What's the best fitness tracker?
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Thanks everyone for the input... I'm back and forth between the Garmin and FitBit.0
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kitkat6382155 wrote: »
Unfortunately, you're not going to get anything resembling accurate estimates for activity like that, from any current device.
The best way to get the estimate is to go out and walk as fast as you can, for the length of time the class lasts (I'm assuming you can't run that long). Cover as much distance as you can. Then use...
body weight in pounds * miles walked * 0.3 -> net calorie burn
It won't be perfect, but it'll be close. And most importantly, it won't be a the kind of big over-estimate that turns into weight loss disappointment when eaten back.
Good luck!
:drinker:
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I like Pacer app on my IPhone. I am tracking the steps I take and if I get other exercise I use MFP to track it.0
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I love my fitbit Flex, but I don't rely on it to calculate burns. I use it for motivation because it encourages me to move more apart from my scheduled exercise. I also love the sleep function and alarm. I don't love that this model doesn't keep track of stairs because on my old Fitbit One it would tell me how many flights per day I'd climbed and that helped with motivating me to go up and down stairs whenever possible. I need a lot of motivation, obviously. Lol.
Everyone in my family has some sort of Fitbit and even though a few of us have had a problem with their devices, Fitbit was really good about helping us out and sending us a new one. (Just keep your receipt!)
I was really curious about a few of my activities so I got a Polar HRM and that was helpfulI just to get a general sense of some of my activities that seemed either too low or too high by MFP's calculation, but it was mostly to satisfy my curiosity and not essential I think. Perhaps that is because I don't eat back my exercise calories, though. I use the TDEE method so my exercise is already figured into my daily calories.
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I have a Samsung gear fit, its a watch, a heart monitor, and it calculates your steps and exercise, I got mine on sale for $99, it doesnt sync with my fitness pal, but it does with my phone and s health, it has been worth it.0
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I have a Fitbit One (LOVE IT!!!!) and have had it almost two years with no issues. I do not want to wear it on my wrist, I clip it onto my bra in between on the front. My DH wears his clipped into the watch pocket on his jeans. I don't care about heart rate, etc. The steps and the ability to sync well with MFP and my iPhone apps were what was most important to me.0
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When I was deciding whether I should wait for Jawbone to figure out the delays that have prevented them from shipping out the UP3, and after noticing that it was talking about "resting heart rate" and "on demand heart rate' but never about "continuous heart rate during exercise", I looked into the bioimpedance technology that the UP is supposed to be using to measure heart rate.
I found zero articles supporting the use of bioimpedance to measure heart rate during exercise. I found one or two saying that it was extremely hard to do for a variety of reasons.
I have been impressed by some of the articles put out by Jawbones' chief scientist, and confident that if any one company can manage to get bioimpedance to work it will be Jawbone, especially after they bought BodyMedia.
Nevertheless, on balance, I decided that given the general silence of Jawbone in terms of presenting the UP3 as an "all day" or "exercise" HRM, based on the technological challenges it faces before bioimpedance can be used to measure HRM during exercise, and based on the generally vaporware nature of the product to date... yes, it is going to work "less well even, at least when it comes to exercise".
Do you have any reason to suspect otherwise?0 -
The best way to get the estimate is to go out and walk as fast as you can, for the length of time the class lasts (I'm assuming you can't run that long). Cover as much distance as you can. Then use...
body weight in pounds * miles walked * 0.3 -> net calorie burn
It won't be perfect, but it'll be close. And most importantly, it won't be a the kind of big over-estimate that turns into weight loss disappointment when eaten back.
Good luck!
:drinker:
Or, you can benefit from the hard work of hundreds of researchers and volunteers who have accumulated a surprising array of information for your Googling pleasure.
I refer you, of course, to an obscure publication called the Compendium of Physical Activities that I recall mentioning to you on at least one other occasion.
But I forget, you trust a formula pulled out of runner's world article more. A formula for walking that doesn't even account for the speed you walk at, because, you know, walking on an incline at 4mph is exactly the same effort as walking downhill at 1.5mph, only the distance matters!
However, if the OP would like to find out what dancing is likely to burn for them (and enter it as a custom activity in both MFP and Fitbit or anywhere else), they can look at:
https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/Activity-Categories/dancing
Then they can use a MET to calorie calculator:
http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/MetsCaloriesCalculator/MetsCaloriesCalculator.htm
Do subtract 1 MET if you want your NET burn.
