I need advice on what type of weight/fat scales people use out there.

I was going to purchase one of the Tanita BF scales, but they are very costly (approx AU$250), so I thought I would ask the advice of others on which is best for them etc

Any help on thsi matter would be helpful

:tu:

I'm looking for a good one too...

mine is from a company called Thinner. It uses the multiple load cell technology, which is supposedly pretty acurate. It was $80 at Bed bath and beyond. It also does BF%. The readout is to a tenth of a pound but there is no way it is that acurate. I find if I weigh myself three times in a row and take the highest weight I don't get tricked into recording an erroneous reading.

I did a test where I stood on it like 10 times in a row and it varied up to 2.5 pounds. I know this is not encouraging, but usually the three time method comes out being about the same. And if I do that each day, I see a trend, which is all I'm looking for anyway. I'm happy with it.

I have a Tanita Body Fat Calculating scale, and I like it overall. It cost me ~US$100 a few years ago. The weight is consistent and measures in 1/2 lb. increments. It weighs the same as one of those super-accurate balance scales you see at the doctor's office.

The body fat % is a bit trickier, and they mention the fluctuations in the manual. You will notice your body fat reads the highest first thing in the morning, and the lowest as you're about to go to bed. For example, this morning it read out 21.5%, and tonight it will likely read 20 or 19.5%. To make comparisons, just make sure you're being consistent with the time of day you measure. Another interesting thing I've noticed is with some alcohol in my system it reads a lot lower. Sometimes up to 5% different, but it goes back to normal the next day. So don't think the alcohol's melting fat off you!

Another thing to keep in mind is it's not terribly accurate for people with a lot of muscle. My friend is 5'10", 225 lbs. of solid muscle and it read out 18% for him. He was no more than 8% at the time. For me I think it's fairly accurate, though I haven't gotten a skin caliper test to back it up. Even if it's not, the numbers it gives me are consistent, so you can figure if the BF% is going down that's good.

Body-fat scales

1. Taylor Body Fat Analyzer and Scale 5553 $50
2. Tanita Scale Plus Body Fat Monitor BF-680 $70
3. Terraillon Body Fat Analyser TFA 20 $85
4. Tanita Ultimate Scale 2001 $40
5. Salter Body Fat Analyser Scale 968 $85
6. Soehnle Body Balance Pacific 63656 $115

They ranked them in that order, but they also said this:

"The best body-fat scale we tested was within 5 percentage points of our laboratory standard for only about 80 percent of the people who tried it. We found no correlation between a scale’s ability to measure body fat accurately and its ability to give accurate weights. However, because these scales give consistent readings, they can provide the information and motivation you may need to achieve your fat-reduction goals."

Try this one:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=11642934&RN=444&xyz=xyz

I have a Tanita BF-578 (http://www.nutrabio.com/Products/tanita_578.htm) which I really like. I got it for $75 online. I originally ordered a 682 (http://www.nutrabio.com/Products/tanita_682.htm) but since it was out of stock they gave me a 578. They're essientally the same it's just the 578 is fancier looking. For me, it's right on accurate in athlete mode (12%), too high in non-athlete (compared with calipers and measurments). They give you guidelines for when to use athlete mode or not and I fall into those (exercise 10 hours a week or more). It seems that the features that change the price are the number or stored profiles (this has 4, couldv'e gotten by with 2) and athlete mode or not (I need athlete mode, my wife doesn't).

I weigh / check BF everymorning at the same time (right after I get up and go to the bathroom). I'm not sure if it's the best time of the day but I'm consistent with it. I can get on/off it 3 or more times and it always gives me the same reading. Once a week I do the caliper/measurement thing just to "verify" what my scale is saying.

Overall it was a little more money than I originally planned on but it's been worth it to have a good quality scale that I have confidence in.

Sterno