Weigh yourself at the same time: To get a consistent reading when using a scale, it’s important to weigh yourself early in the morning before drinking or eating anything. “You should weigh yourself without clothes, or with minimal clothes, and if you do, try to wear the same clothes every time you weigh yourself,” said Stella Lucia Volpe, professor and head of the department of human nutrition , nutrition and exercise at Virginie Tech.
Volpe recommends weighing yourself no more than once a week. “If you weigh yourself more than that, you’ll see fluctuations in your weight, and that can be frustrating if you’re trying to lose weight,” she said.
Choose a flat surface: You want to make sure your scale is on a flat surface, otherwise this imbalance will disrupt the reading. Make sure you weigh yourself in the same place every time.
Keep in mind that the smart scale may be defective: Remember, just because a smart scale can offer more data than an analog scale doesn’t mean it’s always better. “Smart scales have not been shown to have high accuracy and cannot be compared to gold standard measurements for assessing bone mineral density and body composition as it relates to body fat and lean mass, which is done via the use of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA),” Volpe said.
Most people don’t have access to a Dexa scanner, so the best solution is a smart scale. “The smart scale can provide an estimate of body fat and total body water; but note that gold standard measurement methods would provide more accurate data,” says Volpe.
Make sure it is set to zero: As with any scale, you need to make sure it is set to zero in order to get an accurate reading.
Remember that your weight fluctuates: It’s easy to get caught up in a number, but remember that your weight is a range rather than an exact number and will fluctuate throughout the day. Fluctuations can be affected if you exercise, eat more than usual, go to the bathroom, or even if your muscles are sore and retain fluid.
Please note that the data are estimates: Smart scales include data on your heart rate, bone mineral density, total body water, body fat and more. Keep in mind that these are estimates based on your age, gender and weight. These scales are therefore not completely precise. “Knowing that these scales provide an estimate – but without the greatest accuracy – is important, but can help provide guidance to the user of these products, especially when many people do not have the ability to know their density bone mineral and body composition assessed by DXA,” Volpe said.
