A lot of people will tell you that getting on the scale, especially after the holiday season, can be an emotional experience. It’s easy to get hung up on a specific number, and especially for those with a ways to go until they meet their goal weight, it can be overwhelming and discouraging to step on a scale that reinforces that.
However, this interesting new Quantum scale ($78) registers your weight but only shows you how many pounds you’ve lost or gained since your last weigh-in. For those with a tendency to obsess over numbers, not knowing their actual weight could be a great way to check in and stay on track without going down the rabbit hole every time. However, you’d probably need to use it pretty regularly for the numbers to make any sense—writing down your progress could help.
For someone who wants to lose, say, twenty-five pounds this year, focusing on losing a half-pound per week could be a great way to make the challenge less daunting. These kinds of small, attainable goals can help maintain motivation and enthusiasm for big changes. This scale could also be helpful for those looking to maintain by trying to stay within a few pounds of a comfortable, healthy weight.
Personally, I don’t think I’d use this because I prefer to pay attention to how clothes fit and how I feel, but for someone with a specific weight-related goal, this device could be a great tool.
Do you use a scale at home? Do you think you’d buy one that only tells you how much weight you’ve lost or gained?
PS—Am I the only one who finds it interesting that this photo only shows weight loss results? With two scales, I’d have assumed they’d show one of each but perhaps this is why I’m not in advertising…
This would have been useful for me a few years back when I had a goal of more than a hundred lbs to lose. Now with only about 15lbs to lose I think it’s a bit spendy. My 15 by the way are lazy I intend to lose with some new exercises to keep the new year interesting.
Wow—that’s amazing! And cheers to mixing things up to keep things interesting : )
This is an interesting idea. My roommate recently returned two scales because “they weren’t right”. I actually think that she just weighed more than she realized and was upset. A scale that doesn’t give total weight would probably be good for her.
I remember once my ex’s sister said our scale was off because it made her two pounds heavier. While that may or may not have been true, I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying that the number a random scale says doesn’t matter as much as how much a number on the same scale changes over time. Even then, two pounds is practically nothing!
Nooooooooo don’t use a scale, please! If you’re trying to lose weight, you can actually GAIN 3 pounds but look a HELL of a lot slimmer with muscle. There is a photo I have somewhere from tumblr…and focusing on a certain weight/ number does much the same to your mind as it would knowing your weight. A woman’s weight is factually considered stable within a THREE kilogram range each year; the scale does not allow for that =P
Great point, and so true—it really is best to look at a healthy weight as a range and not just one number. Body composition also matters—a person can technically be obese but have very low body fat, since muscle weighs more.
Yes but there are many who truly do need all of these things eat healthier lose weight and exercise, For them a scale can be a good thing. I think one that only gave you positive # would be good, but we all know that with a battle for a lifestyle change of any kind you fall back sometimes! you only fail if you quit. Some need the scale as a tool to win the battle for health!