Tracking heart rate for weight loss?

anb3600
anb3600 Posts: 46 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

I was considering buying the Fitbit Inspire tracker. Does tracking heart rate (on the Fitbit Inspire HR- more expensive) make any difference? Also I will want to start weightlifting so I’m wondering if it will track weights or just cardio? Any advice would help thanks

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Replies

  • anb3600
    anb3600 Posts: 46 Member
    autumnblade75 wrote: »
    Tracking your heart rate might be useful for cardio, but is not necessary to lose weight and is not particularly useful for increased accuracy in calorie counting. I run, and I like data, so I have a Fitbit with HR tracking. I think it's great, so I'm not trying to discourage anyone from buying cool tech. I just want to be clear that it doesn't matter at all with regards to weight lifting, and only benefits the cardio junkie who enjoys graphs by providing that data. Even for folk with reasons to keep their heart rate in a given zone - this isn't a medical device, and you shouldn't trust your life to it. Added data is the only benefit.

    Thanks a lot! So can I track calories burned by weightlifting if I buy the Fitbit Inspire?
  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,594 Member
    I have the inspire HR and I love it. I used to have the Flex 2 which I also loved. If you are looking for something to motivate you to move more the Flex 2 is budget friendly. But I’ll admit that I wish I bought the Inspire HR sooner. It has more data, and I like that. I wouldn’t say that it has anything specific that helps with weight loss more than any other device that motivates you to move more. But I am enjoying wearing a wristwatch again after depending on my phone for the time the past several years. I like the fitness data from the heart rate monitor and have seen improvements in my cardiovascular fitness score over the past few months. Both are waterproof and I wear them in the shower without issues. I also like the sleep data.
  • anb3600
    anb3600 Posts: 46 Member
    autumnblade75 wrote: »
    anb3600 wrote: »
    autumnblade75 wrote: »
    Tracking your heart rate might be useful for cardio, but is not necessary to lose weight and is not particularly useful for increased accuracy in calorie counting. I run, and I like data, so I have a Fitbit with HR tracking. I think it's great, so I'm not trying to discourage anyone from buying cool tech. I just want to be clear that it doesn't matter at all with regards to weight lifting, and only benefits the cardio junkie who enjoys graphs by providing that data. Even for folk with reasons to keep their heart rate in a given zone - this isn't a medical device, and you shouldn't trust your life to it. Added data is the only benefit.

    Thanks a lot! So can I track calories burned by weightlifting if I buy the Fitbit Inspire?

    No. No device will be accurate at tracking calories burned during weight lifting.

    So... how can I track calories burned during/after weightlifting? For example if I want to lose weight/tone up and start weightlifting, how will I know I’m having calories out over in?
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    You can track your heart rate with the Inspire HR. Tracking your heart rate is not the same thing as tracking your calories burned. The Inspire and the Inspire HR are two different devices. Of the two, only the Inspire HR will track heart rate. Both will give quite similar calorie tracking numbers, which will be determined primarily by the number of steps you take, and potentially by the intensity of the arm swing that accompanies that step (as measured by the internal accelerometer.)
  • samhennings
    samhennings Posts: 441 Member
    anb3600 wrote: »
    So... how can I track calories burned during/after weightlifting? For example if I want to lose weight/tone up and start weightlifting, how will I know I’m having calories out over in?

    If your calories out is greater than your calories in you will lose weight.

    The only tech you need to know if thats happening is a pair of scales.

  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,594 Member
    Calories burned weight lifting are an estimate. You can do that without a device by entering “strength training” on myfitnesspall under cardio then enter the number of minutes.
  • anb3600
    anb3600 Posts: 46 Member
    emmamcgarity wrote: »
    Calories burned weight lifting are an estimate. You can do that without a device by entering “strength training” on myfitnesspall under cardio then enter the number of minutes.

    But if I do 30 minutes lifting 2lbs or 30 minutes lifting 20lbs, I will burn a different amount of calories?
  • anb3600
    anb3600 Posts: 46 Member
    samhennings wrote: »
    anb3600 wrote: »
    So... how can I track calories burned during/after weightlifting? For example if I want to lose weight/tone up and start weightlifting, how will I know I’m having calories out over in?

    If your calories out is greater than your calories in you will lose weight.

    The only tech you need to know if thats happening is a pair of scales.

