Scales

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louise_gets_lean
louise_gets_lean Posts: 24 Member
in Motivation and Support
Just wondering how most people track their weight? I have analogue scales at home but don't find they're very reliable. To start my mfp journey I went down to my local Boots where they have a body fat/weight/height scale so got a print out there so was planning on doing that every week but do you think it's worth investing in a set of digital scales for home?

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  • nineteentwenty
    nineteentwenty Posts: 469 Member
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    It depends on your goals, honestly.

    If you are trying to lose a large amount of weight, you do not need to track yourself more than once per week to ensure that you are moving in the right direction because your body sheds weight quickly when it has a lot to lose.

    If you are working to lose a smaller amount of weight, aka those stubborn last 5-10lbs, I would suggest using a trend projection app like Libra where you weigh in every morning so that it can predict your future losses/gains based on daily activity. This is intense, but it provides a tight grip on your process, which I find is very helpful in the last stages of weight loss. This is where the body will fight you hardest, and little things like a 200 calorie snack a few times a week can throw you for a loop that wouldn't have mattered 15 lbs ago.

    As far as digital vs analogue, I do prefer digital. There is a fantastic scale you can get on amazon here that I use, it is very affordable and it comes with bodyfat calipers and body measuring tape. I do not trust scales that tell you bodyfat based on height, they do not take muscle mass, bodytype, frame size, etc into consideration and are often waaay off.
  • louise_gets_lean
    louise_gets_lean Posts: 24 Member
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    Thanks for your detailed reply! Very helpful, thanks!
  • T0M_K
    T0M_K Posts: 7,526 Member
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    I use the Fitbit Aria. does all i need. people get hung up on what scale gives the most accurate number, but its more about the trends and not if the scale is off a half pound here or there. I like the Aria because it automatically updates to the Fitbit app then that updates to MFP so i don't have to record it. just step on it, wait 20 seconds and go.

    I'm no bodybuilder so while the Aria does track BF%, its not crucial to me if that is accurate or not. i don't think there is any scale if i cared about BF%'s that would be accurate.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    You could go to boots each week - but will this always be one the same day at the same time?

    I would suggest popping in to Argos (I'm assuming you're from the UK if you know of Boots) and purchasing a cheap digital bathroom scale. I think you can get a reasonably good scale for around £15 ish. It doesn't have to be anything fancy and I wouldn't worry about buying anything with all the fancy body fat percentage calculators on. I just bought a cheap Weight Watchers scale for £19. Works well enough for me - and means I can weigh in on Wednesday mornings when I've just woken up :)

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