HRM...?

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annacataldo
annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So everyone keeps suggesting the FitBit to me, but as far as I can tell it is just a high tech pedometer... although I'd love to tell how far I walk in a day, I need something more...maybe the FitBit is it and the advertising is misleading me, but I dont think it's right for my needs.

I work 12.25 hour shifts on a production floor; I seldemly sit, I walk back and forth A LOT, and when I'm not walking, Im standing in place while I fix or load a tool (moving my upper body). I get to work early and walk around the building, and stay late and walk the building again (it's a quarter mile end to end--biggest solar manufacturer in USA). I go home, my legs hurt, my feet hurt, and Im dead tired after spending 15hours away from home, so this is my only activity. It's obvious a pedometer would really help me, BUT what about the calories Im burning from just standing? Or just lifting/etc. At times on busy nights Im literally jogging from tool to tool to speed production; the lines I run are at least a couple hundred feet long...My heart rate is all over the place. Im also in a semi clean room where Im wearing a suit, gloves, booties, etc and sweat alot so not interested in a device that straps around my chest makign me uncomfortable (even though I know they are more accurate), or an arm band that would squish my arm and make me feel embarrassed on break from all the fat spilling over; a wristband would be ideal. I also dont like the idea of a monthly service fee to have a device, and would be great if it synced with MFP. Id also want to use it on days off to tell how many calories Im burning while doing chores which may or may not involve walking.

Im worried Im not eating enough; my diary is on sedentary because I work 3 days one week and 4 the next but have half the week off and dont want to get it in my head that Im allowed alot of calories on those days too; I'd like to adjust my diary on work days only based on activity; but to me activity is not just walking like it seems the fitbit thinks. I go a couple hundred calories over now, and am tired of the status updates that say I went over calorie that day. Ive tried to enter 10-12 hours of slow paced walking before but that allows me 3000+ extra calories and that seems excessive; and even the active diary setting seems like it'd probably go off a 8-hour work day and Im active for over 12. Id like to accurately know how much to eat to remain healthy, keep muscle tone, and continue to lose weight.

So based on my life; does anyone have any suggestions? Like I said, maybe the fitbit is right, I just dont want to buy a device just to find out its not what I need; I dont have alot of money and buying something like this is normally out of question but Ive worked some overtime to buy myself something extra.

Replies

  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    Doesn't sound like you'll get value from it, and unless you're "doing exercise" then an HRM is of little value to you as well.
  • RedandBlueRunner
    RedandBlueRunner Posts: 7 Member
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    Calculation of Calories burned is not an exact science. A HRM does not necessarily give you more accurate information. You could have 2 people, same weight and height and gender. Physics would tell us that to move a fixed mass takes an exact amount of energy, but when it comes to the human body none of us are identical. A very fit person will have a lower heart rate and unhealthy a high heart rate, but if they can both jogged together for a mile at the same time they would both burn around the same calories. Just that the unfit person will be more out of breath with a higher raised heart rate and take longer to recover.

    If you really want a HRM, I would wait a while, there are some devices starting to get optical HRM, which means you do not need to have a belt around your chest. Technology is young and being a early adopter might mean you pay a lot for a problematical device.
  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
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    A heavier person would burn more calories even if they were at same fitness level than the smaller person because they are heavier-pulling more load; that is why it is harder to lose when you get closer to your goal because you spend the same time exercising but dont burn as many calories. Your heart rate raises with any movement; you have a base point (sedentary) and any movement at all after that Is extra calories burned so i fail to see how a HRM wouldnt be beneficial to it; it would tell me how many calories im using a day and then from there i can figure out what im suppose to eat; just because im not doing a set exercise plan doesnt mean i should rule out 12hrs of heavy activity. I purposely left my carrer as an executive to be in production so id have the heavy activity. Unfortunetly i keep trying to lose weight but hit long plateus because im not eating enough so i eat more and then gain. I need a device to help me figure out my calories. I dont want to wait much longer as ive already been trying to figure this out for 2+yrs; ive worked hard to beable to get a device, if i wait ill just end up putting it into my car
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    annacataldo wrote: »
    ....so i fail to see how a HRM wouldnt be beneficial to it; it would tell me how many calories im using a day

    It uses HR as a proxy for calorie expenditure, based on adherence to the assumptions built into the algorithms. When you're not working to those assumptions the calorie extimation that it provides is less accurate than it owuld have been even when using it as designed.

