Fitbit calorie burn?

yoltwag
yoltwag Posts: 114 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Basically, I'm on the market for something I can sue to accurately measure calorie burn and to improve my fitness. The fitbit looks fantastic, especially with the sleep tracker etc. However, since it doesnt actually measure heartrate I'm concerned about the calorie burn calculation?

Im new to everything hrm etc. So if you have any recommendations please let me know!

Is there any product similar to the fitbit (24/7 wear) but that I can use as a hrm while working out?

Replies

  • lisaabenjamin
    lisaabenjamin Posts: 665 Member
    Bump - I'm interested to hear the answers to this too as I have an Amazon voucher that I've been meaning to use on a HRM for ages!
  • triskaidekaphile13
    triskaidekaphile13 Posts: 92 Member
    I find my FitBit to be really accurate. I hit my goal on Christmas Eve last year and since then have been on maintenance. I continued to lose weight despite upping my calories but have now settled down and MFP reports gaining and losing the same lb as my body naturally fluctuates. I don't log any runs or walking on FitBit but do log strength and cycling via Runkeeper. I've tested my runs by wearing my FitBit, using a HRM, a GPS watch and tracking on Runkeeper on my 'phone and they've been similar burns.
  • IbiH
    IbiH Posts: 250 Member
    I've got a Fitbit One which I wear daily and set at sedentary so it calculates any burns. I also have a FT4 which I wear when I'm running. There's no way I could wear the FT strap all day.
    I've had the Fitbit for 14 months and I love it.
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
    fitbits etc measure activity... to get an accurate calorie burn, there is no replacement for a heart rate monitor.
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  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    I have a FitBit One and its calculation for my TDEE is pretty much bang-on.

    Bear in mind that an HRM is only (reasonably) accurate for calories burned when your heart rate is elevated through steady aerobic exercise. You can't use it to track burn through the day, burn from weight lifting or burn from HIIT workouts, and with few exceptions they don't accurately transmit through water so swimming won't be great.

    In the end, the proportion of the calories you burn is far greater on non-exercise activities (NEAT) so getting a good estimate of that through the day and being encouraged to move more might help you towards your goals better than, say, accurately tracking a half-hour run.
  • ktsmom430
    ktsmom430 Posts: 1,100 Member
    I have had a fitbit since February 2013. I use mine strictly as a motivator to get me to move more, and for that it is fantastic. If you are thinking calorie burn, it is probably not what you want. I do love my fitbit, as it is exactly what I need for tracking my steps and motivating me to move more. I am not concerned with calorie burn though. For me, just eating at a slight calorie deficit and moving more every day is my goal to becoming healthier.
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  • triskaidekaphile13
    triskaidekaphile13 Posts: 92 Member
    I log my cycling separately on Runkeeper and it syncs the calorie burn to FitBit. Any steps I get from wearing the FitBit whilst cycling are a bonus towards my 10,000 steps a day. I also track my power walking and running on Runkeeper but delete the activities when they sync to FitBit. Works well for me. I find it's most useful for living. Most of my day is not spent cycling or running or walking.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    Sorry for all the questions, really new to this.

    How would the fitbit work for cycling? Or is it really only useful for running/walking whereas it counts the steps
    Join the MFP FitBit Users Groups - you'll find most of your questions answered there :flowerforyou:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/1307-fitbit-users

    For cycling the answer is "kinda". You can put it in your sock and it will record each pedal as a step, but the burn won't be the same as if you'd walked the same number of steps, so you might want to override it by recording your cycling through MFP.
  • Ataraxia81
    Ataraxia81 Posts: 63 Member
    The fitbits are nothing more than glorified pedometers. I wear mine all the time but find sometimes I have to take the results with a grain of salt. It will log me as doing imaginary sets of stairs through the day sometimes, and does not accurately log non full step workouts (ie. elliptical).

    Don't get me wrong, they are terrific devices and I strongly urge anyone to get a pedometer. They are great for walking and running!
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,686 Member
    Is there any product similar to the fitbit (24/7 wear) but that I can use as a hrm while working out?

    Garmin Vivofit - wristband activity monitor, wear it all day, monitors activity, sleep patterns etc. but pairs with a ANT+ HRM chestband for more active activities.

    Problem is it's new, and doesn't "play well with others" - Garmin see to want to lock you into their Garmin Connect application - though in fairness, interfaces to most of their other kit has either been "licenced out" or reverse engineered, so I suppose it may come along in the future.

    For now, I'm holding off on purchase until I see it linking to here - either as a direct partner, or via some 3rd party kludge like passing information via endomondo / mapmyfitness or whoever.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,371 Member
    I'd recommend the FitBit One to anyone but I really wouldn't get too hung up on the sleep function. I thought I would use it before purchase but after a few times of wearing at night and finding I'm pretty sleep efficient I didn't bother wearing it at night ever again. It is worth the extra over the Zip though purely because the display lights up, it's rechargeable and its a sleeker nicer to use product and gives you flights of stairs (or hills which also log as stairs) which the Zip doesn't which is a great incentive to take the stairs when you can. I find my FB accurate for walking and cardio machines at the gym. I can't see how the wristbands can be nearly as accurate as the clip on devices though and many have said they are unreliable if you are pushing a trolley or pushchair etc.

    Some here will recommend a HRM instead but those are best kept for actual exercise sessions and not for your all day round burn. You can overwrite time you measured with a HRM or non-FB activities such as swimming by entering it as exercise on here and it'll overwrite that period of time on FB and make the calorie adjustment.

    My FB One has kept me moving more for almost 2 years now - I love it!!
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