Wearing a heart rate monitor all day...shows high calorie lo

kooshajan
kooshajan Posts: 174 Member
edited October 2 in Health and Weight Loss
Im wondering what people think of the accuracy of wearing a heart rate monitor all day to see calories burned. I have a Polar F6 (not a cheap model) heart rate monitor watch that I wore today with the chest strap. From 7am to 6pm it says I burned 3033 calories. I was intending on wearing it until 7am tomorrow and than take in a calorie deficit from that but from the look of things Ill be well into 4000 calories by than! Can anyone offer any advice as far as this is concerned? Im just trying to get an accurate deficit.

Replies

  • SaundraU
    SaundraU Posts: 77
    Those things can be good but they can also be glitchy if set too sensitive.

    What do you do for work? What kind of activity level do you have? How does MFP compare int he amount of calories they say you burn in a day?
  • krisntraining
    krisntraining Posts: 201 Member
    I am very interested in that info as well...
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    Its not going to be accurate.

    HRM's are meant to be worn for purposeful exercise only.. not while at rest.

    In order to figure out what you burn at rest, you need a bodybugg/body media fit/ fit bit. Those are made to be worn 24 hrs a day.
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
    i did the same thing a few months ago and someone on here told me that HRM aren't very accurate FOR ALL DAY USE. just for workout use. and stuff like BodyFitMedia only works for calculating your total daily expenditure... but i don't have any information about it, that is just what i was told!
  • kooshajan
    kooshajan Posts: 174 Member
    I bike 15 minutes to work and I work in shipping/receiving with some bookkeeping (desk work total of 1 hour maybe 2) and bike 15 mins home. At home I do Power 90 (not P90x) and maybe go for a walk, swim, bikeride, etc a couple of times a week if I feel up to it. I selected active upon joining MFP and it has me at 2240 burned from daily activity with net calories 1240. I tend to eat around 1600-1800 and burn 300-500 in exercise.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    I bike 15 minutes to work and I work in shipping/receiving with some bookkeeping (desk work total of 1 hour maybe 2) and bike 15 mins home. At home I do Power 90 (not P90x) and maybe go for a walk, swim, bikeride, etc a couple of times a week if I feel up to it. I selected active upon joining MFP and it has me at 2240 burned from daily activity with net calories 1240. I tend to eat around 1600-1800 and burn 300-500 in exercise.

    Are you feeling hungry with those levels or like you could eat more?

    I find that my body is the best guide to my calorie deficit.. HRM's are only estimating calorie burn anyway, since nothing can truly measure calorie expenditure.

    I'm no where near as active as you, and I eat roughly 1700-1900 calories a day. I sub as a teachers aid, and work out about 4 days a week doing two days cardio and two days of weights.
  • kooshajan
    kooshajan Posts: 174 Member
    Mmm, some days I am hungrier than others. Like today I wasnt planning on eating until after working out but by the time I got home I was so hungry and couldnt think about working out without eating something so I ate 1/4 cup of blueberries! Ive got a hectic schedule...trying to juggle work, a workout and spending time with my daughter before she goes to bed around 8-9pm is hard! Sad thing is that I just dont have the energy to do P90 in the morning, I have to push myself to bike to work!
  • kooshajan
    kooshajan Posts: 174 Member
    I have heard of the bodybugg...and I realize that this may sound silly but I dont own a smartphone so can I use the product?
  • dewgirl321
    dewgirl321 Posts: 296 Member
    1/4 cup of blueberries won't help you through a workout! I usually have a protein bar before my workout to make sure I have the energy to put extra effort into my workout. The amount of calories burned increases with the amount of effort you put into it, so it's definitely worth it.

    There is a bodybugg that works with smartphones (the bodybugg sp). The bodybugg v3 connects to your computer through usb, or you can buy a digital display (basically a watch) to get the readouts. Probably works out to the same price for the v3 with the display when compared to the sp model. I am planning on getting the v3, hopefully this week!

