How to monitor your weight lost?

godtabh

Just thinking about this lately.

Noramlly I just use a plain scales. But the other day I saw a scales that gave you your % fat, % water BMI and all sorts in Lidl.

So I was just wondering what people use to watch their weight loss?

Any recomondations for a good cheap scales as I missed the on in Lidl and am in the market for one.

justsomebloke

ye I have a scales that measures body fat aswell as weight but to keep things accurate I just measure my weight and look in the mirror to track changes as the measurements on those sorts of scales generally aren't the best

Boru.

I agree with JSB. Although some of the more expensive models such as hte Tanita Innnerscan are quite accurate therea re many factors whcih will influence it's readings, including how much moisture is on your feet. I certainly recomend them but not a s a sole method - always coberate your evidence from other sources. Use skin fold callipers, (Acu Measure is digital product allowing you to do it your self and is quite good), tape measure, photos and a mirror to ensure you have the best and most detailed informtaion available to you.

As a side note - the most valuable measurement you can take is your body fat - if that numbers goes down but your weight goes up or remains the same you will certianly look better.:D Too often when people look at the scales and see their weight they don't think "how much of that is fat, how much muscle" - get your body fat, focus on that and you can easily observe the effectiveness of any fitness program or diet.

Best of luck.

amazingemmet

Another good way is to take a few pics of you topless etc every few weeks and you'll be able to get an unbiased look at how your doing.

bubthatub

amazingemmet wrote:

Another good way is to take a few pics of you topless etc every few weeks and you'll be able to get an unbiased look at how your doing.

that sounds like a good idea will use that one my self

godtabh

jsb wrote:

ye I have a scales that measures body fat aswell as weight but to keep things accurate I just measure my weight and look in the mirror to track changes as the measurements on those sorts of scales generally aren't the best

What make/model is the scales? Am looking into getting one some time soon.

Also sounds like a good idea about the photos

aare

kearnsr wrote:

Just thinking about this lately.

Noramlly I just use a plain scales. But the other day I saw a scales that gave you your % fat, % water BMI and all sorts in Lidl.

So I was just wondering what people use to watch their weight loss?

Any recomondations for a good cheap scales as I missed the on in Lidl and am in the market for one.

Just happened to see this...thought I'd tell you that, after an ardous Thursday afternoon safari in SW Dublin I bought these (last but one left just off Walkinstown r'bout at 3pm) .

Have to say that I bought them more out of interest to see how they worked than for any other reason.

Seems to me that they are wildly inaccurate giving different readings in a 4-5% range at same time of day.

I think you could only count on them for a rough idea.

As these things tend to be pricey without LIDL or ALDI my advice would be to wait a year or so for the technology to advance a little at a more affordable price, because currently these seem to be a bit of a gimmick/toy (not that there is anything wrong with that)

Dragan

aare wrote:

Seems to me that they are wildly inaccurate giving different readings in a 4-5% range at same time of day.

I think you could only count on them for a rough idea.

Aare is pretty much spot on!

The only really accurate way to measure your bodyfat is by dual measure or x-ray. Everything else is just guess work to be honest and should only really be taken as a measure, sadly these machines are suceptible to things like water rentention and can tell ya very little!!!

justsomebloke

aare wrote:

Seems to me that they are wildly inaccurate giving different readings in a 4-5% range at same time of day.

I think you could only count on them for a rough idea.

As these things tend to be pricey without LIDL or ALDI my advice would be to wait a year or so for the technology to advance a little at a more affordable price, because currently these seem to be a bit of a gimmick/toy (not that there is anything wrong with that)

I agree with aare I can sometimes get a difference of around 2% BF depending on how the scales wants to measure me, so I would also just go for a cheaper one as even if you spend big money on one it isn't going to be accurate. cause of this even using them to gauage progress isn't the best as the readings can differ quite a bit.

If you really do want to monitor your BF change get a calipers. again it probably isn't the most reliable at giving you a correct reading however it is more accurate at measuring the changes in BF levels

godtabh

Argos have one for €30. Might just get that. Hopefully the €30 wont break the bank!

aare

kearnsr wrote:

Argos have one for €30. Might just get that. Hopefully the €30 wont break the bank!

DARN! Why didn't somebody tell ME that on Thursday morning????:D

Go for it, new toys are ALWAYS fun if you don't take them too seriously.

jsb I must add (after a little read of the manual) that I am on prescription diurectics which may explain some of the wilder variations?

g'em

aare wrote:

jsb I must add (after a little read of the manual) that I am on prescription diurectics which may explain some of the wilder variations?

yeah, water weight will account for huge differences, not just on standard weight readings but for bf readings to. My weight will fluctuate by a few lbs depending on time of day and last time of going to the loo.

anything that measures bodyfat can be useful to a certain extent but I don't hold much faith in the electronic scales- callipers are more reliable. But even then I just use teh calliper readings as an ongoing scale? I mean I don't use them to dictate my bf I just use them for the actual readings (last week I had a measurement of 9mm, this week its 8mm so I'm losing fat kinda thing).

aare

Actually G'em, one little thing I DID learn since investing in the ALDI (accurate) electronic scales (NEVER to be confused with the LIDL weight monitor), is that it helps ME to weigh myself at different times during the day and think of my weight as a RANGE (currently 15st 2lbs - 8lbs) rather than a single weight.

Seems a MUCH more accurate guauge (<HOW is that word spelt?) of weight loss or gain when you see it that way.

You can get neurotic and mistake last weeks 15st 4lb compared to this week's 15st 8lbs for an HUGE weight gain...

But NOBODY could get neurotic enough to mistake dropping from a range of 15st 4 - 10lbs to a range of 15st 2 - 8lbs for a gain. Could they?

Still the actual LIDL body monitor percentages of fat water and muscle seem pretty haywire EVEN in that light.

Maybe there is a pattern, maybe I need to play with toy a little more before I really understand it?

justsomebloke

Hi aare,

another way of getting a good measure is to weigh yourself first thing in the morning after you have been in the loo and before you eat or drink anything. As you are measuring yourself under the same circumstances every morning itt is easier to monitor change and once you have done it for a while you should be able to note when the result is being effected by water retention or not

aare

jsb wrote:

Hi aare,

another way of getting a good measure is to weigh yourself first thing in the morning after you have been in the loo and before you eat or drink anything. As you are measuring yourself under the same circumstances every morning itt is easier to monitor change and once you have done it for a while you should be able to note when the result is being effected by water retention or not

You don't think I was leaving THAT luvverly time out of my weighing times do you? Where'd you think the "low" weights come from?

HOWEVER, the SPOILSPORT who wrote the LIDL body monitor manual, for some reason, suggests the best time to do a "once a day" is early evening, but not just after eating or drinking.

mickoneill30

I can't speak for the Aldi or Lidl models but I bought a scales similar to what you're describing from Argos about 3 months ago. It cost me about €50 and I've weighed myself every Saturday morning since. I put the info into a graph and my bodyfat % has fluctuated about 2.5% in that time. Not week to week though. Looking at the graph I can see the trend rather than big jumps up and down so maybe it's the models rather than the technology that has a problem. I'm sure the one I have isn't 100% accurate either but it's like any scales. You don't really care if the number you get back is totally accurate, you only care if it's consistant. I.e. if your weight / bodyfat is consistantly going in the right direction I don't care if it's out by a couple of percent as long as it's constistantly out by a couple of percent.

BreadBoard

I'd like to get one of these scales, are these the ones that send an electric field trough your body to see the fat % ?

Which is the best one to get?