Fitbit Aria Scale - Opinions

shadow2soul

I'm thinking about saving up for a Fitbit Aria Scale. I was wondering if anyone has bought one and can tell me whether or not they regret the purchase.

My current scale is malfunctioning occasionally and it's getting more frequent as time goes on. I've tried resetting it and changing the batteries, but it's still acting weird.

Losingthedamnweight

I got one when I first started along with a fitbit one. Easily the best purchase I've ever made. It goes into a system of things that make it more fun to lose weight, therefore inspires me to keep going. It's cool to just get on the scale, let it do its thing and then it wirelessly sends the information and my weight, day and time and body fat is synced across fitbit and fitness pal. No writing anything down. No nothing. It just shows up in the app. And I've had alot of scales and experimented with water weight and gotten on and off a billion times. Almost every other scale I've had, you get on and off 3 times and you might get 3 different weights. With the aria, it stays that single weight. Fluctuations are much much less. When it says you are a certain weight, that's what you are. Really saves me the stress of weighing myself a million times a day to get an accurate weight

I say buy it. It seems like alot but its really not just a scale. It's a system in place to help you lose weight and monitor it.

shadow2soul

I got one when I first started along with a fitbit one. Easily the best purchase I've ever made. It goes into a system of things that make it more fun to lose weight, therefore inspires me to keep going. It's cool to just get on the scale, let it do its thing and then it wirelessly sends the information and my weight, day and time and body fat is synced across fitbit and fitness pal. No writing anything down. No nothing. It just shows up in the app. And I've had alot of scales and experimented with water weight and gotten on and off a billion times. Almost every other scale I've had, you get on and off 3 times and you might get 3 different weights. With the aria, it stays that single weight. Fluctuations are much much less. When it says you are a certain weight, that's what you are. Really saves me the stress of weighing myself a million times a day to get an accurate weight

I say buy it. It seems like alot but its really not just a scale. It's a system in place to help you lose weight and monitor it.

Thanks for the reply. I have fitbit zip and absolutely love it. I just want to be sure the scale is accurate before I spend the money on it. :flowerforyou:

cnava09

I'm not sure if you ever purchased the Fitbit Aria, but I have to say, I am not entirely satisfied. When I first started using it, it had be as 2 lbs heavier than the scale I had been using. Additionally, I do not believe that it calculates body fat percentage well. I have lost 68 lbs and work out like a beast, and yet it does not show any decrease in body fat percentage. Just as an FYI.

Followingsea

I have one and I really like it! The only things that bug me -

- After moving the scale, you need to weigh yourself something like SIX TIMES to get the thing to recalibrate. Even if you move it from one section of hard floor to another area of that same floor. I got some really strange readings at first before I realized what was happening & made a permanent place for it.

-It knows up to 8 people, I think it is? But if two of those people have a similar height & body fat percentage (like, within 15 lbs or 15%) it will sometimes guess wrong and assign your stats to someone else (or vice versa).

That said, I don't regret it for a second.

shadow2soul

I'm not sure if you ever purchased the Fitbit Aria, but I have to say, I am not entirely satisfied. When I first started using it, it had be as 2 lbs heavier than the scale I had been using. Additionally, I do not believe that it calculates body fat percentage well. I have lost 68 lbs and work out like a beast, and yet it does not show any decrease in body fat percentage. Just as an FYI.

Nope haven't purchased it yet. Mostly because it's going to take awhile for me to have enough money set aside for it. I probably will have the money saved by Feb/March of next year (setting aside Amazon Gift cards that I earn from taking surveys).

I don't expect any scale will calculate BF% very well.

I have one and I really like it! The only things that bug me -

- After moving the scale, you need to weigh yourself something like SIX TIMES to get the thing to recalibrate. Even if you move it from one section of hard floor to another area of that same floor. I got some really strange readings at first before I realized what was happening & made a permanent place for it.

-It knows up to 8 people, I think it is? But if two of those people have a similar height & body fat percentage (like, within 15 lbs or 15%) it will sometimes guess wrong and assign your stats to someone else (or vice versa).

That said, I don't regret it for a second.

Ooo...that would be annoying. Luckily, no one in my house is the same height as me.

LilRiver

I started my weight loss journey with a simple pedometer. I tracked my steps & weight manually (mostly daily) on a spreadsheet. My pedometer died and I upgraded to the Fitbit One. It took less than a week to love the fact that my steps were being tracked automagically and decided it would be super handy to have my weight tracked as well. So... I just purchased the Aria. It was an impulse purchase, which I tend to regret within an hour of handing over the cash, but I haven't yet. I can't give you any long term use info, but here are my first impressions...