    So I will only know if I’ve lost weight in the long term? How will I know how many calories IN on one day after I’ve done weightlifting? What happens if I don’t know how much I’ve burnt exercising that I then overeat and gain weight
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    anb3600 wrote: »
    autumnblade75 wrote: »
    anb3600 wrote: »
    autumnblade75 wrote: »
    Tracking your heart rate might be useful for cardio, but is not necessary to lose weight and is not particularly useful for increased accuracy in calorie counting. I run, and I like data, so I have a Fitbit with HR tracking. I think it's great, so I'm not trying to discourage anyone from buying cool tech. I just want to be clear that it doesn't matter at all with regards to weight lifting, and only benefits the cardio junkie who enjoys graphs by providing that data. Even for folk with reasons to keep their heart rate in a given zone - this isn't a medical device, and you shouldn't trust your life to it. Added data is the only benefit.

    Thanks a lot! So can I track calories burned by weightlifting if I buy the Fitbit Inspire?

    No. No device will be accurate at tracking calories burned during weight lifting.

    So... how can I track calories burned during/after weightlifting? For example if I want to lose weight/tone up and start weightlifting, how will I know I’m having calories out over in?


    Here is an article that explains very well the difficulties of calculating weight lifting calories. https://www.sparkpeople.com/blog/blog.asp?post=you_asked_how_many_calories_does_strength_training_burn

    Logging your food accurately using a food scale and correct entries from the database balanced against what your bathroom scale says over a period of several weeks will show whether you are in an energy balance, or at surplus, or in a deficit. Choose an appropriate rate of loss and activity level when setting up your account, for best results.
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    @steveko89 I think I agree that the TDEE method is probably preferable to people who primarily do strength training exercises. I don't know if there is greater accuracy in that approach for those who prefer easily estimated cardio exercises, such as running - especially if one considers a long run once weekly of 10 miles or so, which is likely to burn upwards of 1000 calories. For runs under an hour, TDEE might be workable.
  • samhennings
    samhennings Posts: 441 Member
    anb3600 wrote: »
    So I will only know if I’ve lost weight in the long term? How will I know how many calories IN on one day after I’ve done weightlifting? What happens if I don’t know how much I’ve burnt exercising that I then overeat and gain weight

    In my experience it takes a little trial and error to work out where your maintenance calorie limit lays, but once youve worked that out you know that to be under that you lose weight, and over that you gain.

    Keep track of your food and activity as well as you can (again, my experience, doesnt need to be to the nth degree) and you will learn where these lines are drawn.

    Weight loss is a long game. It can fluctuate daily, down to simple things like bowel movements or water retention, so I personally never saw any benefit to worrying about losing weight per 24 hours.

    I set up the app to lose 2lbs a week. If I lost 2lbs that week I was on track. If I lost less I needed to tighten up how I was recording my food. If I lost more I saw it as a win.

    I also looked at that weight loss as an average. I found some weeks very little movement, then the next week a big drop. So if it was 8lbs over the month then all good. be that 2lb, 2lb, 2lb, 2lb or 1lb, 1lb, 1lb, 5lb.

    Its a tortoise and hare thing, remember the tortoise.


    Incidentally, I dont believe weight lifting burns a particularly high number of calories. It works absolute wonders for your body composition, and is great while losing weight to maintain muscle mass and lose more fat*, but as a weight loss tool itself there are better exercises (for burning calories).



    *Purely hypothetical numbers, I dont have the actual stats to hand. If you lose weight with no weightlifting the weight loss will be (for arguments sake) 50% muscle and 50% fat. Weightlifting stimulates muscle growth/retention, and so losing weight while lifting will skew that balance more to 40% muscle and 60% fat.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    autumnblade75 wrote: »
    @steveko89 I think I agree that the TDEE method is probably preferable to people who primarily do strength training exercises. I don't know if there is greater accuracy in that approach for those who prefer easily estimated cardio exercises, such as running - especially if one considers a long run once weekly of 10 miles or so, which is likely to burn upwards of 1000 calories. For runs under an hour, TDEE might be workable.

    I get what you're saying and I can't disagree there are some limitations to the methodology but if one's exercise and activity is fairly similar week-to-week having one day where there's a higher expenditure than others isn't particularly statistically significant in terms of changing the average, maybe 100-200 calories which could easily be compensated for by some iterative observations. I'd also consider it an anomaly for someone's weekly routine to be centered around a single 1000 calorie expenditure.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    anb3600 wrote: »
    samhennings wrote: »
    anb3600 wrote: »
    So... how can I track calories burned during/after weightlifting? For example if I want to lose weight/tone up and start weightlifting, how will I know I’m having calories out over in?

