Fitbit, HRM, Bodymedia Fit 30 Day Comparison
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Michelle7897
Posts: 108 Member
I am trying to get as accurate as possible with finding my TDEE. I tried the online calculators but depending on the site and formula used the results were sometimes far off. I have owned a Fitbit Ultra for about 13 months. I have worn it every day since January 17 of this year. I use a Polar FT60 heart rate monitor with chest strap every time I exercise. I thought using a heart rate monitor with a chest strap when exercising and wearing my Fitbit every day would be accurate but now I am doubting both of them. I have heard many good things about the Bodymedia Fit so I decided to do a 30 comparison to see which was more accurate. I just started this week.
Things I like about my Fitbit: It is small enough that I can hide it on my bra strap or on my pants. I like that it has a display on it so I can see exactly what I have burned. I don't have to pay to access my information, although because I am a bit of a numbers geek I do have a premium subscription anyway. What I don't like about it: I am not sure it is accurate and it is very easy to lose or break. I don't care for the layout of the Fitbit dashboard much or their app.
My first impressions of the Bodymedia Fit (BMF): I thought the strap would be very uncomfortable and a pain to wear but surprisingly after a few hours I didn't notice it anymore. It was annoying trying to get comfortable when I went to bed the first night because I sleep on my left side. I turned it a little and that helped tremendously. It didn't bother me at all after that. After the first couple of days I have noticed the BMF picks up my sleep apnea much more accurately than my Fitbit. I love the design of the BMF app as well as the dashboard, it is much more user friendly than Fitbit. I do not like that you must have a subscription to be able to view your information Although it doesn't have a display I can use the bluetooth on my iPod to see my updated numbers even without internet. I like the workout log on the app a lot, too. I like that I can choose my workout based on a goal time, steps, calories, total activity time, or vigorous activity time. That helps me to make sure I meet my goals but don't overdo it. That is very helpful as I have Fibromyalgia and must be careful not to push myself too hard. I also like that it keeps a record of my personal bests so I can try to beat them. I find that to be a wonderful motivator for me to get my butt moving. I really like the feedback BMF gives as well, such as pointing out I was eating too much cholesterol. I had not noticed how much I was eating yesterday! When it appears I will be short of my burn target for the day it will give me a list of suggested activities with how much time I would need to do them and the calorie burn.
I am going to test my Polar FT60 this afternoon. I have the h7 Bluetooth chest strap so I am going to use my Digifit app, my Polar Beat app, and my watch Polar watch when I exercise. My theory is that if heart rate monitors are accurate the numbers should be very similar since both apps and my watch will be recording the same data at the same time. I will post my results this evening.
Things I like about my Fitbit: It is small enough that I can hide it on my bra strap or on my pants. I like that it has a display on it so I can see exactly what I have burned. I don't have to pay to access my information, although because I am a bit of a numbers geek I do have a premium subscription anyway. What I don't like about it: I am not sure it is accurate and it is very easy to lose or break. I don't care for the layout of the Fitbit dashboard much or their app.
My first impressions of the Bodymedia Fit (BMF): I thought the strap would be very uncomfortable and a pain to wear but surprisingly after a few hours I didn't notice it anymore. It was annoying trying to get comfortable when I went to bed the first night because I sleep on my left side. I turned it a little and that helped tremendously. It didn't bother me at all after that. After the first couple of days I have noticed the BMF picks up my sleep apnea much more accurately than my Fitbit. I love the design of the BMF app as well as the dashboard, it is much more user friendly than Fitbit. I do not like that you must have a subscription to be able to view your information Although it doesn't have a display I can use the bluetooth on my iPod to see my updated numbers even without internet. I like the workout log on the app a lot, too. I like that I can choose my workout based on a goal time, steps, calories, total activity time, or vigorous activity time. That helps me to make sure I meet my goals but don't overdo it. That is very helpful as I have Fibromyalgia and must be careful not to push myself too hard. I also like that it keeps a record of my personal bests so I can try to beat them. I find that to be a wonderful motivator for me to get my butt moving. I really like the feedback BMF gives as well, such as pointing out I was eating too much cholesterol. I had not noticed how much I was eating yesterday! When it appears I will be short of my burn target for the day it will give me a list of suggested activities with how much time I would need to do them and the calorie burn.