    Seems like you may be underestimating your exercise cals, which will be taken care of when you get your hrm / bodybugg figured out. It sounds like you're not eating enough, and increasing your food will help with your energy level. I think you should always plan on eating before your workout, but that's just what I have found works best for me.
  • walkdmc
    walkdmc Posts: 529 Member
    You can use a Body Bug without a smart phone. I have a Go Wear Fit and use it daily, downloading my information via the BodyMedia website. I pay $9/month to use the BodyMedia website and find it well worth the price.
  • kooshajan
    kooshajan Posts: 174 Member
    I only ate the blueberries to curb my hunger because I was eating a bigger meal shortly after the workout. I dont want to eat much before a workout and than continue to eat a larger meal afterwards.

    Im following what MFP has given me. Thats what everyone on here is saying I should do. I have 1240 net. I eat most days 1240-1500 on days with little exercise. On days where I do exercise alot I eat 1800 calories with my exercise calories.

    What would you suggest I eat than?
  • JennedyJLD
    JennedyJLD Posts: 123 Member
    I use a Timex zone Trainer. I really like it, and it gives an accurate heart rate reading. However, I find the calories burned feature to be completely unreliable. The HRM gives me far too much credit. For instance, the other day I went for a 30 minute jog, and the HRM said I burned 596 calories. If I had been running 4-minute miles, maybe. But I was running at about a 12-minute-mile pace, so probably only burned about half that.
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    My Polar HRM specifically said in the instructions that it was only meant for high activity usage and that it can't/doesn't accurately record caloric burn when the heart rate is below a certain level (I want to say it was somewhere around 130).

    I do have a BodyMedia Fit (no, you don't need a smartphone to use it) and I've sorta grown wary of it's readings. It seems like it could be closeish to accurate, but after months of meticulous food tracking (weigh everything, record everything no matter what, round up when uncertain, etc) and staying between an average of 500-1000 calorie deficit according to the BMF readouts, I've steadily gained rather than lose or even maintain. So, while I'm still wearing it, I've stopped "using" it. I check it each day as normal, but I actually reset everything here on MFP and went back to trusting what MFP tells me and I've seen positive results from that. So I don't plan on renewing my subscription on the BMF when it runs out in Feb and honestly am not sure I recommend the expense of one.
  • ebgbjo
    ebgbjo Posts: 821 Member
    I bought a new strap yesterday and wanted to test it out. It is so much more comfortable than the one that came with my FT4.
    Anyway, I wore the chest strap and watch for 24hrs and my calories burn came to 2418 calories.
    Prior to testing it, I changed the zones to meet my lowest heart rate (high 80s-90s) up to 180. I did no exercising other than walking the dog
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    After this topic continued to come up on the boards, I actually contacted Polar directly and asked them about the possibility of using the HRM as a daily calorie tracker. Their response was that the devices are calibrated for non-steady workout calorie burns. Basically, the way the calculations are done, it's expecting you to have a steady, increased (over 125), heart rate for the amount of time it's worn. Otherwise, they do not back or support the caloric burn amounts it puts out.

    When you reset your zone on the device, you aren't changing how it calculates based on the heart rate, it's just telling the device what your ideal heart rate zone is and, if set to have sounds on, it will beep at you if you go when you're outside of it to tell you to work harder or to slow it down.

    The person that responded to me from Polar didn't give any brand names, but even said that if a person was looking for 24 hour a day calorie burns, that there were devices on the market to do that and they recommend using one of those and not their products for that purpose.
  • ebgbjo
    ebgbjo Posts: 821 Member
    Thanks for the information.

    Interesting that they said it has to be at a steady increased rate of over 125. I wonder why that number? What about when in lower impact or on slow walk where just hitting 110? So those calories really weren't calculated properly?

    I wish they would have said what brand for other monitors, because I can not find any. And no, Bodybugg, BodyMedia and Fitbit do not fit the bill
    After this topic continued to come up on the boards, I actually contacted Polar directly and asked them about the possibility of using the HRM as a daily calorie tracker. Their response was that the devices are calibrated for non-steady workout calorie burns. Basically, the way the calculations are done, it's expecting you to have a steady, increased (over 125), heart rate for the amount of time it's worn. Otherwise, they do not back or support the caloric burn amounts it puts out.

