HR Monitor or Fitbit type device?

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madasanatter
madasanatter Posts: 39 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've decided I would like to be able to track the number of calories I am actually using each day. I know there are online calculators like on here or TDEE calculators but I would like to measure it myself.

Any advice on the best way to do this? Should I try a HR monitor that tracks calories or one of the new Fitbit type devices?

Replies

  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    if you want to know your daily activity level - fitbit

    if you want to know how much you burn during exercise - HRM
  • EDollah
    EDollah Posts: 464 Member
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    I've been asking the same question recently.

    Unfortunately, I think the answer is "both". Like prior poster said, one measures exercise cals, the other measures non-exercise cals.
  • morticia16
    morticia16 Posts: 230 Member
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    fitbit doesn't measure exercise?
  • madasanatter
    madasanatter Posts: 39 Member
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    Thanks - So fitbit, Jawbone or other?

    I know which HR monitor I will buy.
  • EDollah
    EDollah Posts: 464 Member
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    fitbit doesn't measure exercise?

    Disclosure - I've had my Fitbit for 2 days now.

    Fitbit measures "steps taken" so it could accurately measure running or treadmill (I think) but once you use an elliptical machine or lift weights, it's nigh well useless.
  • MrsAvent79
    MrsAvent79 Posts: 18
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    With the bodymedia being used as a tool, I have been able to lose over 68 lbs since Jan 1. It tells you have many calories you have spent for the whole day....

    Good luck with whatever you go with :)
  • morticia16
    morticia16 Posts: 230 Member
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    fitbit doesn't measure exercise?

    Disclosure - I've had my Fitbit for 2 days now.

    Fitbit measures "steps taken" so it could accurately measure running or treadmill (I think) but once you use an elliptical machine or lift weights, it's nigh well useless.

    Thanks, was just looking for something useful and fitbit seemed a good choice. Ah well...
  • EDollah
    EDollah Posts: 464 Member
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    fitbit doesn't measure exercise?

    Disclosure - I've had my Fitbit for 2 days now.

    Fitbit measures "steps taken" so it could accurately measure running or treadmill (I think) but once you use an elliptical machine or lift weights, it's nigh well useless.

    Thanks, was just looking for something useful and fitbit seemed a good choice. Ah well...

    Let me clarify what I meant. I'm just saying if you do some exercise that's not quantifiable by the act of moving your legs forward, you won't get an accurate calorie measurement. I'm definitely not saying the device is "not useful". In fact I think it's rather useful for determining what sort of adjustment to use for modifying BMR. By that I mean it tells you what sort of caloric burn you have in your regular day. To say this in formula, most online BMR calculators take BMR and multiply it by an activity factor, such as 1.2 for "sedentary". The Fitbit would tell you if you are indeed sedentary outside of your exercise or not.

    Again, I've just had it 2 days so I'll neither praise nor pan the device at this time. I'd definitely do more research if you're considering it.
  • lucky1304
    lucky1304 Posts: 57 Member
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    My short answer is both.

    I have the Fitbit Flex and LOVE it. It is giving me a general idea of how much I am sitting each day versus how much I am moving. I like that it bases my target calories on how active I've been, and it also "talks" to MFP, which makes the calorie logging part of it easy (the Fitbit app sort of sucks for calorie counting).

    I use my Garmin with HRM to log my runs and then I enter the activity record into MFP just as a record for myself.

    Basically Fitbit measures exercise, but their website does indicate that it's not going to give you the most accurate readings for swimming and biking. It comes pretty close to my HRM for calculating calories burned by running though. And I haven't really done a comparison on swimming and what kind of steps it's giving me for that movement.

    What I like best about Fitbit is that it motivates me to get moving. I work from home and do a LOT of sitting. So now I know that if I've only got three dots (the Fitbit Flex has dots that light up according to how active you've been), and it's 5:00, I need to take the dog for an extra long walk or hit the treadmill for a while. My kids have commented more than once "That thing really works!" The "big picture" aspect of the Fitbit is pretty neat to see, plus I like that it counts sleep and everything else. I've also noticed that even though I feel like I'm an active person, my "very active" minutes for each day are really probably not where they should be. This would be any kind of intense cardio (like running), so the Fitbit has helped me tailor my goals in terms of what I need to be doing.