* It's decent looking and feels sturdy. I went with white because I have a white tile floor. It has a minimalist look to it which is nice and a pleasant change from my old scale. Not that this is all important or anything, but there is that.

* If you already have a fitbit account it is super easy to set up. It took me less than 5 minutes, including opening the box, reading the directions, waiting for it to find my wireless (which it did on its own) and sync (again, it did it on its own).

* It's accurate. I weigh myself regularly throughout the day out of habit and am familiar with how my weight fluctuates - the Aria has mirrored what I expected to see. Of course, the number it listed wasn't exactly the same as my old scale. Unlike the person above, mine was a half a pound less than my old scale and I've weighed side by side several times - always a .6 difference. I don't think it's all that surprising to have scales not match exactly. What matters is if they are measuring the change accurately. This seems to be... or is doing it exactly as my other scale.

* Body fat percentage has not been as accurate... it's given me a slightly different reading every time. The readings are close and probably fairly close to actuality. I've never looked at a scale for BF% - it's not the function they were designed to do and, therefore, do it less accurately. So it doesn't surprise me that it's variable (though only by a fraction of a percent) and isn't a deal breaker for me.

* My big downside is that it uploads every time you step on the scale. I weigh myself out of habit several times a day and don't much care to have all of those numbers recorded (I'd only like to record my morning weight) which means going to the site and deleting the ones I don't want listed. It's not difficult to do, but eh. I'm also not thrilled about having this info sync to MFP - which I've only been updating with my weight weekly. I'm sure I'll get used to this, but it's a change.

kw67

Just ordered one! Arrives on Friday

TTHdred

I started my weight loss journey with a simple pedometer. I tracked my steps & weight manually (mostly daily) on a spreadsheet. My pedometer died and I upgraded to the Fitbit One. It took less than a week to love the fact that my steps were being tracked automagically and decided it would be super handy to have my weight tracked as well. So... I just purchased the Aria. It was an impulse purchase, which I tend to regret within an hour of handing over the cash, but I haven't yet. I can't give you any long term use info, but here are my first impressions...

* It's decent looking and feels sturdy. I went with white because I have a white tile floor. It has a minimalist look to it which is nice and a pleasant change from my old scale. Not that this is all important or anything, but there is that.

* If you already have a fitbit account it is super easy to set up. It took me less than 5 minutes, including opening the box, reading the directions, waiting for it to find my wireless (which it did on its own) and sync (again, it did it on its own).

* It's accurate. I weigh myself regularly throughout the day out of habit and am familiar with how my weight fluctuates - the Aria has mirrored what I expected to see. Of course, the number it listed wasn't exactly the same as my old scale. Unlike the person above, mine was a half a pound less than my old scale and I've weighed side by side several times - always a .6 difference. I don't think it's all that surprising to have scales not match exactly. What matters is if they are measuring the change accurately. This seems to be... or is doing it exactly as my other scale.

* Body fat percentage has not been as accurate... it's given me a slightly different reading every time. The readings are close and probably fairly close to actuality. I've never looked at a scale for BF% - it's not the function they were designed to do and, therefore, do it less accurately. So it doesn't surprise me that it's variable (though only by a fraction of a percent) and isn't a deal breaker for me.

* My big downside is that it uploads every time you step on the scale. I weigh myself out of habit several times a day and don't much care to have all of those numbers recorded (I'd only like to record my morning weight) which means going to the site and deleting the ones I don't want listed. It's not difficult to do, but eh. I'm also not thrilled about having this info sync to MFP - which I've only been updating with my weight weekly. I'm sure I'll get used to this, but it's a change.

very helpful. thanks!

scrapjen

The Aria is pricey, but I do really like it. I just love how it syncs wirelessly (I can't tell you how many times I would weigh in and then forget the numbers before I wrote them down). I never used to update my weight on Fitbit, but now it is up-to-date daily. MFP is too ... and my ticker will go backwards if my weight goes back up. My MFP ticker changes from day to day!

We do have three Fitbits in the house (me and my two oldest boys). I'm happy to say that I am now close enough in weight to my 17-year old, that the Aria can't tell us apart. It will just ask you to select WHO you are (tapping the scale) so that's not really that big of a deal. Occasionally I'll have an inconsistent reading (I can totally tell when it's going to happen too) ... it comes in about 4 pounds high! But I know I can just step on it a second time and it will come in correctly.

