Recommendations for decent HRM with chest strap on a budget; looking for advice.

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JTyler2016
JTyler2016 Posts: 34 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
As the title implies, I'm looking for a decent heart rate monitor on a $250-$350 USD budget, preferably one with a chest strap. I'd like suggestions or recommendations based on experience with different products.

I'm having a really hard time estimating my calorie burns this go around, I think in part due to me being in overall better shape than I was last time I was looking to lose weight. I think my perceived exertion is far less, and let's face it... MFP estimates are not a one-size fits all deal.

I'm 5'8", 246lb, looking to lose another 81lb or maintain 12-14% body fat, whichever comes first. I am on a carb controlled diet due to diabetes managed through eating alone. I am losing weight a little too quickly for my tastes, some weeks; others have been fine.

This week I thought I was really on track, I've been more than satiated at meal times, and average an intake between 1800 - 2000 calories per day... but I lost 4.5lb this week. I've been counting calories and exercising again since the Dr. cleared me to (had rotator cuff surgery), since April I've lost about 60lb.

I'm just getting frustrated trying to estimate my calorie burns, I'm positive that's where my problem is, unless someone else spots something in my diary or has other suggestions, so thank you all in advance for your help!

Replies

  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    edited August 2016
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    What type of exercise are you doing that an HRM might help calorie estimation with? I'd caution that HRM based calorie estimation is reasonably valid in a fairly narrow set of circumstances.

    fwiw the optimal answer would vary depending on what activity you do
  • JTyler2016
    JTyler2016 Posts: 34 Member
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    I bicycle pretty much everywhere I go in town if I am by myself, roughly 100 - 150 miles per week on average for a bulk of what I am concerned with.

    Recently the last couple of weeks I have gotten into a routine of doing Insanity once or twice a week with my wife, with whatever video she is on that day.

    Otherwise I am doing a basic 5x5 weightlifting routine every other day/3-4 days a week, but I don't attribute much calorie burn to that. More because I enjoy it and to help maintain muscle while I lose weight.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    If you don't have fairly advanced cardio training goals (which is what HRMs are actually good for) would advise NOT buying a HRM and save your money.

    Strava free app for your cycling. (My estimates come out a bit low but reasonably consistent.)

    Insanity - just guess/estimate, unlikely a HRM would be any more accurate.

    Strength training - completely unsuitable to use a basic HRM for calorie estimates. You would get a very inflated number. Just use the MFP database rough estimate (based on METS and your weight).


    If you really want one for interest or motivation sake then Polar FT7 is basic but OK (mine died early but that might be an isolated case), calorie estimates not that great when not very fit (too high).
    Polar FT60 I really like, custom settings / features are good and when calibrated properly can be pretty accurate for suitable exercise.
    Garmin Edge cycle computer and HRM - reliable but calorie estimates poor for me (low to very low and also inconsistent depending on ride intensity).
  • CincyNeid
    CincyNeid Posts: 1,249 Member
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    If you're into cycling pick up a Wahoo Tickr Run HRM, download Strava and sign up for the premium service.

    HRM & watch combo's cannot account for elevation gain, speed, or distance covered. You can save your cash and get much better data from a dedicated cycling app and a HRM.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    JTyler2016 wrote: »
    I bicycle pretty much everywhere I go in town if I am by myself, roughly 100 - 150 miles per week on average for a bulk of what I am concerned with.

    Phone based GPS will do what you need then; Strava, Endomondo, Runkeeper are all capable apps.
    Recently the last couple of weeks I have gotten into a routine of doing Insanity once or twice a week with my wife, with whatever video she is on that day.

    Otherwise I am doing a basic 5x5 weightlifting routine every other day/3-4 days a week, but I don't attribute much calorie burn to that. More because I enjoy it and to help maintain muscle while I lose weight.

    HR is a meaningless statistic with respect to calorie burn for both of those.
  • JTyler2016
    JTyler2016 Posts: 34 Member
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    Thanks for your replies!

    I currently use my galaxy s6 and google fit, which estimates less burn than MFP does, I'm not really worried about particularly saving money, I just don't want to spend a months worth of mortgage payments on something that may end up not as useful as I'd hoped either, which is why I mentioned a budget.

    I guess I was hoping a semi-decent HRM would have been a better metric to accurately gauge my daily activity/expenditure, especially cycling everywhere.

    I guess for now I'll check out Strava and a few of the other apps mentioned to see which I like best, and bump up my calories a bit. Some weeks I only lose 1-2lb though, which is why I hesitate to add back too many calories at a time, but I also definitely don't want to randomly lose 3-6lb in a week unexpectedly either.