    Essentially your HR isn't high neough, consistently enouh, to be a meaningful representative of calorie expenditure.

    But if you want to spend your money on a shiny toy, it's your money.

  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,239 Member
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    HRMs do one thing, they measure heart rate, and they do that quite accurately. In terms of calorie calculation, they have a formula they use to calculate a calorie estimate based on an assumption that the activity is steady state cardio. Thus, for your daily activity, they are pretty much useless for that just as they are pretty much useless for calorie calculation of interval training, weight training, and the like. In other words, if it is not steady state cardio a HRM is not very useful for calculation of calories.

    A Fitbit might work better for what you do, or a Body Media Fit which includes even more measurements.

    Having said that, it would probably simple be better to make you activity level higher rather than trying to figure your daily work as exercise.
  • pinkiezoom
    pinkiezoom Posts: 409 Member
    edited December 2014
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    I have a HRM but it has a strap which doesnt sound ideal for you.
  • alan_huynh2000
    alan_huynh2000 Posts: 43 Member
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    Agree with everything stated about HRM and the such. Its not the whole picture. Scientists study and do research to figure out formulas for specific types of steady-state activities. You yourself said your level of energy expended during work differs. Its almost impossible to get a good read out.

    Your better bet is to figure out your BMR and subtract that from the kcal you eat in a day. Then average that. This works as long as your not gaining or losing weight. Its not 100%, but its helpful.

    Or you could try to stop worrying about how much you burn in a days work. I saw you said you have had problems before eating too much and then gaining weight again after losing. I would suggest revisiting nutrition. Slowly adding food until you find the sweet spot. Nutrition will always be able to derail whatever you do exercise wise..

    I use to work heavy labor job. I actually didn't even try to count what I expended. I still worked out, and counted that. When adding in to my daily math, I would just round to the minimal average. Say I worked a 10 hour shift, lifting heavy a** crap and running around, I would factor in about 500kcal or something like that.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    HRMs plug heart rate data into formulas for specific activities to estimate caloric burns. If you are not engaged in that activity, the calculations are off. They are not suited for all day caloric estimates ... lifting ... yoga ... etc.
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
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    rileysowner wrote: »
    Having said that, it would probably simple be better to make you activity level higher rather than trying to figure your daily work as exercise.

    This. I mean, even though you may not work the whole 5 day work week, sounds like you're still active at home as well. So just up your activity level to ACTIVE. You won't have to worry that you're not eating enough. Or fuss around with fit bits and stuff.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    edited December 2014
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    A heart rate monitor is only accurate with steady-state cardio. Do you run back and forth at work? Enough to keep your heart rate elevated for a significant period? That would be when a heart rate monitor would be accurate in calculating burns. The walking and standing, not so much.

    Also, someone above mentioned Bodymedia...they are no longer being sold by the company, as it was bought out by Jawbone. You can still find them on Ebay and such, but who knows how much longer the software will have support? It's a pretty low priority even now, as evidenced by the recent sync issue which took a month and a half to resolve.

    The new generation fitness trackers, like Fitbit Surge or Fitbit Charge HR, Basis Peak, Jawbone Up3 and Microsoft Band, all have some level of heart rate tracking in addition to being a fancy pedometer. This is supposed to give it more accuracy with non-step based activities, like yoga and lifting, but the heart rate monitoring tech is pretty new and thus far not very impressive...although the Up3 still hasn't come out, and it uses different tech than the others, so there's hope for that one.

    You really might be just as happy with a smaller, clip-on pedometer like some of the basic Fitbits or the Jawbone Move. You can clip it on your pocket or bra strap and it's basically a pedometer. The upper body movement you do probably doesn't add a significant number of calories to your daily burn unless you're doing a bunch of movements fast or repeatedly lifting very heavy things, and getting your heart rate up accordingly.

    ETA: If you decide to get one of the first gen trackers, they're about to be much cheaper because of the new ones coming out. I've seen some of the original Jawbone Up trackers for about $45, and the Up24 for $70. I've seen crazy sales on Garmin Vivofits, too. Of all the first gen trackers besides the now defunct Bodymedia, the Vivofit and Up24 are the ones I would personally have bought.

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