Top Reasons to Ditch your Regular Scales for Smart Scales

What is a Smart Scale?

Not all bodyweight scales are equal. Old-school scales will deliver a number representing your overall weight but provides no information about your weight's composition (e.g., whether the matter is fat, water, or muscle, etc.).

However, you get a more in-depth and detailed glimpse into your bodyweight make-up with an electronic bathroom scale or smart scale.

A smart scale is beneficial to anyone on a weight-loss journey because it can identify how you're carrying your weight and whether your body fat mass is in the ideal range for optimal health.

Plus, smart scales usually measure various dynamic body composition metrics. And smart scales can often conveniently send your weight-related data to an app or online service that automatically logs your information to provide additional analysis regarding your progress.

Also, a smart scale is perfect for the health-conscious family looking to track multiple people's weight-loss progress in the home. Fortunately, a smart scale can effortlessly record data for each individual in the household and help keep each member accountable along their wellness journey.

Besides, data logging the weight history of family members may prove helpful to your family physician if someone is experiencing a health challenge—significant weight fluctuations could indicate the presence of an underlying physiological issue.

Features and Benefits of a Smart Scale

Tracking detailed weight-loss information and progress is an obvious benefit of using a smart scale, but the perks don't end there. Here are some additional reasons to consider using a smart scale:

• Ignorance is Bliss. You may not want to know your weight every time you step on the scale because of how the results can affect your mood and your day's quality.

  
  No worries, you can step on a smart scale while logged in under your profile, and capture your current weight to review on your own or with your doctor at a later date without having to look at your weight changes day in and day out.

• Ease of pregnancy and post-pregnancy weight tracking. It's challenging enough to peel your fingers away and look at the number on the scale for some during standard times, nevermind when pregnancy hijacks your body's hormones and dimensions.

  
  Again, you can monitor your weight for yourself or your OB/GYN to track your progress as your belly grows—hands-free!

  Plus, it can be challenging to face the number on the scale after giving birth as the reflection may not meet your expectations, which can lead to angst and disappointment—way too much unnecessary pressure.

  Using a smart scale post-pregnancy is a great way to remove the stress from tracking your postpartum weight for medical and weight-loss purposes, as not to invoke feelings of needing to rush to return to your pre-pregnancy body when what you need to do is rest and heal.

• Smart scales can boost motivation. The large amounts of weight loss that most report during their first week on a ketogenic diet is an excellent boost to inspire dieters to continue along their sugar-free journey.

  
  Likewise, a smart scale with a cool, high-tech design can make tracking weight fun for the entire family, almost like a game that helps everybody win!

• Teach the kids good health habits. Children often learn well by doing and with the aid of tangibles that show them why they should care about acquiring new life skills.

  
  Having the kids join in on the health game and being accountable for their consumption and output of calories is a life skill and exercise that will serve them well for a lifetime.

• Pair it with your fitness tracker. Smart scales can communicate and interface with a variety of fitness trackers in addition to a suite of apps and online services.

  
  Check which trackers pair with your scale of choice to make sure both items are compatible.

How Often Should You Weigh Yourself

Weighing yourself too often can be a frustrating exercise because our weight fluctuates throughout the day as we drink, eat, and move.

Weigh yourself daily if you want to track the most detailed data, but take advantage of the ability to weigh and log body weight without having to look at the number on the screen; let the scale do all the work. As always, it's more important to track larger trends than day to day fluctuations, as weight loss is hardly ever a straight line, but will include some ups and downs- so try not to stress.

Other Measures of Weight Loss to Consider if the Scale Stalls

There are times during most everyone's weight-loss journey where you're doing everything that's worked in the past but you may stop seeing progress.

Here are some other markers to measure weight-loss progress if your weight loss plateaus:

• Track new healthy habits. Weight loss reflected on the scale is incredible, but beneficial, healthy habits you may be adopting on keto, like drinking more water or exercising regularly, are worth noting and monitoring, as well.

• Snap progress selfies, often. It can be challenging to notice incremental changes within your own body without pictures; they tell the story of your weight-loss journey, and they're always honest. Snap pictures often, especially on days when you're feeling extra cute, and pull out those images to reflect on the successes in your journey and further fuel your commitment at times when you need encouragement.