    Of course, my Garmin HRM does not accurately track anything other than running or walking, so anything else I'm doing, like swimming or yoga or P90X, I'm relying on the Fitbit (it seems to do okay with strength training) or using the MFP calculators. For me, though, since I mainly run, this is okay.

    Also, my two cents on the Flex versus the Jawbone. My dad has had both. For a while, Jawbone had some sort of glitch that was making the wristbands malfunction after a few months. Not sure if they've fixed it. For me, it came down to the fact that we have basically no iOS devices in our house, aside from my kids iPods. My Android phone is older and isn't compatible with any of these devices. But Fitbit has a computer-based app that you can access data from, and Jawbone does not. Also, Fitbit has wireless data transfer. With Jawbone, you have to connect your device to a phone or iPad or iPod to upload your data.
  • hannahthesoundgirl
    hannahthesoundgirl Posts: 15 Member
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    I've had my Fitbit Flex for two weeks now and I think it's great. It does a great job of helping me keep my calories where they should be to lose weight. Honestly, I've mostly just been using their website, but, I'm sure that it would work well here if you set your activity level to sedentary. I really enjoy food... a lot. And I love that I now know that if I want to eat a certain thing, I'll probably need to do a certain amount of exercise to get there.

    It measures walking and running distance really well, but it also takes note of when you're being especially active, so it's easy to look back through your day and add in the other exercise you did other than walking/running. For instance, when I ride my bike, my calories/minute jump to about 13-15, so when I'm done exercising, I can go back and see when I started and ended my ride and then log those times as a bike ride and it will adjust my calories accordingly. It takes so much of the guesswork and the over-estimation of calories burned out of the equation and I really appreciate that.

    I would definitely recommend getting a fitbit if you're in the market for something to help keep you on track.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    fitbit doesn't measure exercise?

    fitbit does measure exercise as long as it is a walking/running style activity.

    I have both and use them both. I always have on my fitbit. If I am doing something like going for a long bike ride and want to know my burn, I strap on an HRM and replace that time period on fitbit's website with the info from my hrm.

    I have to say that for being such a simple device, the fitbit is surprisingly accurate from what I can tell.

    It and a good digital food scale are probably the most useful items you can buy. I can take or leave an HRM, but they come in handy on occasion.
  • ADixie4You2Know
    ADixie4You2Know Posts: 47 Member
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    I have both. I use the hrm a polar ft7 during exercise to get my calories burned and i wear the fitbit all day to track steps.
  • madasanatter
    madasanatter Posts: 39 Member
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    Thanks everyone for their advice - I'm thinking the fitbit One or body media (Ki Fit in UK) - basically depends on price. Going to buy a polar ft7 too.
  • LongIsland27itl
    LongIsland27itl Posts: 365 Member
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    I'd go with the HRM 10fold
  • MrsAvent79
    MrsAvent79 Posts: 18
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    the bodymedia is something that I LOVE. (68.8 lbs since Jan 1 here using it as a tool).

    I have not tried any other things so I can't compare but I love how I know just doing the stuff around the house how much I burn. If ANYONE has any questions about it, please just message me. *hug*
  • kganc001
    kganc001 Posts: 317
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    I prefer my HRM. I think heart rate is a more accurate measurement of calories burned. Fitbit is good for figuring out activity and sleep patterns, though. :)
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    I love my Fitbit One!!!! I agree with everyone that said about it!! :happy:
  • Neshmi
    Neshmi Posts: 42 Member
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    FitBit is really easy and hassle free. I don't know much about heart rate monitors, but fitbit is working great for me. I particularly love their "dashboard" which shows you all of your daily info/stats. I love it!
  • gogojodee
    gogojodee Posts: 1,261 Member
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    You need both.

    I have a HRM but I want to know more info - recently purchased the One by FitBit, waiting for it to arrive.

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