    When you reset your zone on the device, you aren't changing how it calculates based on the heart rate, it's just telling the device what your ideal heart rate zone is and, if set to have sounds on, it will beep at you if you go when you're outside of it to tell you to work harder or to slow it down.

    The person that responded to me from Polar didn't give any brand names, but even said that if a person was looking for 24 hour a day calorie burns, that there were devices on the market to do that and they recommend using one of those and not their products for that purpose.
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    Are you looking for something that will measure your heart rate while tracking your daily calorie burn? Is that why the BMF/BB/Fitbit aren't fitting your needs?

    If that's the case, maybe take a look at a Basis. I haven't done a lot of follow-up on it, but I had been on their early mailing list awhile back because the launch website stated that it tracked heart rate. After my poor experience with he BMF, I stopped looking into any 24 hour monitoring devices and just stick to using the HRM during workouts. So I don't know any other details about what's out there.

    And I suspect that the 125 is a baseline number that the heart is in an elevated state, indicating a dedicated workout. I've noticed that when I walk during my warm-up before running that my heart rate doesn't go above 100. But if I walk in the middle of a run, even if I walk at the same pace I do for my warm up for up to five minutes, my heart rate doesn't really drop below 120-125. So it a definite difference from just walking, and a short break in the middle of a dedicated work out. So, since the Polar HRMs are designed to calculate calories burned during a workout, that's what their formulas are designed for.
  • ebgbjo
    ebgbjo Posts: 821 Member
    What is this Basics? I can not find a link

    Ideally I would like a monitor, that includes a chest strap for better accuracy, that I can wear 24/7 to track calorie burn through daily activities and exercise. I would like it to have option to set timer when exercise starts and then stop it when it ends so there is a daily log of exercise.

    Input of information such as current weight, height, age, gender and body fat%, if know, would be great. As well as what goal weight you want to be.

    Honestly, the chest strap and 24/7 calorie burn tracking is the most important to me. Something I can see right the information right on the watch display, not something I have to plug into computer or phone to view. If data can be uploaded to computer to track progress, great :)
  • chrisgriffin42975
    chrisgriffin42975 Posts: 14
    Yeah I tired wearing a wahoo HRM after working. For about 2 hours after my workout my HR was around 90 and it said I burned 900 calories. My workout I monitored was 780 calories in 65 minutes..
  • chrisgriffin42975
    chrisgriffin42975 Posts: 14
    well don't try the bodybugg or bodymedia. I get 500 calorie burn in a hour just from shooting free throws. and driving it just goes all over the place. Seems to me all it does is register arm movements.
  • chrisgriffin42975
    chrisgriffin42975 Posts: 14
    My Wahoo starts registering a workout at about 116 anything below that it tracks as a warmup.
  • chrisgriffin42975
    chrisgriffin42975 Posts: 14
    I used a polar h7 and my avg HRM for a slow day is about 128 but the polar also register anything I do over 105 the same amount as the treadmill hrm or whatever machine I use so it seems to work fine. With the machines and my HRM they are never off by more then 1-2%
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    Its not going to be accurate.

    HRM's are meant to be worn for purposeful exercise only.. not while at rest.

    In order to figure out what you burn at rest, you need a bodybugg/body media fit/ fit bit. Those are made to be worn 24 hrs a day.
    THIS. Stress can raise hear rate and that doesn't equate to a higher calorie burn.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • FluroFaye
    FluroFaye Posts: 130
    Its not going to be accurate.

    HRM's are meant to be worn for purposeful exercise only.. not while at rest.

    In order to figure out what you burn at rest, you need a bodybugg/body media fit/ fit bit. Those are made to be worn 24 hrs a day.
    THIS. Stress can raise hear rate and that doesn't equate to a higher calorie burn.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    That's stupid...of course stress affects you. Why do you think people who are stressed lose a lot of weight???
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Im wondering what people think of the accuracy of wearing a heart rate monitor all day to see calories burned. I have a Polar F6 (not a cheap model) heart rate monitor watch that I wore today with the chest strap.

    Mine seems to be about right for resting calorie burn, but I have told it my measured VO2max which may have helped the accuracy.
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