Body Fat Scales – what you need to know

The last few years a number of weight loss scales have appeared which measure body fat as well as other factors.

Many people give up weight loss if they feel the scales don’t show progress but the scales can often be wrong and it is important to understand why.

1) Changes in Hydration
2) Type of Weight Loss
3) Time of Reading
4) Food Intake
5) Algorithmic Calculations
6) Technology Limitations

To put this all into perspective just to begin with, weight can fluctuate several times throughout the day. In fact it has been reported that weight can change as much as 6 pounds in just one day.

That is massive on its own. Think about it, your weight can change by almost half a stone in one day.

The reason for this fluctuation is a combination of water weight, food consumption, the time of day and even stress levels.

Body fat scales have even more room for miscalculations and use very different systems. For some, the body fat percentage is calculated as fat mass divided by total mass. So if there is large decreases in total mass, while at the same time fat mass stays the same or reduces by only a fraction, the total body fat mass will increase due to the math.

It is normal for total mass to decrease faster than body fat due to water weight and other factors. Total mass includes a larger number of reasons such as water, muscle and food intake.

Another factor that most people don’t realise is that most body fat scales use bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to estimate your body composition. This technology is rather limited in its application and there are a few things which are important to get accurate and consistent readings.

These scales should never be used on a carpet as this can cause issues which result in inaccurate readings. The scales sink too far into the carpet which throws the whole thing off. When taking readings you should do them on bathroom tiles and in bare feet. Some scales are even recommended to keep in the same position and require several readings for settings to configure correctly.

The most important thing is not to get disheartened and give up your journey when you could be making fantastic gains.

Weigh yourself once every 2 weeks and ask yourself this:
1. Do you feel better?
2. Do your clothes feel looser?
3. Have you correctly configured your scales and are weighing yourself on the right surface at the same time and on an empty stomach?

Look at an earlier photograph and know that it can take several months before you start loosing stubborn fat such as beta fat cells.

Stick to it and never give up!