Suggestions on any good accurate scales?
03-08-2011, 08:14 AM
#11
FitDay Premium Member
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,621
Michael, I found this to be helpful. Once I got to my goal weight, I knew I needed goals to help keep me motivated, so I changed to a body fat goal.
I have a Tanita scale that measures body fat and I know that any scale's accuracy is not altogether excellent, but, as you said, watching the change rather than considering the absolute number was very helpful for me. When I started, I was at about 27% body fat; now it's 19%. Whether or not it's actually 19% is anyone's guess, but I know it's a lot lower than it was before. It's been to 17, 18%, so my goal is to get back to that. My percentage never varies more than 1%, unlike Geoffers (unless there's a lot of water weight; see below).
I also find it very helpful to use the body fat percentage number to not freak out about water weight gain. For example, if I get on the scale and I'm up a pound or two, but the BF percentage is at, like 15, then I know it's water weight.
I'm toying with the idea of doing hydrostatic weighing just to see how close the result is to my scale, though there hasn't been an easy place to get it done as of yet.
You are doing awesome, my friend...keep up the great work; you are inspirational to many
.
I have a Tanita scale that measures body fat and I know that any scale's accuracy is not altogether excellent, but, as you said, watching the change rather than considering the absolute number was very helpful for me. When I started, I was at about 27% body fat; now it's 19%. Whether or not it's actually 19% is anyone's guess, but I know it's a lot lower than it was before. It's been to 17, 18%, so my goal is to get back to that. My percentage never varies more than 1%, unlike Geoffers (unless there's a lot of water weight; see below).
I also find it very helpful to use the body fat percentage number to not freak out about water weight gain. For example, if I get on the scale and I'm up a pound or two, but the BF percentage is at, like 15, then I know it's water weight.
I'm toying with the idea of doing hydrostatic weighing just to see how close the result is to my scale, though there hasn't been an easy place to get it done as of yet.
You are doing awesome, my friend...keep up the great work; you are inspirational to many
.As to being an inspiration, well, I hope I'm helping--sort of a way to pay it forward a bit and at the same time work though my own food issues.
I see you're right on the cusp of a full year of maintaining--now THAT is inspirational!
Regards,
Michael
03-08-2011, 09:54 AM
#12
Super Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,083
Cassie, thanks--that's what I think I would like. What model Tanita do you have? Having numbers to keep score with will, I think, be most beneficial to me when that time comes.
As to being an inspiration, well, I hope I'm helping--sort of a way to pay it forward a bit and at the same time work though my own food issues.
I see you're right on the cusp of a full year of maintaining--now THAT is inspirational!
Regards,
Michael
As to being an inspiration, well, I hope I'm helping--sort of a way to pay it forward a bit and at the same time work though my own food issues.
I see you're right on the cusp of a full year of maintaining--now THAT is inspirational!
Regards,
Michael
03-08-2011, 08:51 PM
#14
FitDay Premium Member
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,621
. I will have a closer look at them, though. Regards,
Michael
03-09-2011, 02:16 PM
#15
FitDay Premium Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 2,042
Omron HBF-514
I bought this about a year ago. First scale I've owned in 25 years. It got pretty good reviews from Amazon when I bought it, although 1 guy really hated it. It has the body fat etc. features, which I haven't used too much recently, but I'm planning on starting up again. It also has some record keeping features that allow you to compare multiple readings over time.
When I first bought it, it was a bit off (higher weight and BF) relative to the Diet doc's scale so I was kind of discouraged. But since I am pretty close to where I want to be weight-wise and I'm not going to the Diet doc anymore, it isn't such a big deal.
Like lots of folks have noted as long as I don't move it, it reads quite consistently, so I would recommend it.
Pam
When I first bought it, it was a bit off (higher weight and BF) relative to the Diet doc's scale so I was kind of discouraged. But since I am pretty close to where I want to be weight-wise and I'm not going to the Diet doc anymore, it isn't such a big deal.
Like lots of folks have noted as long as I don't move it, it reads quite consistently, so I would recommend it.
Pam
02-07-2012, 09:06 AM
#16
FitDay Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 4
Best Scales Out There?
I just read FitDay's Best of Series: Tips for Weight Loss and the first tip here was "Beware of the scale".
This is something that has really been a problem for me because I personally had a love and hate relationship with my bathroom scale. I would obsess over my weight and weigh myself more than once per day (which is definitely not a good thing to do), because I was so desperate to see even the tiniest change in my weight. Then, after seeing the same number staring me in the face I'd just feel miserable and depressed for the rest of the day.
I know experts always say how people focus only on losing weight, not on getting rid of the fat and how regular scales only measure weight loss or gain. I personally started using the Quantumscale (because it doesn't display a number but records tour weight and informs you on your progress, so it's a great way to control your weight but without feeling frustrated when you're plateauing. It's been working for me, I stopped weighing myself that often and seeing the progress from the first day of diet gave me a motivation boost, so I'd definitely recommend it.
I also know there are scales out there that can measure your body fat by sending an electrical current through your body in order to basically read your percentage of body fat. I'm not really sure they actually work, plus they're expensive so would you say they're worth the investment? I've also heard of DEXA scales, that measure where your body fat is stored without being invasive. These would be quite useful, but then again, they can go as high as $300, quite pricey.
What's your opinion on that? Are you happy with your regular scale? Do you think scales can actually measure body fat or tell you if you're only losing water weight, or this is all just marketing strategy?
Thanks!
This is something that has really been a problem for me because I personally had a love and hate relationship with my bathroom scale. I would obsess over my weight and weigh myself more than once per day (which is definitely not a good thing to do), because I was so desperate to see even the tiniest change in my weight. Then, after seeing the same number staring me in the face I'd just feel miserable and depressed for the rest of the day.
I know experts always say how people focus only on losing weight, not on getting rid of the fat and how regular scales only measure weight loss or gain. I personally started using the Quantumscale (because it doesn't display a number but records tour weight and informs you on your progress, so it's a great way to control your weight but without feeling frustrated when you're plateauing. It's been working for me, I stopped weighing myself that often and seeing the progress from the first day of diet gave me a motivation boost, so I'd definitely recommend it.
I also know there are scales out there that can measure your body fat by sending an electrical current through your body in order to basically read your percentage of body fat. I'm not really sure they actually work, plus they're expensive so would you say they're worth the investment? I've also heard of DEXA scales, that measure where your body fat is stored without being invasive. These would be quite useful, but then again, they can go as high as $300, quite pricey.
What's your opinion on that? Are you happy with your regular scale? Do you think scales can actually measure body fat or tell you if you're only losing water weight, or this is all just marketing strategy?
Thanks!