• Assess daily activity. It's common to track carb macros on a ketogenic diet, and it's also wise to record your daily activity to have a log of what you've done for the week to compare that output with your results to determine what works best for you.

• Use benchmark testing. Push yourself to complete a challenging physical activity, log the results, and return to the same exercise in a few weeks to assess whether you have a variation in performance.

• Attempt to slip into your skinny jeans. A lower number on the scale is wonderful, but the old tried-and-true slim jeans test never fails! See how your favorite clothes from leaner days fit and use that as a tangible measure of progress in addition to the reading on the scale. Many people find that they continue to lose inches off their waist, even when the scale doesn’t show a lower number.

• Use a heart rate monitor. Many gadgets help us track our health stats, and a heart rate monitor is a handy tool to relay how we fare in performance from one workout to another.

• Monitor the quality of your sleep. The combination of a healthy diet and regular exercise are powerful tools to support all the body's systems' optimal function—and the benefits of this ripe environment are often seen in the form of improved sleep quality.

• Track other body composition numbers. Your overall weight is just a small caption of your overall health. You may also want to monitor other significant metrics like your body fat percentage or the circumference of various body parts (e.g., arms, legs, hips, waist etc.) to monitor the loss of size in inches.

Also, we get it: weight-loss stalls or plateaus can be frustrating and discouraging, but keep in mind that there are steps you can take to make sure the lull doesn't last for long.

Here are some tips for returning to your dietary keto protocol if you veer off track:

• Resume eating keto friendly whole foods for weight loss immediately following a dietary splurge.
• Limit packaged, or keto cheat, foods for a few days to recalibrate the body to a fully fat-burning, thermogenic state.
• Stay hydrated with loads of water, bone broth, and other sugar-free and electrolyte-rich beverages.
• Limit dairy, nuts, and keto sweets if the scale continues to remain stalled. These foods are extremely palatable, sometimes leading to overeating. As many people find they are ok, others find these foods to be inflammatory.

Also, there are many tips to consider when recommitting to a ketogenic diet, and we're pretty sure that we've pondered them all. Check out our complete guide to beginning or jumpstarting a ketogenic program here for a fool-proof blueprint to living your best life on keto.

Fat-burning Keto Recipes to Eat for Weight Loss

No food is a panacea; poof, eat one bite, and you're your dream size in an instant. However, some foods support your body's hormones and other vital systems to create an optimal weight-loss environment.

Here are some foods to add to your meal plan that is said to enhance fat-burning or help regulate weight-related hormones:

• Quick N' Easy Breakfast Sausage Keto Quiche
• Homemade Mayonnaise
• Keto Cajun Parmesan Salmon
• Keto Chili
• Corned Beef & Cabbage (a perfect probiotic-rich keto meal option)
• Zoodle Keto Alfredo with Bacon
• King Keto Taco Casserole
• Keto Vanilla Cupcakes & Buttercream Icing
• Creamy & Keto Broccoli and Cheese Soup
• Konscious Keto Strawberry Chia Smoothie
• Golden Keto Cauliflower Bake
• Keto Fat Bombs for Fat Loss & Ketosis

Plus, if you find yourself having a few extra treats here and there during the holidays or aren't a fan of eating veggies in general, consider adding our new, delicious, Superfood Supreme Greens blend to shore up any shortfalls in your diet; it's a no-brainer!

Don't Obsess, Assess

Some can become fixated with the number on the scale: weighing themselves once or multiple times a day and letting the result dictate their day's tone.

But a scale is a tool of measurement and not a marker of overall success; measuring optimal wellness is not that simple.

Track what you're eating or which types of physical activity you're doing in a given week and assess your results. You will soon discover which foods and activities best support your weight-loss efforts because the scale—especially an intuitive smart scale—doesn't lie.

Use the information gleaned from the data provided by your smart scale to empower your wellness efforts further. Knowledge certainly is power when seeking to release excess body fat, and the more you know about how your body responds to specific foods and drinks or exercises, the better.

Different Types of Smart Scales | Top Models of 2020

There are many smart scale models on the market ranging from a broad array of price points. Each scale has different strengths, and those things are matters to consider as you ponder which one best suits your needs.