As others have mentioned ... I'm not sure how much stock I put into the body fat reading. I think it's based more on your stats (age, weight, etc.) than anything else.

Fitbit/Aria can also connect to Trendweight.com and that is another great site to get graphs and such.

Skydaver

We just decided to order an Aria today. I've signed us up with trendweight.com. That developer uses the same calculations as The Hacker's Diet, and shows on your dashboard your actual weigh in weight, and your trend weight.

If you're using the Aria, I think it is very important to use something like TrendWeight or THD, otherwise, you'll go nuts every time your weight pops up a pound or two.

My weighin today was 0.9 above my goal, but my trend weight is still 3.1 above my goal. When I get my trend down to the goal weight, I'll consider my self to have reached my goal.

As far as the Aria and multiple users ... if two or more are similar in weight, it will display a set of initials. If yours aren't the ones showing, you tap the scale until it does, and the weight will get logged in your FitBit account.

MrsKato1021

I find this thread very helpful, as I am thinking about ordering an aria..I have question though..do you have to store it in the same place? my bathroom is small so I would be storing it on it's side then taking it out daily to weigh myself...would this mess the scale up?

Skydaver

Fitbit says that you need to keep it flat; that putting the Aria on its side will result in less precise readings.

giantsizegeek

I always heard that you should weigh yourself on a scale at the same time everyday. When I some reviews of the Aria, I saw people taking their weight measurements several times a day - it would fluctuate. But over time the weight pattern would go down if they were taking care of themselves.

Same thing was true about BMI in the reviews I read. One user said there were differences in one day because of the water consumed.

Would you still stick to a daily regular time weigh-in?

Skydaver

You have to weigh yourself the same time, the same way. For me, that's in the morning just before hitting the shower.

When you consider the mass of everything that goes through your body every day (7-10 lbs of solids & liquids), there would be too much noise in the measurement if you do it any other way.

Signup for trendweight.com, too. It will tie in with FitBit, pick up the weight from the Aria, and plot not only your actual weigh-in values, but a calculated average weight, that is a weighted moving average of the last 10 days. That value is a much better indicator of what you weigh. The developer of trendweight uses the calculation found in The Hacker's Diet.

giantsizegeek

After this discussion I couldn't resist getting one. After it arrived, my wife said: "Why do you need this? Just weigh yourself every day and text me -- I'll track it on a spreadsheet!" LOL. We'll see how it goes, but it was easy to setup and it recognized the two of us without any problem. I wonder what happens if 2 people weigh about the same, how does it distinguish between them?

depjo01

I have both the fitbit one and aria scale. I lke that they both sync to MFP automatically. It makes it real easy to track my progress. I did have to replace the scale after six months because it stopped working. Fitbit customer support was very good and sent me a replacement at no cost.

Skydaver

If two folks are close in weight, it will display the initials, and prompt you to tap the scale if it isn't you.

Go signup at trendweight.com, and show it to your wife :-)

KimberlyinMN

I had one. However after consistently NOT getting a consistent weight, I returned it. I would step on, get a weight. Step off and wait for the screen to go dark (or whatever). I'd step back on it and get a different number. I had this on a smooth cement floor. I would weigh myself five times every day for a week. Honestly, I never got the same number. (Obviously my weight will fluctuate day to day, but within minutes?) Also, what I didn't like was the wireless part. Sometimes I like to step on the scale mid-week just to gauge how it's going, but I don't want to use that as the "official" weigh-in. Maybe I just had a "dud" scale - I know that happens.

mtfr810

Love mine. But the BF% is usually 6% high for me so I don't really count that value. I use it as a trend instead.

Skydaver

I had one. However after consistently NOT getting a consistent weight, I returned it. I would step on, get a weight. Step off and wait for the screen to go dark (or whatever). I'd step back on it and get a different number. I had this on a smooth cement floor. I would weigh myself five times every day for a week. Honestly, I never got the same number. (Obviously my weight will fluctuate day to day, but within minutes?) Also, what I didn't like was the wireless part. Sometimes I like to step on the scale mid-week just to gauge how it's going, but I don't want to use that as the "official" weigh-in. Maybe I just had a "dud" scale - I know that happens.