I am going to test my Polar FT60 this afternoon. I have the h7 Bluetooth chest strap so I am going to use my Digifit app, my Polar Beat app, and my watch Polar watch when I exercise. My theory is that if heart rate monitors are accurate the numbers should be very similar since both apps and my watch will be recording the same data at the same time. I will post my results this evening.
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Replies
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I have a BMF, Polar FT7 and Fitbit.
IME, the BMF way overestimates calorie burn. It would calculate 3500-4000 per day for me which is far to high for me. I think HRMs also over calculate calories as well but not by as much as BMF. The other thing is that HRMs only tell how hard your heart is working and not really how many calories you are burning. IMO, you are no worse off using the MFP calcuations over a HRM.
Fitbit seems to be the closest to me. It typcially put me at about 2400-3000 per day which is consistant with my intake and weight loss results.0 -
I have a bmf and a polar ft60 - and they both calculate my exercise burn within probably 50 calories of each other after an hour. I think that's pretty good. And it can go either way (one can be higher one time, the other a different time). I only wear my hrm now if I actually want to know my hr.0
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I am interested in what you find out.0
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can't wait to see what your findings are!0
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Before I get into my results from today, I just found a feature on the BMF dashboard that I love. You can create a printable four page summary report of all your data customizable by time or a detailed food report.
Okay, so I walked/jogged in place for 60 minutes wearing my Polar h7 heart rate monitor chest strap. It has bluetooth and can sync to multiple things at the same time. A Polar customer service rep said that would not affect its accuracy. All of the numbers below were taken at the same time during the same workout using the same chest strap, which is supposed to be the most accurate.
After 60 minutes:
My Polar FT60 watch said I had burned 529 calories.
My Polar Beat app (same company as the watch & chest strap) said I had burned 613 calories.
My Digifit app said I had burned 564 calories.
I was surprised to see the numbers were not closer together, especially the Polar watch & Polar Beat app since they were both made by the same company as the chest strap.
I must say I didn't feel as though I burned that much, certainly not 613! I was still able to sing along with the music on my playlist for over half the time, although poorly and missing a few words here and there.
I also set the timer on my Fitbit and used the workout log on my Bodymedia Fit app during this time. Here are the numbers from them:
My Fitbit said I burned 423 calories and my total calories burned for the day was 1554. It gave me 2242 for my TDEE estimate for the day.
My BMF said I burned 419 calories and my total calories burned for the day at that point was 1542. It gave me 2393 for my TDEE estimate for the day.
I feel pretty certain the heart rate monitor is way too high. I have been entering the number my HRM gives on myfitnesspal and sometimes eating part of my calories back. I think this might be where my problem was. I think I may have been over estimating my burn, which meant my calorie deficit would have been much smaller than I thought. Some days I was very close I probably ate more than I burned without realizing it. I believe I will learn a lot in 30 days from my little experiment. Would anyone be interested in me updating this throughout the next few weeks?0 -
I'm not surprised by the HRM results but this is the first time I've seen a Fitbit and BMF comparison. I don't use Fitbit but it is nice to see that BMF and Fitbit gave similar numbers.Before I get into my results from today, I just found a feature on the BMF dashboard that I love. You can create a printable four page summary report of all your data customizable by time or a detailed food report.
Okay, so I walked/jogged in place for 60 minutes wearing my Polar h7 heart rate monitor chest strap. It has bluetooth and can sync to multiple things at the same time. A Polar customer service rep said that would not affect its accuracy. All of the numbers below were taken at the same time during the same workout using the same chest strap, which is supposed to be the most accurate.
After 60 minutes:
My Polar FT60 watch said I had burned 529 calories.
My Polar Beat app (same company as the watch & chest strap) said I had burned 613 calories.