    I wish I had this problem before I got so out of shape... o.O;;
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
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    If youre looking for good ones, I found my Polar M400 on Amazon for $89, chest strap included. My advice would be to stalk the 'New and used' sections for the Amazon Warehouse deals. Mine was described as having cosmetic scratches, yet I've never noticed.
    The Polar FTs are good models as well. They don't sync to the app or having a GPS, but I always found the calorie burns to be pretty accurate and the price is reasonable. I had the FT40 for about 3 years and I loved it.
  • CincyNeid
    CincyNeid Posts: 1,249 Member
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    JTyler2016 wrote: »
    Thanks for your replies!

    I currently use my galaxy s6 and google fit, which estimates less burn than MFP does, I'm not really worried about particularly saving money, I just don't want to spend a months worth of mortgage payments on something that may end up not as useful as I'd hoped either, which is why I mentioned a budget.

    If you're wanting to get something, I would recommend the Garmin Edge 15 with a HRM. Small. light weight. Tracks your distance, speed, elevation change, pace. And IIRC you can load routes to it so you can explore new paths and find your way back. They run about $160.00 and with Summer End Sales going my LBS will have them on special. And you can push the Garmin Connect Data to Strava, Endomondo, Under Armour's suite of apps, along with some others.. .. Or a Garmin VivoActive HR. Activity Tracker, Sleep Tracker, Running Watch, will track cycling and will track HR during your lifts, if that's a metric you're interested in. And the "cycling" end of it will track everything the Edge 15 will minus the Routes.
    JTyler2016 wrote: »
    I guess I was hoping a semi-decent HRM would have been a better metric to accurately gauge my daily activity/expenditure, especially cycling everywhere.

    It will help some. But without Elevation change, speed, distance and such it's a crap shoot at best. Different companies [Endomondo, Strava, Garmin, TraininPeaks ect] use those metrics to better guess your caloric burn.
    JTyler2016 wrote: »
    I guess for now I'll check out Strava and a few of the other apps mentioned to see which I like best, and bump up my calories a bit. Some weeks I only lose 1-2lb though, which is why I hesitate to add back too many calories at a time, but I also definitely don't want to randomly lose 3-6lb in a week unexpectedly either.

    I wish I had this problem before I got so out of shape... o.O;;

    Strava is really cool in regards that they have Segments, basically a virtual leader-board, and monthly challenges so you're always pushing yourself. Always going a little harder, a little faster....

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    JTyler2016 wrote: »
    I bicycle pretty much everywhere I go in town if I am by myself, roughly 100 - 150 miles per week on average for a bulk of what I am concerned with.

    Recently the last couple of weeks I have gotten into a routine of doing Insanity once or twice a week with my wife, with whatever video she is on that day.

    Otherwise I am doing a basic 5x5 weightlifting routine every other day/3-4 days a week, but I don't attribute much calorie burn to that. More because I enjoy it and to help maintain muscle while I lose weight.

    A power meter is the most accurate way to know how many calories you've burned on a bike. Sacrificing a little bit of accuracy (but still much better than an HRM will give you), you could get a left-only power meter for your budget. Besides knowing how much energy you've put into the bike, this will also help you pace yourself better than any other technology available, and it's a godsend for training. Stages and 4iiii would fit the bill. A used PowerTap wheel could be had for less, and those tend to be pretty solid.

    An HRM won't help you with strength training or insanity. It's a heart monitor, not a calorie monitor.
  • sbrubinson
    sbrubinson Posts: 1 Member
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    I have used Polar HRMs for a number of years, many of which come with a chest strap. I currently wear the FT4 model as a wristwatch, and use the chest strap when exercising. This is a low-end HRM, which I paid less than US $50 for at Walmart. Not Bluetooth compatible. You will have a lot of good choices in your price range.
  • janettles
    janettles Posts: 69 Member
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    I use a Polar H7 Bluetooth strap (about $50 and rated most accurate by Consumer Reports and other reviewers). It is a chest strap that I use to broadcast my heart rate data to any phone app I choose. If I run 2 different apps to receive my data for the same workout, I will get 2 different calorie counts. HRMs may be very accurate when their heart rate data is compared to a laboratory's electrocardiogram, but the calorie counts extrapolated by the various apps are all over the place. For what it is worth, Polar apps calculate very low calorie counts and such conservative numbers may prevent big errors in your daily count.

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