Fitbit - VS - Heart Rate Monitor

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shack1157
shack1157 Posts: 97 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
OK I want to to buy a device to help me monitor my activity Calories burned. I have talked with a few friends and gotten their opinion on what they like or dislike about what they have. I am considering either a Fitbit or a Heart Rate Monitor. So if anyone has any feedback on what is better and why please let me know your thoughts and preference.

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  • ladyprofaz
    ladyprofaz Posts: 66
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    I think you would prefer the HRM. I have the Fitbit and I love it but almost all I do for exercise is walk. It motivates me to do so by tracking steps, miles and hills (stairs) but I don't really count calories with it. I know it sends an adjustment over here every day but I don't eat my calories back the way you do. I think you would prefer the HRM for accurate numbers when you really are working hard. I might get there eventually but right now I am more concerned with just moving every day. Just my very humble opinion.
  • nurseygirl66
    nurseygirl66 Posts: 25 Member
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    Hey Shack! I have both :). I bought a HR watch for my training for the 5K I ran last month.........so I could set a pace I could sustain. It's good for the times you work out. My fitbit I attach to my brastrap (I don't think you have one of those but they have a belt thingy) all day and it records my general activity. After a period of time it determines how many calories are optimal for me based on my activity level daily rather than how they do here based on height/weight and what sort of weight loss you want. I use them both, the fitbit is a bit more techy in terms of syncing with this program and theirs. Happy Thursday!!
  • suzy50minus
    suzy50minus Posts: 18 Member
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    Shack...I have a HRM --I really like it! It seems to be very accurate. my main goal was to track calories, and keep up with my heart rate and It does both very well! I have found the cal. on MFP are always way higher than what my HRM says, so I am glad I didnt go by that. It makes me want to do my workout now...to see how many cal I can burn! You are the King of Cal burn..so Best of luck to you!!!
  • iKristine
    iKristine Posts: 288 Member
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    For your goals, I would suggest a HRM. The only downfall with these, is that they are based on mathematical formulas based on your height/weight etc. They don't take into consideration a thing called "exercise economy". Which is your bodies fitness acclamation to activity. The idea here is the more you do an activity, the more your body becomes efficient with it.

    I've read studies that this can be off as much as 30-40% as a result across the board.

    That's not to say they won't do the job. Depending on your use, this may never be an issue. Especially if your eclectic in you activity. I do see people who are running marathons, spinning regularly, that still believe they burn 700 calories on a spin bike in 40 minutes. That's obscene 17 cals a minute. It's more realistically 6 - 8 calories a minute. But if you listen to other people, they swear they did it because their HRM said so.

    If your looking for something more solid, I would recommend a BodyBugg. This is a band you wear 24/7 that acts as a pedometer, and measures various things like heat flux and your sweat. It's a rather well designed, when used properly and by someone who understands its limitations.

    However, this device is subscription based. But if you use it regularly for a couple months, you will get a real sense of awareness in what burns more, recognizing you physiological responses to a ballpark number of calories burned and allows you a more long term "knowledge" by seeing what equals what for so long.


    Decisions, for sure.

    The bottomline I would say is your goals. Are you "just looking to calorie monitor" to know what to eat, I say BB. If your wanting to gauge your fitness in time I would still say BB, but HRM could be a tool too.
  • indianwin2001
    indianwin2001 Posts: 296 Member
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    I would suggest the HRM--I have been using one for 2 years and you can input your individual heart rate zones by using your
    maximum heart rate. I would suggest getting a book on heart rate training. The one I have is Heart rate training by Roy Benson and Declan Connely--Heart rate training is based on science and once you understand the theory,training is virtually foolproof
  • codycsweet
    codycsweet Posts: 1,019 Member
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    I have both and use my Fitbit everyday. I don't use my hrm very much my step based stuff like Zumba the calorie burns on the hrm and Fitbit are similar. For things that aren't step based I rarely use my hrm it's just a pain.

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