Last week we were trying to find a small rug for the bathroom when we walked by the bathroom scales at the local Wal-Mart. My eye quickly noticed that this new-fangled scale had a body fat calculator just like mine, but was much newer! These high tech things seem to get outdated as soon as you walk out the store.
Still, I wondered if the technology had improved to the point that would make this gem any more accurate than my scale. If you own one of these, you’ve probably seen the body fat calculator change from day to day. And there’s a reason for that. We just don’t want to take the time to read that book that comes with the unit.
Don’t you want to just bump the thing with your toe, listen for the beeps and step on - then wait for the body fat calculator count and squint down at those numbers? And why do they rotate through them like that? Once is enough, no? My main concern was keeping track of my progress, so having a good reading was important.
If you want to lose weight quickly, fat is the first thing to concentrate on. Water loss will make you weigh less, but fat is better because the effect lasts longer and makes you feel better. You do need a certain amount of body fat. But what we hear is true - lower your fat if you’re overweight, and you’ll feel healthier.
Everytime I put the bathroom scale body fat calculator up against any other method of determining body fat, the scale read higher. I used the tape measure method and the caliper method, and yes, there was a noticable difference. From my research I found that the time of day that I was taking the measurement greatly affected the accuracy of the unit.
On my scale, there are metal pads you stand on. All home units work this way - by sending a small trickle of current through the tissue they can determine the percentage of body fat. This is because lean tissue is actually a better conductor of current than fat tissue. I know you’re starting to think all kinds of things now. Still, I wanted to know why the discrepancy.
There are certain parameters (that they talk about in that booklet that comes with the unit that no one reads) that have to be figured in like - time of day, how much fluid you drink, your body temperature, if you just worked out - all which affect that current flow I mentioned. Those factors skew the results of the body fat calculator.
If you buy one of these units, yes - they can be pretty accurate, but… you need to use them at the same time of day, each day. I suggest using the scale the first thing when you get up. This way, you can chart or as with my unit, it memorizes the readings and shows if you’ve gained or lost. It’s important to discover that by losing weight, if you need to, you will not only look better - you’ll feel fantastic too. Most people say their mental clarity increases dramtically. So get your body fat calculator and start using it!