Fit Bit v. Heart Rate Monitor for tracking workouts

rissstewart
rissstewart Posts: 10 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've done a lot of research on both and am down to just a couple of questions. The Fit Bit you can wear all day and track all of your cardio activity (aka steps, etc.) while the heart rate monitor has a watch and a chest strap, meaning it would only be feasible for me to wear while "working out." So my question to y'all of the interwebs is, which would you prefer and why? Are there any functionality issues I should worry about with either? I would like the heart rate monitor to accurately count all my calories burned for specific workouts cause it will track even during "strength" training while fit bit won't. However, the short coming of the HRM is I really don't want to wear it all day every day to track every day activities. Definitely DO NOT have the money to get both or I wouldn't be here! Haha!

Replies

  • MsEndomorph
    MsEndomorph Posts: 604 Member
    Heart rate monitors aren't intended to be worn all day, so I doubt they'd correctly give you the information you're seeking. Get one, strap it on before you do a cardio session like jogging or walking or Zumba, but skip it for weight lifting and piddling around the house.
    I use the fitbit and a HRM. I use the fitbit to gauge my activity level to guide me on how many calories I'm burning throughout the day, and I use the HRM when I go to a fitness class or for a walk/run. I enter the calories burned into MFP and it syncs with the fitbit and everything is lovely. As for weight lifting, I just use MFPs calorie estimate for that. I'm sure it's incorrect, but it's low (about 300cals lowers than what my HRM says) and I'm a ravenous beast after lifting so I need to eat the extra calories.

    I think the fitbit is completely unnecessary, but I like having both. I struggle a lot with undereating, and the fitbit shows me, hey, look how much you DID today! Eat more! Or if I'm lazy it says...get moving and then eat more!
  • ze_hombre
    ze_hombre Posts: 377 Member
    I have and use both (FitBit Flex and a Zephyr HxM paired to my phone).

    Fitbit is not good for tracking cardio sessions. It under estimates fairly significantly when calculating running exercises. It is not good at all for tracking weight lifting, biking, or anything else that does not involve steps. However, I do like that it gives me a wholistic idea of my day outside of the gym or treadmill, though.

    The HRM will get you much more accuracy for workouts, especially weight lifting because MFP admits that the calorie burn numbers they offer should be taken with a very large grain of sand. There are HRM's out there that do not use the chest strap but from what I have seen their accuracy is questionable or outright wrong.

    If I had to choose between one or the other, I would go with the HRM. You can get a cheap pedometer from Amazon and use it instead of the Fitbit since that is all it really is.
  • rissstewart
    rissstewart Posts: 10 Member
    Thanks guys! Thats kind of what I was thinking, but I didn't even think about getting a regular old pedometer! I work a part time retail job and there is ALOT of walking and I just want a more accurate count of what I'm doing. I have a huge problem OVER eating and if I trust my numbers more I feel confident that I'll stick to them.

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