Want to play so more? Your can even "correct" your METs!
https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/corrected-mets0 -
The best way to get the estimate is to go out and walk as fast as you can, for the length of time the class lasts (I'm assuming you can't run that long). Cover as much distance as you can. Then use...
body weight in pounds * miles walked * 0.3 -> net calorie burn
It won't be perfect, but it'll be close. And most importantly, it won't be a the kind of big over-estimate that turns into weight loss disappointment when eaten back.
Good luck!
:drinker:
Or, you can benefit from the hard work of hundreds of researchers and volunteers who have accumulated a surprising array of information for your Googling pleasure.
I refer you, of course, to an obscure publication called the Compendium of Physical Activities that I recall mentioning to you on at least one other occasion.
But I forget, you trust a formula pulled out of a runner's world article more. A formula for walking that doesn't even account for the speed you walk at, because, you know, walking on an incline at 4mph is exactly the same effort as walking downhill at 1.5mph, only the distance matters!
However, if the poster you were responding to would like to find out what dancing is likely to burn for them (and enter it as a custom activity in both MFP and Fitbit or anywhere else), they can look at:
https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/Activity-Categories/dancing
Then they can use a MET to calorie calculator:
http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/MetsCaloriesCalculator/MetsCaloriesCalculator.htm
Do subtract 1 MET if you want your NET burn.
Want to play some more? Your can even "correct" your METs!
https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/corrected-mets-1 -
The best way to get the estimate is to go out and walk as fast as you can, for the length of time the class lasts (I'm assuming you can't run that long). Cover as much distance as you can. Then use...
body weight in pounds * miles walked * 0.3 -> net calorie burn
It won't be perfect, but it'll be close. And most importantly, it won't be a the kind of big over-estimate that turns into weight loss disappointment when eaten back.
Good luck!
:drinker:
Or, you can benefit from the hard work of hundreds of researchers and volunteers who have accumulated a surprising array of information for your Googling pleasure.
I refer you, of course, to an obscure publication called the Compendium of Physical Activities that I recall mentioning to you on at least one other occasion.
But I forget, you trust a formula pulled out of runner's world article more. A formula for walking that doesn't even account for the speed you walk at, because, you know, walking on an incline at 4mph is exactly the same effort as walking downhill at 1.5mph, only the distance matters!
However, if the OP would like to find out what dancing is likely to burn for them (and enter it as a custom activity in both MFP and Fitbit or anywhere else), they can look at:
https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/Activity-Categories/dancing
Then they can use a MET to calorie calculator:
I am very familiar with the MET encylclopedia and use it for myself, but it is inappropriate for use in this case because the MET entries imply a known fitness level, which doesn't exist here. Which is why it is necessary to first map the OP's dancing effort to a known activity, such as walking or running.
The astute observer will notice that once the mapping is done, the OP's activity is now in effect correlated with a listed activity.
But I do appreciate the lovely attempt at maximizing the passive-aggressive nature of your post - well done! :drinker:
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christinev297 wrote: »
I've had my Fitbit zip for 2 years now and it works just like the first day I got it! I did have to purchase a new sleeve/clip for it about 1 month ago, but that was to be expected with daily use.
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do we need a scoring system on this post....just wonderin...
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I just purchased the Polar a300 and I love it!!! I haven't figured out if it does steps yet...I'm sure it does but I'm still figuring the ins and outs! But it is amazing!!!0
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I got a Garmin vivofit for around $95 from target on Feb 1st of this year. I wear it the entire day. It is water proof. Tracks total steps taken, converts it to miles, calorie burned, tracks sleep which I really don't care for. I like the weekly challenge it puts me in, which motivates me to get that many steps in by the end of the week. To me it's like a watch, shows time & date on the screen. Pretty easy to operate. I love the look & feel of it.0
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I just purchased the Polar a300 and I love it!!! I haven't figured out if it does steps yet...I'm sure it does but I'm still figuring the ins and outs! But it is amazing!!!
I'm so glad to hear you love it! I just purchased mine yesterday and am waiting for it to get delivered tomorrow. I'm sure I'm going to have a bit of a learning curve as well, but I'm super excited.0 -
The vivofit is GREAT and I used one for six months. Needed more to be able to step up some. Got a Polar M400 and it is one awesome device.0
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