Who has a fancy new scale?

[akp]

The other thread about dieting got me wondering if anyone has purchased one of these new fancy scales that integrate with iphone apps, exercise monitors, etc.

My husband has struggled with his weight the last few years and he got a Withings scale recently to replace our estate-sale-purchased model from the 1950s that he bought it because it looked cool

This Withings scale syncs automatically with an iphone app and provides a chart over time of your weight.

I learned the maxim in grad school "you can manage what you measure" and I wonder if this type of scale is helpful to dieters? (Even though you could make a chart by hand with a traditional scale, I doubt if many people make the effort consistently.)

I'm normal weight for a 47 year old, and it has been fascinating to use the scale. I find myself much more aware of the patterns of my weight.

I looked at Best Buy after DH bought this scale and I think there are better options. Some have exercise monitors that you can wear that also communicate with the app. (Withings is coming out with one but not available yet.)

I'm curious what others experiences with these scales have been.

Anita

 

[SMHarman]

I have looked at the ANT+ ones. It is another interesting data point to collect.
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/201...lented-tests-netted-fewer-kids-with-top-score
But really as the trainer that got me back down to fighting weight (not quite there at the moment) was that the weight factor is the last one to change and weight loss is slow and you know when you are gaining / losing as your clothes feel different. That is enough of a weight / health measure.
As you lose weight, you don't necessarily lose weight but have it move around as you gain muscle mass and lose fat so your weight may not change so much as move from the waist to elsewhere.
As such I don't own scales.

 

[heathpack]

I've wondered myself about the scales that (supposedly) measure body fat percentage. How do those work? Do they even work as advertised?

I'm not sure if the withings scale measures body fat, but since we're on the subject of fancy scales....

H

 

[AwayWeGo]

Fancy Is As Fancy Does.

Who has a fancy new scale?

Ours is just a slab of glass with a little window showing weight in digits that light up, powered by 2 AA batteries. The numbers are big & bright enough to see with the naked eye (no eyeglasses) even if your eyesight is like mine (i.e., nearsighted & cross-eyed).

That's fancy by contrast with those old bathroom scales -- spring-style or balance-style mox nix.

But it is plain-vanilla & un-fancy when you're talking iPhone, iPad, Andoid apps, ditigal monitors, & all that.

It just shows body weight in 4 digits -- shows even-number tenths only, no odd tenths. That's close enough for the Dr. Phil Fat Folks Diet.

When I stepped on this morning, the digits that lit up said 208.4 -- a big improvement from 12 months ago.

It's easy for me to forget that I need to limit food intake & stick with daily exercise. Regarding those things, I have a powerful forgetter & a weak rememberer. Getting on the scale & eyeballing the numbers every morning helps me remember, & remembering helps me stick with the things that work. It's a day-at-a-time proposition (same as everything else in life, when you get right down to it).

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[SMHarman]

I've wondered myself about the scales that (supposedly) measure body fat percentage. How do those work? Do they even work as advertised?

I'm not sure if the withings scale measures body fat, but since we're on the subject of fancy scales....

H

They measure the electrical resistance of the body. Fat conducts current better than muscle. Problem is water also conducts current so the reading will differ depending upon how well hydrated you are.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage#Bioelectrical_impedance_analysis

 

[Gophesjo]

My friend who is a registered dietician who works with Division 1 college athletes and NFL and NBA players has a $3,000+ Tanita scale which does amazing things. Besides the body mass and body fat percentages it also calculates, among other things, water weight (and hydration ratios) and total fat free mass. I only have one read out from it, so I do not know if it charts ongoing progress (I imagine it does), but am looking forward to the next print out I get from it as I track my own progress.

 

[akp]

you know when you are gaining / losing as your clothes feel different. That is enough of a weight / health measure.
As you lose weight, you don't necessarily lose weight but have it move around as you gain muscle mass and lose fat so your weight may not change so much as move from the waist to elsewhere.
As such I don't own scales.

This has been my natural lifelong approach as well. If my clothes start to feel bad, I make subtle, unconscious adjustments in my habits. In my size, the discomfort happens within about a 3-5 pound variation.

My sister says that in her size, she has about a 10-15 pound range before they become uncomfortable, and by the time they're too tight, she feels frustrated / negative / overwhelmed which feeds the process.

FYI, the Withings scale does give a BMI reading along with weight. The number fits with what I get from the typical BMI graph.