weight.
  • roc12
    roc12 Posts: 1
    Unless you have heart problems a HRM is not really necessary and I find myself focusing more on the heart rate than I actually feel when I'm working out. BUT if you find it necessary to buy one I have bought 2 of the Polar FT7, super easy to use and tracks calories and time spent in target HR zone.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    .
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    Fat scales are not worth the money. Pick up some calipers, or just use measuring tape to estimate body fat percentage. More here:

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/measuring-body-composition-part-1.html
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/measuring-body-composition-part-2.html
  • glennstoudt
    glennstoudt Posts: 403 Member
    Should I get a HRM or body fat scale? Or neither?

    My goal is to lower my body fat. I'm not sure how accurate the scales are.
    As for the HRM, I want to know how many calories I'm actually burning instead of relying on mfp calculations or the machine.

    Omron Fat Loss Monitor. Accurate enough to show loss or gain over time. Internet, $30. Worth it if that is one of your goals and you want to track progress.
  • curvygirl77
    curvygirl77 Posts: 769 Member
    I have both-- some people on MFP suggest polar FT 4 model and I love it, one of the best investments ever. As far as the scale I ordered mine from amazon(its similar to what was used at the walgreens wellness clinic when I was going for my biometrics). The scale is called Omron Body composition monitor and scale (new advanced accuracy) ---it measures the following things: body fat, visceral fat, Body Age, BMI, Skeletal Muscle, resting Metabolism (BMR), and of course Body weight. The scale stores information for up to four people but you can also set it guest---enter info and let others use it if you want. I love my scale and think its a pretty good investment---it was only around 60 or 65 dollars from amazon---including shipping and I got it in two or three days
  • JeneticTraining
    JeneticTraining Posts: 663 Member
    Ooh. Okay, I'll do some more research on polars HRM.
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
    HRM.. then scales! Everyone I know including me had problems with polar, is go Garmin. I have the FR70. It's great! They had body fat scales in Aldi last week. Really cheap! A tape measure and a HRM I vote, then a scale!

    Zara
  • freelancejouster
    freelancejouster Posts: 478 Member
    HRM!
  • LilMissAmers
    LilMissAmers Posts: 10 Member
    I have the Polar FT60 and I love it. They have lots of options that are a step down price wise and still have excellent reviews. Don't bother investing in the dock to transfer your exercise information. I hardly ever use it. It's really motivating having a heartrate monitor. I have a body fat analyzing scale as well, and it's handy to a point, but certainly not a requirement.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    Can anyone tell me how they know their HRM is accurate? Accurate against what? Yes, you are getting consistant readings from your workouts but how do you know the calorie count is correct?

    I used a Polar FT4 for a set exercise and I got a reading of around 400, upgraded to Polar FT40 and got a reading of 700! OK, so do I eat more? Is the FT40 too generous?

    Unless you are able to compare your HRM to laboratory fitness equipment and wear your HRM for the same test exercise, I can't see that you can say you have an accurate reading or that one HRM is better than another.

    Unless you have a cardio problem where you need to keep an eye on your heart rate, you really don't need a HRM. Better to just enjoy your workouts, forget the calorie burn and adjust your diet according to whether you need to reduce, maintain or build.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    I love my Polar FT7 but then again I use it as a heart rate monitor (for heart rate zone exercising) and not just as a calorie counter.
    (FT4 also gets good feedback).

    Going to disagree about body fat scales being useless - I use an Omron (BF508) and find it very consistent if you use if correctly. The accuracy was only 1% different when I had a professional body fat measurement done using a BodPod.
  • JeneticTraining
    JeneticTraining Posts: 663 Member
    Fitness and nutrition has become a huge part of my life. So, I am willing to splurge a bit, $150 Max.
    Polar has really good reviews. Also, I see Garmin chest strap has a lot of good reviews
  • JeneticTraining
    JeneticTraining Posts: 663 Member
    I love my Polar FT7 but then again I use it as a heart rate monitor (for heart rate zone exercising) and not just as a calorie counter.
    (FT4 also gets good feedback).

    Going to disagree about bodytfat scales being useless - I use an Omron (BF508) and find it very consistent if you use if correctly. The accuracy was only 1% different when I had a professional body fat measurement done using a BodPod.

    Haha, I feel like 1% difference is a big difference. I am trying to get down to 18% BF. I think I'll just pay a professional to check my BF every other month.
  • lilmiss_sunshine29
    lilmiss_sunshine29 Posts: 136 Member
    Can anyone tell me how they know their HRM is accurate? Accurate against what? Yes, you are getting consistant readings from your workouts but how do you know the calorie count is correct?

    I used a Polar FT4 for a set exercise and I got a reading of around 400, upgraded to Polar FT40 and got a reading of 700! OK, so do I eat more? Is the FT40 too generous?

    Unless you are able to compare your HRM to laboratory fitness equipment and wear your HRM for the same test exercise, I can't see that you can say you have an accurate reading or that one HRM is better than another.

    Unless you have a cardio problem where you need to keep an eye on your heart rate, you really don't need a HRM. Better to just enjoy your workouts, forget the calorie burn and adjust your diet according to whether you need to reduce, maintain or build.

    I guess my question before I can make comment on accuracy is what your average heart rate the same when you did the set exercise? Because that will influence your total calorie burn. I've had the opportunity to use both an FT40 & FT7 from the Polar range, both of which worked well for me. The FT40 has a few more features (like Fitness test) than the FT7 - which was and is the main difference I noted.

    I don't believe you need to have a Cardio problem to justify buying a HRM.
    I (like previously mentioned by someone else) like to see how many calories I've burnt because that's motivating for me. I don't have a Cardio problem...it's just my preference to have a HRM and since investing in an FT7....I haven't regretted it once! I do near enough the same circuits and my overall burn/output is based on my Heart Rate for the session - even though the distance and terrain are the same.

    As for the scale - can't comment because don't have one. I've been using a tape measure monthly to measure my waist, neck circumference and hips. I enter this into a BMI app i downloaded onto my phone. Don't know how accurate a way of measuring body fat it is but it's giving me an idea of my progress...
  • abbzpwn
    abbzpwn Posts: 38 Member
    heart rate monitors are really useful :D i think it would be a great tool to have to see if you're hitting your target heart rate and really see how much calories you're burning. It's accurate >.< I love my polar ft40 and I can't stop using it. MFP can be really off with calorie burns. MFP would say I burn 400 calories. My HRM would say I burned 1000. And I think a bodyfat scale is unnecessary. Just use the mirror.
  • JeneticTraining
    JeneticTraining Posts: 663 Member
    Alright thanks guys.

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