Spec me some bathroom scales

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So my current bathroom scales aren’t practicably accurate, i was looking on Amazon for some better ones and came across smart scales that can measure body fat and the like. Are these scales worth it and are they accurate? Am looking for scales that have decent and consistent accuracy and precision of 0.05kg or even 0.01kg. Really don’t know much about scale and was hoping someone here has some experience with decent scales. Not looking to spend that much, but I know a decent set of scales won’t be the cheapest option.
 
I have a set that does go into 0.01kg but not on the screen. The screen only shows 0.1kg accuracy but in the app it does go to 0.01kg accuracy.

However, I don’t think it’s necessary since taking off my watch would affect the result and for weight loss tracking, as long as you weight same time of the day, and trending in the general direction then that’s the main thing.

The scales I’ve got is Withings Smart Body scanner. I have no idea how accurate it is though as I have nothing to compare it with. I also use it on carpet, but it does come with pads for carpet.
 
Consistency is better than accuracy... You can easily shed 300g by taking a dump.
Weight can fluctuate daily by even up to a kilogram depending on water retention and whether you 'have a bun in the oven' or not.

What I did when I got really fanatical about it was keep a spreadsheet on my phone for instant access to weigh myself every morning, after my morning crap.
Then at the end of the week.. I'd take the average from the last 7 days and take that as my weight for the week... Then over several months you can build up an average weekly weight to track progress.

To do it any other way is just not accurate.
 
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I have a set that does go into 0.01kg but not on the screen. The screen only shows 0.1kg accuracy but in the app it does go to 0.01kg accuracy.

However, I don’t think it’s necessary since taking off my watch would affect the result and for weight loss tracking, as long as you weight same time of the day, and trending in the general direction then that’s the main thing.

The scales I’ve got is Withings Smart Body scanner. I have no idea how accurate it is though as I have nothing to compare it with. I also use it on carpet, but it does come with pads for carpet.
Something like that is exactly what I need. Don't need to lose weight, need to gain weight, so it's quite important to know exactly what I weigh.
Consistency is better than accuracy... You can easily shed 300g by taking a dump.
Weight can fluctuate daily by even up to a kilogram depending on water retention and whether you 'have a bun in the oven' or not.

What I did when I got really fanatical about it was keep a spreadsheet on my phone for instant access to weigh myself every morning, after my morning crap.
Then at the end of the week.. I'd take the average from the last 7 days and take that as my weight for the week... Then over several months you can build up an average weekly weight to track progress.

To do it any other way is just not accurate.
What I do is take the minimum and go with that, so if my minimum is lower than what it was before then I know I've lost weight. But the thing is with really bad accuracy that could be inaccurate, when I have lost weight I need to know it. But yes, your weight can fluctuate drastically, by more than 6kg if you know when the worst time to weight yourself is and by drinking tons of water..
 
Something like that is exactly what I need. Don't need to lose weight, need to gain weight, so it's quite important to know exactly what I weigh.

What I do is take the minimum and go with that, so if my minimum is lower than what it was before then I know I've lost weight. But the thing is with really bad accuracy that could be inaccurate, when I have lost weight I need to know it. But yes, your weight can fluctuate drastically, by more than 6kg if you know when the worst time to weight yourself is and by drinking tons of water..

yeah that's kinda what I mean.. It doesn't really matter if your scales weigh 1kg as 950g..as long as they are consistent and you always use the same scales for repeatability.

Then weighing yourself daily and taking a 7 day average... And call that your 'real weight' for that week.

You weight will fluctuate naturally so a daily weigh isn't representative.
Equally if you only weigh yourself once a week on a Sunday that's not representative either.

Taking an average over a period of time is as close as you'll get to accuracy.
 
yeah that's kinda what I mean.. It doesn't really matter if your scales weigh 1kg as 950g..as long as they are consistent and you always use the same scales for repeatability.

Then weighing yourself daily and taking a 7 day average... And call that your 'real weight' for that week.

You weight will fluctuate naturally so a daily weigh isn't representative.
Equally if you only weigh yourself once a week on a Sunday that's not representative either.

Taking an average over a period of time is as close as you'll get to accuracy.
Yes that is true, but if the scales can measure body fat, wouldn't that be more accurate?
 
Something like that is exactly what I need. Don't need to lose weight, need to gain weight, so it's quite important to know exactly what I weigh.

What I do is take the minimum and go with that, so if my minimum is lower than what it was before then I know I've lost weight. But the thing is with really bad accuracy that could be inaccurate, when I have lost weight I need to know it. But yes, your weight can fluctuate drastically, by more than 6kg if you know when the worst time to weight yourself is and by drinking tons of water..
I need to gain weight too. I’ve lost too much through illness over the last year. Gaining is so hard though. I know it’s just calories, but it’s very hard to continually eat more than what your body wants. I hit a wall and my stomach will just refuse to take any more in.

