With my friend’s recent frustrations over his body fat measurements, we decided to find out exactly how body fat calculators, monitors, analyzers, and scales work (lots of fancy names, but one universal way of estimating your body fat percentage).

Body fat scales use BIA to estimate your body composition (ratio of fat to muscle). When you step on the scale, it sends a 500 microampere current up your leg. Don’t worry, humans can’t even sense any current less than 1000 microamperes, much less be harmed by one.

The current travels through your body, navigating through your muscle and fat tissue. Muscle provides an easier path for the current, because it’s made up of 73% water, which, of course, is a great conductor. Fat, on the other hand, offers more resistance and slows the current down. So, obviously, the less fat and more muscle you have, the faster the current will travel.

Once the current completes its path, the scale calculates the time it took to do so. It uses this information, along with your height and weight, to give you a rough estimate of your body fat percentage.

So remember, no matter what it says on the box or in the ad, no body fat scale is going to give you exact results every time. A number of factors ranging from what time of day you measure to what and when you last ate to the current room temperature can all affect the results. So, remember to use the body fat scale as a general guide to which direction your moving in, and not an absolute calculation of your exact body fat percentage.

Even with their less than perfect results, they are a great way to get a general idea of your body composition, instead of just your body weight. They are convenient, fairly accurate, and relatively inexpensive. For these reasons, they greatly outweigh (pun intended) traditional scales, because you can keep track of your changing body more accurately.

For example, if you are overweight and begin an intense exercise routine to get in shape, you could be losing FAT while gaining MUSCLE at the same time. This is excellent and will improve your health and your physical appearance. However, if you were just using a normal scale, you would see that your weight is staying the same or maybe even increasing. This could leave you frustrated and make you give up on the excellent results you were actually achieving. If you were using a body fat scale, you could have seen that your body composition was changing for the better, and you were actually making great progress!

As you may know, there are many unique hobbies, crafts, and other special applications that require the utilization of a digital scale.

Unfortunately, the biggest mistake that most digital scale buyers make is they simply do NOT know which digital scale features they need for their application.

In order to make your digital scale selection FAST & Successful, we have provided you with the following “Digital Scale Checklist”. Simply use this check list to determine which scale features you need for your special application.

1. Design
2. Size
3. TARE Feature
4. Capacity vs. Accuracy
5. AC/DC – Battery and/or 110V
6. Spill Protection
7. Weighing Units (lb, oz, kg, g)
8. Removable Platform
9. Manufacturers’ Warranty
10. Price

DESIGN
Precision scales are available in a variety of designs (i.e. styles and colors). However, for most applications, you should consider style and color a LOWER priority.

SIZE
One of the higher priorities you should note is the scale’s dimensions. As you know, a pocket scale and a high capacity scale will be very different in size. You simply need to select a scale size that meets your unique application.

Your scale’s platform size is also an important feature and should be based on the size of the items to be weighed. However, as you will read in the next section you may be able to increase the size your digital scale’s platforms by using the Tare Feature.

TARE FEATURE
Most digital scales have a valuable feature called TARE. This feature simply removes the weight of any item placed on the platform. You can use this feature to increase the size of the platform and/or place items in a container, and then obtain the exact weight of the items.

Platform Example: If you need to weigh an item that will not stay on your scale’s platform, you can increase the platform size by placing a flat item – such as a piece of plywood – that is larger than the platform and pushing the TARE button. This will remove the weight of the plywood and you will now have a larger weighing platform.

Container Example: Place your container (i.e. box, bowl, cup, etc.) on the scale’s platform that will hold the item(s), then push the TARE button. Your scale’s display will reset to 0 by subtracting the weight of the container. Then simply place the item(s) in the container and your scale will display the actual weight of the item(s) in the container.

If you need to weigh additional items in the same container, you can simply keep pressing the Tare button to reset the scale’s display to zero and then add the next item.

CAPACITY vs. ACCURACY
Before you purchase any scale, you will need to answer the following two (2) questions:

1. What is the maximum amount that you will ever need to weigh (i.e. 100g, 5lb, or 200lb)?
2. What is the minimum increment (i.e. smallest amount) you will measure (i.e. 1g or 0.5oz, 2oz, etc.)?

Once you have determined this information, you will simply need to select a scale that meets your capacity and accuracy requirements.

BATTERY and/or 110V POWER
Digital scales are powered by either battery or 110V Power, some units offer both options. The battery operated scales will be more portable. However, the 110V scale will eliminate the use of batteries.

You will find that most digital scales will operate via battery power. Since digital scales only use a small amount of power and most units have auto shut off, the batteries will keep going and going and going.

SPILL PROTECTION
Will your scale be weighing liquid, powder, or wet substances? If so, we recommend that you purchase a unit with a sealed LCD display and user buttons. This simple spill protection will prevent the substances from leaking into the electronics and voiding the manufacturer’s warranties.

SUGGESTION: If you are looking to save a few dollars, you can also use a clear plastic bag or a sheet of clear plastic to cover the entire scale and prevent damage – however – doing this will probably make reading the display and pushing the buttons more difficult.

WEIGHING Units (lb, oz, kg, g)
Many scales offer both weighing units – pounds/ounces and kilogram/grams. However, you need to make sure that the scale has the weighing units you need.

REMOVABLE PLATFORM
Some scales offer a removable Stainless Steel or glass platform, which allows for FAST & EASY clean-up. If you plan to weigh items that will cause a mess if spilled, then you may wish to consider a scale with a removable platform.