I'll concur with the unofficial/official weigh in idea. Somedays, I just want to see what's happened during the day, such as yesterday. I played a round of golf, walking & carrying my bag, on a warm & humid afternoon. I wanted to see how much I'd dropped over the afternoon (yes, I know it's all water, and I'd replenished some, etc, etc, but I was curious)

giantsizegeek

I have it and I like it a lot. Since buying it I have made it a regular thing to weigh myself after I wake up. One strange thing -- my weight has gone down but my BMI is going up. Why is that? I am doing strength training in addition to cardio.

The trendweight.com site that Skydaver mentioned is very interesting. Be interested to see what that says after a few weeks.

MrsKato1021

I have to ask, do you have to keep the aria in the same place? I am asking because I want to purchase one,but I won't be able to keep it in the same spot, it will be moved when I need to weigh myself, so I don't want to have to recalbirate everytime I move it. the only other option is my bedroom, but then it will be on carpet, not heavy carpet burbur , but still carpet. which I know will change the accuracy of the scale. thoughts please? you all are so helpful!

peterjasper

Its not perfect, but overall its great for motivation and accountability.

Issues I've found:
-False manual readings sent to phone app and MFP, aswell as aria reading
-Rounding up readings when it uploads to your phone app...really irritating.
-Fat % readings all over the place

I am never going to buy a normal scale again. Wifi scale from here on in.

Overall I love it despite the issues.

Skydaver

So, how are you liking Trendweight?

The developer is very responsive; I noticed that the FitBit site showed a different weight (by 0.1 lbs) than trendweight. FitBit doesn't round properly. Trendweight showed me my page (https://trendweight.com/scalereadings/) that had the actual reported values sent by the Aria (it reports in .0001 lbs!). His rounding is mathematically correct, FitBit's is not.

It's only .01, so it really won't matter in the long run, esp. in maintenance, but it's weird that FitBit gets it wrong.

donjessop

The Fitbit Aria uses Bioelectrical impedance analysis to determine body fat. This is affected by the water content of your body and will yield different results if your feet are dry or wet or whether or not you have recently had a lot of water to drink. The BF% can change minute to minute depending upon perspiration on your feet, the humidity in the air, etc. If you follow the identical pattern in weighing yourself (ex. right out of a shower with dried feet, early in the morning) then results can be more accurately compared to other days.

However, while it is an interesting gauge, it should not be construed as being 100% accurate.

sway1080

I realize this thread is old but wouldn't mind to hear more from people who own this.

I bought one yesterday, set up was easy etc etc..stepped on the scale and the weight was around what I knew I was. Then it showed body fat percentage...I was like..okk..seemed a bit high but whatever..

Weighed myself again this morning...Oh yay! I went down 1lb! but what..??? I gained 2 full % body fat.

I immediately put it back into the box...

I bought it mainly for the body fat % and if it's going to flucuate 2 % body fat overnight within 12 hours then it's obviously not reading my body properly because I know for sure I didn't gain that overnight.

johnthomasmoore

I love my Aria Scale. I would agree that the BF% is not accurate and is affected by hydration and other factors. All measurements are subject to variability; there is signal and noise. I look at the trends and am a fan of moving averages. It doesn't make sense to give too much importance to single readings. If you're looking at BF% I think you need at least a week, really more, of data to see a trend. I weigh everyday and have my Aria synced to trendweight.com. Trendweight plots the data points and a moving average based on Hacker's diet calculations. I've got my tracking pretty much automated using MFP, Fitbit, Trendweight and Google Spreadsheets. Check out my blog for how I put it together: http://johntmoore.blogspot.com/.

jbpretty

sway1080, did you calibrate the scale? If you didn't then it is possible to get different readings. It's easy, just step on the scale (I do it 6 times) in a row until the reading you get is consistent. Also, the scale is not meant to be moved. It will need to be re-calibrated after moving it. I think that's all there is to it, at least that's what I remember.

Oh, and "Trendweight" is a great site! It shows the bigger picture which I find awesome.

peterjasper

Trendweight is amazing. great service. Highly recommended for fitbit aria scale users :drinker: :drinker:

Excellent for cutting through the random fluctuations a persons weight goes through, to give overall trend.

smilesback

I didn't throw the Aria back into the box yet. I am weighing consistently now for about a week, and joined trendweight. Even though my weights are not going down, and even going up, the trend shows body fat loss. Do you all feel pretty confident that the body fat percentages are accurate over time?