Here are some top-rated smart scale picks and their primary strength:

Most Well-rounded: The RENPHO body scale is a fan-favorite because users love its intuitive system. Plus, the complementary RENPHO app is super useful because it allows users to track and store progress—and share it with family and friends if and when desired!

Heart-Healthy Monitor: Withing's Body Cardio Smart Scale tracks weight, BMI, resting heart rate, and four primary body composition metrics—fat mass, muscle mass, water, and bone mass—a solid unit to track weight and other heart-healthy metrics.

Budget-friendly Pick: The smart scale made by WYZE is compatible with many popular fitness apps, including Apple Health, Google Fit, and Fitbit, and it is easy on the budget.

Best for Measuring Body Fat: The Omron Body Composition Monitor has a retractable handheld sensor that captures body fat metrics from both the hands and feet for precise and most accurate measurements.

Most-coveted Features: The FITINDEX Bluetooth body fat scale calculates weight, BMI, body fat percentage, water percentage, skeletal muscle, fat-free body weight, and subcutaneous fat.

Stellar Design: The Qardio Base2 is rechargeable, requires no batteries, and this sleek scale's battery life lasts up to one year on a single charge!

App-friendly: The eufy by Anker Smart Scale can track up to 16 users' weight and distinguishes between family members, with a maximum weight capacity of up to 396 pounds.

Best with Wi-Fi: The arboleaf Digital Scale is Wi-Fi-enabled, Bluetooth-compatible, and accommodates unlimited users with effortless auto-recognition technology!

Best for Fitbit: The Fitbit tracker is quite common among health enthusiasts, and the Fitbit Aria Air Digital Bathroom Scale pairs nicely with a variety of Fitbit units to help you monitor progress and stay motivated.

Additional Tools to Use to Achieve Your Goals on Keto

A ketogenic diet is a fantastic dietary approach that can facilitate rapid weight loss and overall enhanced health. However, the ketogenic experience is optimized with the use of specific best practices.

Here are some comprehensive articles and guides we've shared with the Konscious Keto community that provide vital information to get the most out of the low-carb, high-fat lifestyle.

• In addition to the useful smart scale, here's an article we dedicated to our top keto gadget picks for weight loss
• The Konscious Keto Guide to Smart Cheat Meals
• Konscious Keto Guide to Low-carb Fast Food; Dining In or Out
• The Ultimate Konscious Keto Guide to Processed Meats and Cheeses
• Can You Lose Weight Doing The 'Lazy Keto' Diet?
• Keto on a Budget
• Keto-friendly Foods to Boost the Immunity System

The suite of articles above offers a treasure trove of information for anyone starting or on a ketogenic diet. Check out whichever article speaks to your needs; you really can't go wrong!

How Much Do Smart Scales Cost?

As is the case with most smart products, connected scales are usually more expensive than their old-fashioned counterparts. Still, you can likely find a model that works within your budget as they're available on a broad price spectrum—from low to high-end.

You can find a no-frills, generic smart scale for as low as $30. Or you may choose to splurge and opt for a high-end model of popular brands like the Fitbit Aria or QardioBase line of scales, which retail for more than $100; it’s totally dependent on your spending comfort level. If you’d like to try it out before investing much money, some gyms and fitness centers may offer free body scans to members or for a small fee.

Summary

We are fortunate to live in a time when there is unlimited data available at our fingertips. A few clicks on a keyboard, and we can learn about any topic imaginable.

And our constant access to infinite information has adjusted the bar in terms of people's expectations in just about every aspect of life.

It's common to use technology to broaden our view of every situation, and the same is valid with how a smart scale can improve our insight and effect our weight-loss success.

As a well-crafted meal plan can create clarity to facilitate laser beam focus as you work to widdle your waistline, so too can your weight-loss efforts benefit from the aid of a smart scale.

And if you're ready to start on keto or want to spice things up with some new meal ideas, consider getting your personalized keto meal plan for weight loss. Take our 30-second quiz for instant access to your tailored plan to add another helpful tool to your keto weight-loss kit.

Again, there are various smart scale models on the market at different price points, and one unit is sure to tick off all the essential boxes for you.

Plus, a smart scale is a very cost-effective way to enhance your tactical approach to keto. Consider swapping out your old model and upgrading to an intelligent model that will act more as a health and wellness coach than a non contextual, less useful, and archaic calculator.

Sources

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