Tanita Body Fat Scale Review

Tracking Body Fat With Body Fat Scales

There is no question that if you want a flat stomach, you will need to get rid of excess body fat.  In fact, if you want to reveal your six pack abs, you will need to get your body fat down to around 10%. This is definitely an achievable fitness goal for most people, but it is often difficult to track your progress toward this goal using conventional methods.

How do you track your progress toward your goal of a flat stomach or six pack abs?  As I mentioned in my article on body fat indicators, body fat is often difficult and expensive to measure with any accuracy or precision.  Doctors often use a simple BMI calculation to measure body fat.  In the early stages of weight loss, I recommend looking more at how your clothes are fitting you than the numbers.

Once you have lost most of your excess body fat and you are getting serious about strength training, your body usually reaches its weight loss peak.  This happens to almost everyone, and it usually happens when you have the last 10-15 pounds to lose.  It is often hard to stay motivated during these last few weeks or months after you reach your peak and before you achieve your goal.  I am not a big fan of weighing and measuring yourself everyday, but once you reach a peak in your weight loss, you can keep yourself motivated by checking your muscle mass and body fat progress once a week.

One of my favorite ways to track my progress toward building muscle and shedding body fat is by using a body fat scale on a weekly basis.  If you don’t have access to a gym or don’t have time to go to the gym, having a body fat scale at home is a great option.

Body fat scales calculate an estimate of your body fat based on some scientific assumptions, and most people will find that the numbers provided are quite accurate. Only a small percentage of people (professional athletes) will find that they need more precise ways of measuring body fat.  If you purchase a high quality body fat scale, you will typically get more precise results.

Tanita Body Fat Scale

I did a lot of research on body fat scales before buying one, and I found that the best body fat scale available right now is the Tanita Body Fat Scale.  The Tanita Body Fat Scale is available in several models ranging from simple bathroom scales to professional grade scales.  Tanita was the first company to offer body fat scales for home use.  Their high quality home scales range in price between $60 and $130 USD.

The Tanita body fat scale has some of the best features I could find.  I ended up choosing the top of the line home model – the Tanita BC554 Ironman Glass InnerScan Body Composition Monitor Elite Series.  Here is a list of the stats you can track using this model:

1. Total Body Weight
2. Body Fat Percentage
3. Muscle Mass
4. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
5. Body Water Percentage
6. Bone Mass
7. Visceral Fat
8. Metabolic Age Level
9. Physique Rating

My Take On The Tanita Body Fat Scale

I really like that I can accurately track my BMR and muscle mass in addition to my body fat percentage.  I also like that it stores information for up to 4 people – which is useful if you have a family or roommates.  I haven’t had any problems with it since I bought it about 7 months ago, but it does come with a 10 year warranty.  It doesn’t look too bad either! 

The only downside I could find is something that applies to all body fat scales: variability in the results.  I learned that it is critical to measure yourself at the same time each day or each week. The best time to do this is in the evening before dinner, so that your hydration level is stable.  If you weigh yourself first thing in the morning, you will get inconsistent results due to  hydration levels varying from day to day.  It is also best to measure yourself under the same conditions, so I prefer to do this before a shower, so the temperature is more consistent.

Overall, I really enjoy the Tanita body fat scale.  It has a lot of interesting features not available in cheaper models.  I like that it has the ability to switch the scale from standard to “Athlete” mode.  I found that this provides a better estimate of my progress to date than a standard BMI calculation used on a cheaper scale. If you’re serious about getting six pack abs and monitoring your health, I would definitely recommend you invest in a Tanita body fat scale once you start hitting your weight loss peak!

Where To Find A Tanita Body Fat Scale

Tanita body fat scales are available in specialty fitness stores and at select online retailers like Amazon.

Research and buy a Tanita body fat scale today!