New Fancy Scale

2t9nty
2t9nty Posts: 1,631 Member
edited November 17 in Social Groups
Because I was a math teacher in a former life, I like data, and I could not resist getting a scale that has the sensors that predict body fat%, bone mass, etc.

One odd reading I get is that body water is 42.1%. That is low. My fluid intake (if anything) is high. Does anyone else have experience with these sorts of things?

Replies

  • mmultanen
    mmultanen Posts: 1,029 Member
    We have one at work that uses low level electrical current to read fat and water percentage in the body. It is imperfect at best but really cool to play with. I believe they're quite sensitive to when you last drank/ate/exercised etc so it's really important to be consistent with when you weigh if you're tracking water and fat percentage.

    We had a trainer from the YMCA come out once and do fat percentage with calipers her measurements were about 2% more than what the scale read. She didn't measure water percentage however.
  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,631 Member
    edited March 2017
    This is one of those low level electrical current ones. It gives muscle mass, etc. It will be interesting to track the body fat% assuming it is reasonably consistent.
  • motorcyclekopp
    motorcyclekopp Posts: 96 Member
    With my scale, I have noticed somewhat of an inverse relationship between body fat & water. The more my body fat percentage decreases, the higher my water percentage increases. This image below explains what I mean. I have records going back much further (for several years, well before starting Keto), with numbers showing my weight & all other numbers fluctuation up & down -but in each instance, there definitely appears to be an inverse relationship between body fat & water percentages every time. Muscle percentage also has an inverse relationship to fat, but I don't think that it is as direct as the the water percentage relationship. In previous records, the intensity & frequency of workouts greatly affects the muscle percentages more than anything (as expected).

    Note: I've had my current scale for several years now and have never had it calibrated, but I'm more interested in the relationship between diet & workouts to my numbers -rather than having precise, accurate numbers. My previous scale with similar features showed very similar numbers though -so I'm assuming that the "real" numbers should be fairly close to what I'm seeing on my scale. I do have a backup scale (still new, in the box) -for when/if my current one stops working. So if I was truly concerned with accuracy, I could bring that one out to see how the numbers compare.

    Regardless, I personally haven't noticed a huge correlation between my actual water intake & my water percentage at all.

    7b8q29gd49q4.png
  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,631 Member
    With my scale, I have noticed somewhat of an inverse relationship between body fat & water.

    One of the goals is to decrease body fat, so maybe I will see a similar thing over time.
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
    edited April 2017
    Make sure your feet are slightly damp when you take a reading on the scale. If your skin is too dry it sometimes doesn't conduct properly. My scale that measures all that too suggests this in its set up instructions.
  • RalfLott
    RalfLott Posts: 5,036 Member
    canadjineh wrote: »
    Make sure your feet are slightly damp when you take a reading on the scale. If your skin is too dry it sometimes doesn't conduct properly. My scale that measures all that too suggests this in its set up instructions.

    You can just put the scale in your shower, sí?
  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,631 Member
    FWIW, mine seems to work the same with feet moistened or not. The new scale has inspired me to set a goal weight which would leave me at a relatively svelt 25% body fat. Previously, I had just picked a number and told my doctor that was where I was heading. Now that I am 15 or so pounds away from that weight, I hope to be close to that original goal by the time I have my next appt. I seem to be losing at the blistering rate of a pound a week since starting the LCHF, and I am hoping that will continue.

    I am having LCHF success with the BG numbers as well as the weight loss. My next doctor's appt. is not until July, so I will be interested to see what the bloodwork says then. In the meantime I have some more numbers to track.
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
    RalfLott wrote: »
    canadjineh wrote: »
    Make sure your feet are slightly damp when you take a reading on the scale. If your skin is too dry it sometimes doesn't conduct properly. My scale that measures all that too suggests this in its set up instructions.

    You can just put the scale in your shower, sí?

    Only if you put those anti-slip rubber stickers on it first... and by the way, standing on one leg doesn't make you weigh less. I've tried that.
    tub-tattoos-non-slip-bathtub-appliques.jpg
  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,631 Member
    canadjineh wrote: »

    Only if you put those anti-slip rubber stickers on it first... and by the way, standing on one leg doesn't make you weigh less. I've tried that.
    tub-tattoos-non-slip-bathtub-appliques.jpg

    Makes a note...

  • suzqtme
    suzqtme Posts: 322 Member
    Hmm, even standing in the shower on one leg, my "fancy" scale will not give me the %body fat reading. This is the 2nd one I bought and the first one didn't work for me either. Any ideas??? (Cue @RalfLott, lol).
  • RalfLott
    RalfLott Posts: 5,036 Member
    edited April 2017
    Hmm. Coat foot with hyperconductive goo and stand motionless on foot for 5 minutes? (If gorilla glue doesn't work, try K-Y.)
  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,631 Member

    suzqtme wrote: »
    Hmm, even standing in the shower on one leg, my "fancy" scale will not give me the %body fat reading. This is the 2nd one I bought and the first one didn't work for me either. Any ideas??? (Cue @RalfLott, lol).

    Dunno - it all just "worked" for us. My wife had a hard time making the app connect via bluetooth, but we made it work.
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