I'm a Happy bloke this morning

TheBigYin
TheBigYin Posts: 5,686 Member
edited October 2 in Health and Weight Loss
Strange how the simplest thing can cheer you up. I've been trying to lose weight for a couple of months now, but one thing that has frustrated me was the inconsistency of my scales at home. My bathroom is too small for them to remain in a static location, so I had to take them out, place them on a flat-spot and get weighed. Problem is, they were so inconsistent - 2 inches in any direction and they would read +- 5lb's. So - I resolved to get some decent consistent scales - and being a bit of a nerdy gadget freak, after reading a million or so reviews, went for the Withings wifi-attached scales.

They arrived on Tuesday, and I did a back-to-back test with the old scales (old scales in their favourite position - as measured to the mm - Withings scales next to them.) Old scales were reading 3.5lb lighter than the Withings ones. I then wandered around the house, testing the Withings scale on different floor surfaces - wooden floor in my utility room - laminate floor in the kitchen, thick carpet in the living room, thinner carpet in a bedroom, every reading was +- .05lb... that's fine by me.

Thursday, I had my regular visit to the Doctors weight clinic, and took my new scales with me. Asked Dr. if I could do a quick check with my own scales - just to see how they'd compare with his properly calibrated jobs - they were exactly the same on 3 side by side readings. Excellent - now I know what I see at home should be what my Dr. sees once a month as well!

This morning, I've just done my weekly weigh in, and lost 1.4lb since last Saturday. And the best bit is that's 1.4lb from a reading on the old scale, which I now know was under reading. I was expecting to have to book a gain this week - just to take the hit of the old crappy scales, but amazingly I've managed not to!

I KNOW I shouldn't focus solely upon the scales, or obsess about the weight as numbers, and I don't usually - I see this more as getting yet another tool in place for keeping me on the right path - after all - it's taken me 48 years to get this fat, I don't expect it to vanish overnight - I know I'm in it for the long haul. Already, I've lost 44lb, dropped 5.8 points on the BMI scale, 4" off my waist, my doctor's deligted with my progress, and i'm getting much fitter and quicker on the bike... Yes, you could say I'm a happy bloke this morning!

Replies

  • suzieduh
    suzieduh Posts: 196 Member
    Well done, great story :)
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    I don't like having a messy, unreliable scale either. I can understand why it matters to you.

    Congratulations on a very good loss. :-)
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,686 Member
    Cheers...

    was just so relieved not to have to post a gain this week, I had to share :laugh:
  • eggmcg
    eggmcg Posts: 40
    Well done! :flowerforyou:
  • persanta
    persanta Posts: 57 Member
    Oooh its the simple things that keep us going....

    I will google those scales cos I know where you`re coming from, its so frustrating when you cant depend on your scales, sometimes all your hard work seems wasted just by a "mis - measurement" on those bloody scales!!!!

    Well done on your weight loss, and as you say it takes years to put on so we cant expect it to come off in weeks - well done!!
  • kmshred
    kmshred Posts: 393 Member
    excellent!!
  • Janny2712
    Janny2712 Posts: 25
    Good for you, I'm going to google those scales too. Thanks for sharing
  • RoosterB
    RoosterB Posts: 214 Member
    Lol I like that. Taking the scales with you to the docs. Didn't know you could get scales with WIFI. Looks a good idea.
    Well done with all the weight loss by the way.
  • richardholt2011
    richardholt2011 Posts: 118 Member
    Really interesting stuff - thanks and well done
  • MrsM1ggins
    MrsM1ggins Posts: 724 Member
    I love that you went for scales with wifi! :happy: I know what you mean about wanting your scales to be accurate - while that number isn't the be-all and end-all it is a useful measure of just how you're doing, and it must have been really frustrating not being able to rely on the old ones.

    Well done on your loss so far. :flowerforyou:
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,686 Member
    if it'll save anyone googling... have a look here - http://www.withings.com/en/bodyscale - i've no attachment to the company, other than being pretty damned happy with their product. They're not cheap, but I reasoned "I'm going to be standing on them for the next couple of years so what the heck" :laugh:

    They're pretty handy though - and for the real geeks amongst you - you can get the weigh-in data sent direct to your iPhone/Android mobile. They also handle up to 6 people I believe, and you can get updates for others as well - just the thing to ring your other half and congratulate them on losing that 2lb this week :laugh:
  • ThaiKaren
    ThaiKaren Posts: 341 Member
    that's fantastic, well done you x
  • redfroggie
    redfroggie Posts: 591 Member
    Congrats on your weight losses so far and the new scales. Those bad boys are right sexy!
  • Eleanorjanethinner
    Eleanorjanethinner Posts: 563 Member
    Awesome story, very inspiring! Keep up the great work and enjoy the new you! :)
  • _Ben
    _Ben Posts: 1,608 Member
    Congrats man. Im curious about this scale. I use a $250 package weighing scale, but Im curious as to what purpose the Wifi serves
  • kyle4jem
    kyle4jem Posts: 1,400 Member
    Crongratulations on your achievement thus far... you're doing a great job. A real inspiration to us middle-aged fatties wanting to get Fit by 50! :bigsmile:

    I had a scale scare early on when it seemed like I'd lost 7kg in week and it was just an uneven surface (still in the bathroom, just on a wonky tile methinks). I've got some Weight Watcher body analyser scales and they're really good.
  • lazyspice
    lazyspice Posts: 8,258 Member
    it's taken me 48 years to get this fat, I don't expect it to vanish overnight - I know I'm in it for the long haul.

    This is exactly how I'm approaching it and well done for how much you've lost so far!

    I remember how excited I was when I went from my old scales with the wobbly line that never seemed to settle down to digital scales - it was a revelation to be given a definitive weight!
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,686 Member
    @xfaultx

    Congrats man. Im curious about this scale. I use a $250 package weighing scale, but Im curious as to what purpose the Wifi serves

    It's quite simple - you get on the scale, it weighs you (or any of up to 6 people if you're in a house of people who are keeping track) and quickly squirts the weight, body fat and bmi data out to the Withings website, where it's recorded, graphed, and pushed back to your iPhone as a record. It also integrates with a couple of the computer programs that I'm using to record my exercise on the bike - endomondo.com and sportstracks - saving me from typing the data into 3 different places. Now if only MFP would get with the program and build in a Withings integration facility...

    anyway - thanks to everyone who's congratulated me on losing my first 3 stones worth, it's a long road, but i'm up for the journey :smile:
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