Documenting Weight Loss Easiest with a Digital Scale

Everyone has some kind of a home bathroom scale. Right? In general, it gets ignored. Right?

If you’re working on a diet, trying to lose a few pounds, or if you’re an athlete working to build muscle mass and reduce body fat, a good quality electronic digital scale is an indispensable tool to help accomplish  progress toward your goals.

Years ago we had an ancient bathroom scale. As you might guess it was pretty much ignored. It’s little dial and needle were difficult to read, even back when I had good eyesight. A larger problem was its accuracy.  I’d get a weight one day and two or three days later it said I was three or four pounds lighter or heavier, suspicious.

Not long ago I began to start taking a serious look at my weight. I was working out to lose that couple of pounds I didn’t need. The old scale was too inconsistent. I wanted accurate feedback about the progress if any I was making.

I went shopping on line and was amazed by all the possible choices in scales. I could even get on like you see in a doctor’s office, where you slide weights across a balance bar and then add up the numbers.

I opted to buy a comparably inexpensive digital scale at a major retailer. It had a large readout display, easy for me to see without bending down. Although the new digital scale was easy to deal, like the old one it gave inconsistent readings, varying as much as two pounds on a series of back to back readings. How could this be? I wanted my weight, not some averaged number close to it.

I had read, of course, that you had to weigh yourself at the same time each day, wearing the same cloths, or none, and before eating, etc., etc.  .  Meaning , under the same set of consistent circumstances.

I began reading more on how to get consistent weight measurements and about different types of scales. I learned that old fashioned and inexpensive scales measure weight as resistance against a spring inside the scale. This was the case in both dial and digital readout models.

Newer, higher end scales use some electronic method, based on the body’s electrical resistance. A minute electrical current, from a couple of standard household batteries passes through metal foot plates and depending on the scale make and model, can yield a variety of different measures, useful in tracking your diet and workout progress.

The scale I have now gives consistent measurements to the tenth of a pound, on a bright digital display, a measurement of body fat percentage, total bone weight and a couple of other parameters. It requires some very basic programming for each person using it and has a memory.

If you’re getting serious about diet and exercise results, invest in a quality electronic digital scale. This helps you move towards true health and wellness.