My Digifit app said I had burned 564 calories.
I was surprised to see the numbers were not closer together, especially the Polar watch & Polar Beat app since they were both made by the same company as the chest strap.
I must say I didn't feel as though I burned that much, certainly not 613! I was still able to sing along with the music on my playlist for over half the time, although poorly and missing a few words here and there.
I also set the timer on my Fitbit and used the workout log on my Bodymedia Fit app during this time. Here are the numbers from them:
My Fitbit said I burned 423 calories and my total calories burned for the day was 1554. It gave me 2242 for my TDEE estimate for the day.
My BMF said I burned 419 calories and my total calories burned for the day at that point was 1542. It gave me 2393 for my TDEE estimate for the day.
I feel pretty certain the heart rate monitor is way too high. I have been entering the number my HRM gives on myfitnesspal and sometimes eating part of my calories back. I think this might be where my problem was. I think I may have been over estimating my burn, which meant my calorie deficit would have been much smaller than I thought. Some days I was very close I probably ate more than I burned without realizing it. I believe I will learn a lot in 30 days from my little experiment. Would anyone be interested in me updating this throughout the next few weeks?
I think the HRM will give more accurate results to people who have been pushing their cardiovascular system on a regular basis. Since the HRM doesn't know the cardiovascular ability of the person using it, it must use an 'average' in their calculation. Even if we input a weight, a person can be very overweight and have great cardiovascular ability, or skinny and unable to run a minute.
Thanks for posting your results. I'd be interested in seeing other results you get. It almost makes me want to get a Fitbit myself to compare various activities.0 -
I would be very interested in seeing your results post regularly. I'm trying to decide on buying either an HRM or a fitbit but not both. So, I'd love to see the results and comparisons. Thank you!0
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Before I get into my results from today, I just found a feature on the BMF dashboard that I love. You can create a printable four page summary report of all your data customizable by time or a detailed food report.
Okay, so I walked/jogged in place for 60 minutes wearing my Polar h7 heart rate monitor chest strap. It has bluetooth and can sync to multiple things at the same time. A Polar customer service rep said that would not affect its accuracy. All of the numbers below were taken at the same time during the same workout using the same chest strap, which is supposed to be the most accurate.
After 60 minutes:
My Polar FT60 watch said I had burned 529 calories.
My Polar Beat app (same company as the watch & chest strap) said I had burned 613 calories.
My Digifit app said I had burned 564 calories.
I was surprised to see the numbers were not closer together, especially the Polar watch & Polar Beat app since they were both made by the same company as the chest strap.
I must say I didn't feel as though I burned that much, certainly not 613! I was still able to sing along with the music on my playlist for over half the time, although poorly and missing a few words here and there.
I also set the timer on my Fitbit and used the workout log on my Bodymedia Fit app during this time. Here are the numbers from them:
My Fitbit said I burned 423 calories and my total calories burned for the day was 1554. It gave me 2242 for my TDEE estimate for the day.
My BMF said I burned 419 calories and my total calories burned for the day at that point was 1542. It gave me 2393 for my TDEE estimate for the day.
I feel pretty certain the heart rate monitor is way too high. I have been entering the number my HRM gives on myfitnesspal and sometimes eating part of my calories back. I think this might be where my problem was. I think I may have been over estimating my burn, which meant my calorie deficit would have been much smaller than I thought. Some days I was very close I probably ate more than I burned without realizing it. I believe I will learn a lot in 30 days from my little experiment. Would anyone be interested in me updating this throughout the next few weeks?
These numbers aren't far off at all. Your exercise estimate was within 100 calories. Your TDEE is about 150 calories difference. That is very small. Your food log is likely to be off as much if not more.
These are all just estimates, you are never going to get total accuracy outside of a lab.0 -
These numbers aren't far off at all. Your exercise estimate was within 100 calories. Your TDEE is about 150 calories difference. That is very small. Your food log is likely to be off as much if not more.
These are all just estimates, you are never going to get total accuracy outside of a lab.