MANUFACTURERS’ WARRANTY
You will discover most manufacturers offer at least a one (1) year warranty. In addition, you will find some who offer 2-5 year warranties.

SPECIAL NOTICE: We highly recommend you AVOID any scale manufacturer that offers a so-called “lifetime warranty”. We have discovered that most of these companies require a substantial fee for processing your warranty claims.

As you know, common sense says… “If it sounds too good to be true – it probably is”.

you are watching what you eat, then it makes perfect sense to use a digital scale to monitor the amount of food you consume. Keeping track of the portion size of your food items will enable you to design a diet program that will be successful.

In addition, many diet cookbooks are utilizing a scale to measure each ingredient to ensure precise measurements and to produce accurate results – guaranteed!

Here a couple of examples:

EXAMPLE #1: Shave four medium sized carrots vs. 200 grams of carrot shavings

How “long and wide” are medium carrots?

EXAMPLE #2: 3 rounded T. vs. 75 grams

Did you know that the abbreviation for tablespoon is T. in some cookbooks and tbsp. in other books? Would you have added 3 rounded teaspoons for the abbreviation T.? How much is in a “rounded” teaspoon anyways?

As you can see, not only will you achieve substantially more accurate recipes using the weight of each ingredient, you will also eliminate any confusion during measurement.

If you are searching for a diet scale that provides additional information on the exact nutritional levels of the food you eat, such as carbohydrates, calories, fat, sodium, etc., than you should click here to read the information regarding Nutritional Scales.

In order to make your diet scale selection FAST & Successful – we have provided you with the following “Diet Scale Checklist”:

1) Design
2) Digital or Manual
3) Capacity vs. Accuracy
4) AC/DC – Battery and/or 110V
5) Spill Protection
6) Weighing Units (lb, oz, kg, g)
7) TARE Feature
Removable Platform
9) Manufacturers’ Warranty
10) Price

DESIGN & SIZE
Diet scales are available in a wide variety of styles, colors, and sizes to match your décor. Most diet scales are fairly small; however, they will vary a little in size. In addition, some more unique designs may have limited features/functions. Since scales are not a major kitchen appliance, you will discover that most designs are fairly simple and functional.

DIGITAL or MANUAL
Since digital scales are extremely accurate and low cost, you will discover that most diet scales are digital. If accuracy is not important and STYLE is, you may find some manual scales will have unique design characteristics (i.e. balance, hanging, and spring scales). Of course, we highly recommend you purchase a digital diet scale for higher accuracy and better results!

CAPACITY vs. ACCURACY
Before you purchase any scale, you will need to answer the following two (2) questions:

a) What is the maximum amount that you will ever need to weigh (i.e. 2lb, 5lb, or 10lb)?
b) What is the minimum increment (i.e. smallest amount) you will measure (i.e. 1g or 0.5oz.)?

Once you have determined this information, you will simply need to select a scale that meets your capacity and accuracy requirements.

BATTERY and/or 110V POWER
Digital scales are powered by either battery or 110V Power and some units offer both options. The battery operated scales will be more portable. However, the 110V scales will eliminate the use of batteries.

Since digital diet scales are usually small, you will find that most diet scales will operate via battery power. Since digital scales only use a small amount of power and most units have auto shut off, the batteries will keep going and going…

SPILL PROTECTION
Unfortunately, in the diet your scale will probably become the victim of a liquid or powder spill. If you decide to purchase a digital scale, we recommend that you purchase a unit with a sealed LCD display and user buttons. This spill protection will prevent the scale from short circuiting and voiding most manufactures warranties. Please note your diet scale does not need to be waterproof.

WEIGHING UNITS (lb, oz, kg, g)
Many diet scales offer both weighing units – pounds/ounces and kilogram/grams. However, you need to make sure that the scale has the weighing units you need.

TARE FEATURE
The tare feature allows you to measure the exact weight of a product in a container. This is a valuable feature if you need to weigh a liquid or powder ingredient. This feature is ONLY available on electronic digital diet scales.

Here is an example of how to use the TARE feature:

Example: Place the “container” that will hold the ingredient on the scale’s platform, then push the Tare button. Your scale’s display will reset to 0 by subtracting the weight of the container. Now, simply place the ingredient in the container and your scale will display its actual weight.

If you need to add more ingredients, just keep pressing the Tare button to clear the scale’s display and then add the next ingredient.

REMOVEABLE PLATFORM
If you have ever spilled something when cooking, you may wish to purchase a scale with a removable platform. Some scales offer a removable Stainless Steel or glass platform, which also allows the user to place food items directly on the platform. Not only is it sanitary, but it allows for FAST & EASY clean-up.

MANUFACTURER’S WARRANTY
You will discover most manufacturers offer at least a one (1) year warranty. In addition – you will find some who offer 2-5 year warranties.

SPECIAL NOTICE: We highly recommend you AVOID any scale manufacturer that offers a so-called “lifetime warranty”. We have discovered that most of these companies require a substantial fee for processing your warranty claims.

As you know, common sense says… “If it sounds too good to be true – it probably is”.

PRICE
Use your checklist to determine what diet scale features are most important to YOU. The price of your kitchen scale will be directly related to the features you select. The GOOD NEWS is that you will find that most consumer diet scales will be priced under $99 (USD).

Now that you have completed your “Diet Scale Checklist”, you will be able to avoid making any mistakes when selecting the BEST scale for your special application!