I’m not knocking the achievements of people who have lost a lot of weight, but it’s definitely a lot harder to gain substantial weight than it is to lose it. Particularly if you have a fast metabolism
 
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I have the Mi Body Composition Scale 2 for a few years now.

When I was losing weight, I used to do my morning routine then go for a jog, shower and then weigh myself daily. Consistently like said is the key…

I find it very interesting.. it keeps the data in an app, shame that their new version of the fitness band uses a different app, but you can transfer the data across and it’s all centralised in apple health app.

The mi band is worth getting if you don’t have one.. you should be able to get both for around £80 pounds. Even thou I have an Apple Watch, it really limits what other watches I can wear, I ended up feeling like a slave to it.. so I only wear the Apple Watch on work out days and the mi band with another watch on rest days so that I have a track recond.
 
Salter digital bathroom scales are on special for about £12 at Tesco at the moment.

I've had a pair for nearly 10 years and they're really good. Accurate to a 10th of a lb and very slimline, I slide them under our divan bed when not in use.

There's also some sort of body fat calculator thing that I've never bothered with.
 
Spec me some bathroom scales

Well, there is the Renpho, which is a good brand. Or maybe you'd like the Vitafit. Then there is the INSMART and the Homebuds. You could try the Etekcity, or the Healthkeep. I've heard good things about the BAGAIL though. Other alternatives could be the WITHINGS, the True Face, the GRIFEMA or the Malama.


It's always tricky, because there are just so many options that definitely aren't exactly the same thing underneath and made in the same factory.
 
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I’ve just gone down this rabbit hole so I have a few thoughts that might help:

The vast majority of these scales send an electric signal up one leg and down the other. As such, they’re not really detecting your full body composition. They make an estimate based on your composition from your feet up to your pelvis.*

*It’s funny to weigh yourself before and after taking a dump to see your “muscle mass” has reduced by 150 grams. :D

There are more expensive options that come with a little device you hold onto which runs the current from your feet to your hands - these are meant to be better than just the feet, but they are significantly more expensive. And even these aren’t particularly accurate when compared to a proper DEXA scan (but it’s not like you’re going to do one of these every morning).

Having watched a bunch of YouTube reviews from various fitness bros, the general consensus seems to be to get the cheapest scales that do what you want, and then just be consistent with daily weighing at the same time of the day etc. As long as you don’t take the readings as gospel and just follow the trends over a period of time, they can be a useful tool - just take all of the “body composition” data with a pinch of salt.

Something else to bear in mind is the size of the scale and the method they use to send the electric signal.

The basic ones are 28cm square and have four electric pads that you have to stand on for the body scan to work. More expensive options are 30cm square and have an ITO coating which means you can stand anywhere and it will still work. I was concerned that 28cm would be too small and that it would be a balancing act to hit the four spots properly. But actually, for my size 8 feet, the 28cm non-ITO option has been fine. I think if your feet are size 10 or bigger, then the 30cm size would probably be better.

The final thing to consider is the app that comes with the scale. As far as I can tell, they’re much of a muchness, but brands like Whitings are meant to be the “Apple” of the smart scale world, so you would assume their app is better than the cheaper alternatives.

I narrowed my options down to the Eufy P3 (as I have other Eufy products that are good) and the Renpho Scales for Bodyweight. The Eufy comes with the bigger platform, ITO coating, a more current app etc. and apparently measures more metrics, but it’s three times the price of the Eufy.

In the end, for all of the reasons above, I went with the Renpho and so far, so good.
 
If you want accuracy you can look at scales specified as "Class III", but you're probably looking at £200+. Seca and Marsden seem to be two of the common brands. I think it's the minimum spec required for use in a trade/medical environment.
I've got some of the generic Argos ones, but they're not particularly consistent from one measurement to the next after being moved around.
 
Something like that is exactly what I need. Don't need to lose weight, need to gain weight, so it's quite important to know exactly what I weigh.

What I do is take the minimum and go with that, so if my minimum is lower than what it was before then I know I've lost weight. But the thing is with really bad accuracy that could be inaccurate, when I have lost weight I need to know it. But yes, your weight can fluctuate drastically, by more than 6kg if you know when the worst time to weight yourself is and by drinking tons of water..

If you use it on the same surface every time then it will be accurate enough, just don't keep moving it between carpet to tile and back.

One thing I would say is the body fat % is not that accurate. It can be differ by 2% in back to back weighing in attempts in the same 2 mins. At least with the weigh by it does not change, even on carpet. However, as a general trend over the course of a month of data, that would be more indicative.

The best thing about them is the auto tracking of all the data into a graph for you, all combined together into 1 place.

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I’ve been using a Salter Mibidy scale for years, I’m not sure it’s overall accuracy for the additional fat %, muscle etc are, but they give consistent values and change over time in line with what I would expect with changes in exercise.
 
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