    If your calories out is greater than your calories in you will lose weight.

    The only tech you need to know if thats happening is a pair of scales.

    So I will only know if I’ve lost weight in the long term? How will I know how many calories IN on one day after I’ve done weightlifting? What happens if I don’t know how much I’ve burnt exercising that I then overeat and gain weight

    After 4-6 weeks, did you lose as much, more, or less weight than expected.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    anb3600 wrote: »
    autumnblade75 wrote: »
    Tracking your heart rate might be useful for cardio, but is not necessary to lose weight and is not particularly useful for increased accuracy in calorie counting. I run, and I like data, so I have a Fitbit with HR tracking. I think it's great, so I'm not trying to discourage anyone from buying cool tech. I just want to be clear that it doesn't matter at all with regards to weight lifting, and only benefits the cardio junkie who enjoys graphs by providing that data. Even for folk with reasons to keep their heart rate in a given zone - this isn't a medical device, and you shouldn't trust your life to it. Added data is the only benefit.

    Thanks a lot! So can I track calories burned by weightlifting if I buy the Fitbit Inspire?

    Sure but you can do it with dice too.

    How much accuracy does the Fitbit promise, what's the maximum error? What are you getting for your $$$?
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    steveko89 wrote: »
    autumnblade75 wrote: »
    @steveko89 I think I agree that the TDEE method is probably preferable to people who primarily do strength training exercises. I don't know if there is greater accuracy in that approach for those who prefer easily estimated cardio exercises, such as running - especially if one considers a long run once weekly of 10 miles or so, which is likely to burn upwards of 1000 calories. For runs under an hour, TDEE might be workable.

    I get what you're saying and I can't disagree there are some limitations to the methodology but if one's exercise and activity is fairly similar week-to-week having one day where there's a higher expenditure than others isn't particularly statistically significant in terms of changing the average, maybe 100-200 calories which could easily be compensated for by some iterative observations. I'd also consider it an anomaly for someone's weekly routine to be centered around a single 1000 calorie expenditure.

    You might be right, but I can't find fault with either method. Both require a certain flexibility based on the observable weight trend results.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    autumnblade75 wrote: »
    steveko89 wrote: »
    autumnblade75 wrote: »
    @steveko89 I think I agree that the TDEE method is probably preferable to people who primarily do strength training exercises. I don't know if there is greater accuracy in that approach for those who prefer easily estimated cardio exercises, such as running - especially if one considers a long run once weekly of 10 miles or so, which is likely to burn upwards of 1000 calories. For runs under an hour, TDEE might be workable.

    I get what you're saying and I can't disagree there are some limitations to the methodology but if one's exercise and activity is fairly similar week-to-week having one day where there's a higher expenditure than others isn't particularly statistically significant in terms of changing the average, maybe 100-200 calories which could easily be compensated for by some iterative observations. I'd also consider it an anomaly for someone's weekly routine to be centered around a single 1000 calorie expenditure.

    You might be right, but I can't find fault with either method. Both require a certain flexibility based on the observable weight trend results.

    Some of my anti-measuring-exercise zealotry comes from the leftover frustration that I missed that iterative analysis piece and just tried to put my trust in difference devices, assuming they were accurate, which led to a lot of wheel-spinning.

    Pertaining to OP's question regarding calorie variation for weight lifting:
    Again, n=1, though specific to a regimen of weight lifting with little cardio (again, I can't guarantee that my calorie data is 100% precise but I'd be willing to put it up against just about anyone's) My weekly average TDEE calculated over the last 100 weeks varied with a standard deviation of 89.6 calories (3.63%). That's nearly two consecutive years of data for weeks in which I typically lifted 3-4 times per week but also includes those weeks where I took the whole week off for trips or holidays and a few experiments with 5-6 day splits. This also includes seasonal changes to activity (ex: playing golf and mowing the grass in the summer, etc.) with a weekly average body weight range of 171 to 181 lbs. This also encompasses periods and/or sessions lifting in both low and med/high rep schemes.

    TL;DR - I find little change to observed calorie expenditure even when weightlifting frequency and intensity is varied.
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