Your essential tools

serenity56
serenity56 Posts: 79 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys,

I was thinking today that I see people investing in HRMs and nice kitchen scales, or using other apps to track their workouts more accurately,etc. but I haven't done any of that myself and I might want to, but don't know where to start! So I guess I have a few questions...

1) Ive read multiple times that MFP overestimates calories burned. It totally makes sense that it wouldn't be accurate because whether I'm busting my butt on the elliptical for 30 minutes or taking it super easy, it logs the same unless I manually change it. So I assume this is why folks use HRMs, but how do they work? What brand would you suggest to someone? Are 'activity tracker' things like SketchersGOwalk the same thing or something different? I have zero knowledge about this. :)

2) I'm thinking of buying a new scale down the road and I've seen ones that claim to measure stuff like body fat and hydration levels. Bonus or bogus? I'm inclined to think bogus but I'm not sure, so your knowledge is appreciated!

3) What 'tools' have you found most useful in your personal experience? Other apps, accessories, whatever. I don't have a huge budget to blow on programs and gadgets but I know there are some successful and wise people in this community who've found some things that simplify the journey and make accurately tracking/logging activity better, etc. I'd love to hear your personal favorites!

Replies

  • kikalique
    kikalique Posts: 52 Member
    So I just got a HRM a couple of weeks ago (Polar FT4) because I wanted a more accurate calorie burn plus some of the exercises I do (BodyPump classes) didn't really have MFP calculations. I did some research beforehand to figure out what HRM would work for me because they are all different. I didn't want one of the activity trackers because they seemed to have mixed reviews (a lot measure movement so if you do something like a spin class it doesn't register as much movement/activity), I didn't want something too clunky, and none of them seemed to do everything I wanted (especially swimming, some were not waterproof).

    I've used the HRM a couple of times and I'm pretty happy with it. You basically wear a strap underneath your sports bra, which was an initial concern of mine, but it's really not uncomfortable. The watch is the display for the data that the strap sends, so you can see how long you've worked out, your calories burned, your heart rate, etc. I found that my calories are not that far off from MFP most of the time, but it really does vary based on how hard I'm working (I burn more doing BodyPump which is high rep low weight strength training than MFP suggests but my heart rate is pretty high for long periods of time). This is enough for me right now. I may get a cheap pedometer to check my steps, but I think the HRM for my workouts is probably more effective for my needs currently.

    Granted this is just my experience, and you'll have to do the research to figure out what your priorities are and what will work best for you. But I would definitely recommend a HRM.

    ETA: My mom got me one of those fancy scales that measures body fat, bone density, water, etc. a couple of years ago. Honestly, I'm not that big of a fan of it. Maybe it's because I've moved so much and it's been jostled around, but I don't think it's very accurate. I tend to use my fiancé's standard $10 dial scale. The fancy scale is good because you can save your settings, so it knows your age and weight, and so you can have weekly weigh-ins and see change over time, but the accuracy issue is more important to me. Once again, this is probably just a research issue. I didn't do research beforehand, so maybe my scale is just one of the ones to stay away from, and there are probably better products out there.

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