Heart Rate Monitors/Calorie tracker

I had a fitbit flex that I loved. Only problem was it fell off my wrist without me even knowing.

What type of activities are you wanting this for? HRMs are for monitoring HR during training and provide calorie burn estimates (emphasis on estimates) and will only be relatively accurate for steady state cardio (running, cycling, elliptical). They are not accurate for things such as strength training, HIIT...etc.

It depends on what you want it for. If you want something that also had GPS tracking, then you're talking some cash....whether you go with Polar or Garmin (I have both the FT60 which has an optional GPS tracker that I never got and the Garmin 310XT - both are very comparable for HR tracking and cals burned).

If you just want it to monitor during non-GPS workouts, then Polar is definitely the way to go. There are plenty of lower models that work just as well as the more advanced ones and won't break the bank. I recommend you get something that has a soft strap (vs a "molded" strap) for two reasons (1) it is WAY more comfortable, and (2) you can change the battery yourself.

heartratemonitorsusa.com has some great prices and free shipping (sometimes even free 2-day shipping) on HRMs - that is where I've gotten all 3 of my Polars (and my mom's Polar and my BIL's Polar). I would have gotten my Garmin from here too, but wound up getting it gently used from a fellow Tri Club member


ETA - just remember that no matter what you get, the calorie burn calc's are just estimations (and are most "accurate" for steady state cardio). If you have a high working HR, your cals burned will be over-estimated. If you have a low working HR, your cals burned will be under-estimated. It is also incredibly important that you properly set up the user profile, and remember to update your weight as you lose.

I use a Wahoo Tckr. I spent $60 for it on Amazon. It connects to your iPhone via bluetooth. It has its own app that tracks your heart rate, calories, path( if you're running), etc. The app syncs to MyFitnessPal and MapMyRun, and quite a few others. You can also add all kinds of different workouts. For instance I have a running workout, and walking workout, a gym workout, and a bicycling workout. It is not a watch however. It straps around your rib cage. I have enjoyed mine since I got it. I didn't think that MapMyRun was very accurate on my calories burned while I was running, turns out I was right. My Wahoo Tckr shows that I burn twice as many than MapMyRun does. Its a great tool to have.

HRMs are not activity trackers.

I LOVE Polar brand and have a fit bit too. I use both. I only put on my HRM when I'm doing "designated" cardio OR goingto be cleaning my house for an hour or two. Other than that, I use my fitbit for general exercise and movements like walking around during the day and unexpected exercise. Between the two I think I have a good estimation.

I'm happy with it.

I got a Garmin Vivofit with HRM about a week ago and love it. It counts steps, and estimates a calorie burn, but the HRM is useful if go for a hike or a bike ride, since it gives a more accurate burn than just the pedometer.

The wrist interface is more clunky than the fitbit, but it also gives the actual number of steps, time, date, steps to go until your goal and your heart rate when the HRM is paired and on.

MFP does a fairly complex-looking calorie burn estimate adjustment between Garmin Connect and MFP based on what they both think you'll burn over a day, but the estimate looks pretty reasonable to me and better than MFP manual entries.

To be honest I got mine from Walmart for around $30. Its a wrist watch type for tracking heart rate and calories burned. Its been great. My fitness coach checked it out and said it was a good one. You don't always have to go with the expensive name brand ones. I use it for walking, treadmill and exercise tapes and have had good luck with it.

Polar makes excellent HRM's, they've got different models varying in prices and feature. They are paired with a chest strap which improves accuracy of course. I've had my Polar FT4 for a couple years and I'd say it provided a fairly accurate account of calorie burn when I was doing my workouts (Insanity & Spin)

Definitely worth the investment if you want to track stats for the sake of monitoring your calorie burn accurately during workouts.

An HRM is not a calorie counter,

True, but it is an important factor in calculating your calories. If you aren't tracking your HR you are missing a significant piece of the puzzle in terms of your exercise progress and health in general. If you are walking around with a resting HR of 100 bpm, it may be something you want to look into

A HRM also has value beyond just strictly steady state exercise. I keep it on during strength training and HIIT stuff, and it trends reasonably with the "plug in the data" tables on MFP and other resources (MFP calculates 8 CPM for strength training, Digifit (with HRM data) varies from 6-9). Consider - when you exercise, your HR increases, you burn more calories - while you are resting, your HR decreases, you burn less. Is it a perfect measurement? No. Is it better than guessing or following a generic table? I think so. It is also useful to determine how long to rest between sets when strength training (allowing your HR to decrease to 50-60% of your max) to ensure you aren't overworking yourself.

What would you suggest as a good HRM/ Calorie Counter to use?

An HRM is not a calorie counter, and the value of an HRM really depends on what kind of training that you're talking about doing. For the majority of people that I see on these boards asking the question the training isn't really of the type where an HRM is a useful tool.

If you're running, cycling, rowing or similar then it may be beneficial, if not then personally I'd suggest not bothering, particularly if affordability is an issue.

Agree with this.

I didn't read all the replies so I apologize if this is redundant.

I just got a Garmin Vivofit a couple of weeks ago. I LOVE IT.

It tracks: calories, sleep activity, steps walked/run, your step goal, and displays time and date. Fully compatible with iphone 4s and newer, and MFP. It's about $130 for just that. If you buy the HRM to wear during workouts it's another $60

In my opinion it's 100% worth it. I've already lost 3 lbs using it as my guide