FitBit One calorie burn and HRM calorie burn

[oriori13]

I have a FitBit One that I wear daily as well as during dance class. I am trying to lose weight so I also wear a HRM during class and I log everything in SparkPeople. Class is 1 hour and according to my HRM I burn on average 500 calories a class. My FitBit logs my steps for class as usually around 3k steps. It's Tahitian dancing so there is a lot of movement.

My main question is, am I accidentally double counting my calorie burn? My FitBit is synced to SparkPeople and records an all day exercise calorie burn based on steps alone. Then I add always add any other exercise (Dance, walk, cardio workout etc.) But I'm wondering if I am double counting on dance/exercise? Should I only count the HRM?

[JonahV]

I would try just using your fitbit for one class (or from your HRM). This way you can see what a normal class is with the burn information from your Fitbit (or from your HRM). Then next class use both, this way you can see if the numbers are way off or look to be doubled. I am unfamiliar with SparkPeople, but from other apps you typically are doubling.

Also before you add the extra exercise, look at your information. When you add the extra exercise does it increase the calorie burn significantly? 

[slysam]

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@oriori13 wrote:

I have a FitBit One that I wear daily as well as during dance class. I am trying to lose weight so I also wear a HRM during class and I log everything in SparkPeople. Class is 1 hour and according to my HRM I burn on average 500 calories a class. My FitBit logs my steps for class as usually around 3k steps. It's Tahitian dancing so there is a lot of movement.

My main question is, am I accidentally double counting my calorie burn? My FitBit is synced to SparkPeople and records an all day exercise calorie burn based on steps alone. Then I add always add any other exercise (Dance, walk, cardio workout etc.) But I'm wondering if I am double counting on dance/exercise? Should I only count the HRM?

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I have a One and used a heart rate monitor for years. I also dance as a hobby and sometimes perform. I found that my One did just fine with dancing that involved larger movements and traveling steps. For those the One counted calorie burn was pretty similar to my HRM. However, for some dancing the One did not pick up my steps. This included belly dance, Flamenco dance class, and my old Hula dance class. So I would log it from my HRM or my average HRM if I didn't wear it that session. 

Spark complicates it a little. I haven't used Spark for about a year or so. My opinion is likely outdated.I found the allowance Spark gave me (when linked to Fitbit) was way too high. It was higher than the allowance Fitbit would give based on my stats, activity and logged exercise. I just followed Fitbit's goal. I did log my aerobic exercise on Fitbit and strength on Spark. I think it shares both ways? I don't recall, I also would make a note in the notes section of spark for more details (which workout class or DVD, which type of dance, which stroke if swimming, etc). 

Usually, if you log an activity, it should overwrite the fitbit burn. You can test this by logging an activity with 1 calorie burn and see if it decreases your total calories burned. Then delete your logged activity and see if the calories restore to normal. I haven't paid attention lately because I rarely log my activity anymore as i have a Surge as well as my One.