Agreed with this. You're trying to grab handfuls of smoke at this point. You only need to be relatively accurate, not hyper accurate. Even if you could get hyper accurate calorie information for your workouts, your daily burn rate will change based external factors anyway.
Settle on which method you want and then concentrate on your food intake and your scale. These no reason to make losing weight more complicated the unnecessary
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Let me start today by saying I don't expect any of these to be exact, that is not what I am trying to do. I want to compare the numbers and follow my weight to see which device gives me the most accurate result. I also wanted to help others who are looking for information on Fitbit, Bodymedia, or heart rate monitors.
I used the last 5 workouts from each of these to determine my average calories burned per minute. The numbers from Fitbit & BMF are from exercise times only.
Fitbit 6.7 calories per minute
Bodymedia Fit 7.1 calories per minute
Polar watch 8.6 calories per minute
Digifit 9.3 calories per minute
Polar Beat 9.4 calories per minute
My TDEE from Fitbit yesterday was 2416 and my TDEE from Bodymedia was 2250. I am not trying to make weight loss any harder, trust me. While 166 calories may not be a big difference to some it does make a difference to me. I am trying to keep my calorie deficit as close to 750 as I can. I will post my weight change each week along with what Fitbit and Bodymedia shows it should be for the four weeks I do this.0 -
Thanks very much for taking the time to do this. To me it isn't complicating things, just making them more interesting.
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I am sorry to say I will not be able to complete the 30 comparison after all. I sent my Bodymedia Fit back today. I wore it for a week but I developed a blister on my arm and my entire left arm has hurt for several days. I think it is because of my Amniotic Band Syndrome though. My left arm is super sensitive to everything. Here are my results after one week with the Fitbit Ultra and the Bodymedia Fit.
Bodymedia:
Day Steps Calories Burned Deficit
Wednesday 11,561 2,235 814
Thursday 6,675 2,250 766
Friday 9,929 2,257 911
Saturday 7,432 2,246 921
Sunday 3,169 1,803 530
Monday 5,709 1,937 670
Tuesday 7,446 2,204 1,173
Total steps: 51,921 Average steps: 7,417
Total calorie deficit: 5,785 Average deficit: 827
Total calories burned: 14,932 Average calories burned: 2,135
Expected weight loss: 1.65 pounds
Fitbit:
Day Steps Calories Burned Deficit
Wednesday 11,874 2,301 879
Thursday 11,796 2,416 931
Friday 9,554 2,144 797
Saturday 8,143 2,201 875
Sunday 4,480 2,013 740
Monday 5,949 1,947 679
Tuesday 7,661 2,136 1,104
Total steps: 59,457 Average steps: 8,494
Total calorie deficit: 6,005 Average deficit: 858
Total calories burned: 15,158 Average calories burned: 2,163
Expected weight loss: 1.71 pounds
Starting weight: 151
Ending weight: 149.4
Actual weight loss: 1.6 pounds
My numbers were really close so my personal belief is that both devices are pretty accurate. I think it is just a matter of personal preference as to which is better. I like the dashboard and the reports on the BMF site best but I like the comfort and ease of Fitbit. I upgraded to a Fitbit One today after sending my Bodymedia Fit back.0 -
So...... Success?0
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So...... Success?
Yes, I think the numbers showed that the Fitbit and Bodymedia Fit are pretty close. While some days they were pretty far apart, by the end of the week the average was extremely close. I think either of these devices would work well, it just comes down to personal preference. I find the Fitbit to be more comfortable and convenient.0 -
You rock, missy.0
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Thanks for posting! I was trying to figure out which one I wanted to purchase.0
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Your welcome, I hope this helped!0
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thanks for posting. I'd been wondering what to buy also.0
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Your welcome, I hope this helped!
This was definitely helpful and fun to read. I have been vacillating back and forth between the two so it is good to know I can go with the Fitbit since it is smaller and less obtrusive.
Thanks!0 -
Awesome! Thanks for all the input. I've been trying to research them as well!0
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