Body fat and Composition Scales: Tanita BC1000 Product Review
If you’re in the market for a new set of bathroom scales and you’ve got between -0 to spend, read on.
For the past six months I’ve been testing the new Tanita BC100 Body Composition Scales. Now on the surface they appear to be your normal digital bathroom scale, and that is precisely what I used them for during the first two months. Well, that was until I RTFM’d them (Read The F-ing Manual!) and set them up for what they are designed to do – to be a complete body composition analyser.
How a Body Composition Analyser works
You stand on the scales and a low electrical signal is sent through the body (called a Bio Impedance Analysis or BIA). Your different tissues create a resistance based on the water levels, e.g. muscle carries a lot of fluid in it whereas fat does not. This nifty machine is able to differentiate your tissues based on this, namely, bone, muscle, fat, and water, and thus determining your body composition.
It all takes less than one minute, doesn’t hurt and is surprisingly accurate (+/- 1% accuracy if measuring conditions remain constant).
What the scales will tell you:
Your weight: Tanita scales are seen as the leader in accuracy which we know is crucial to our sanity come our weekly weigh-ins!
Body fat: Too much or too little body fat can put your health at risk. This highly accurate monitoring technique shows you in seconds if you are in the healthy range based on your age, sex and height.
Body water: Helps you keep track of your hydration levels and understand how your body’s composition changes as your hydration levels change.
Bone weight/mass: Indicates the weight of bone mineral in the body. The
development of muscle tissue has been shown to encourage stronger, healthier bones.
Muscle Mass: Displays the amount of muscle in the body. For every extra
pound (600g) of muscle gained the body uses approximately 50 extra calories a day. Because muscle is denser than fat, monitoring muscle mass gives a more accurate understanding of your overall composition and changes in your total body weight.
Basal Metabolic Rate: Indicates the number of calories your body burns when at rest. Unlike other methods of calculating BMR, Innerscan Fitness takes the amount of muscle in your body into account, giving a more accurate picture.
Metabolic Age Rating: (my personal favourite because it says I’m 16 years old!) Your BMR starts to decrease after the age of 17 and the metabolic age rating indicates what age level your body is currently rated at.
Visceral Fat Rating: Visceral fat surrounds the internal organs in the
stomach/trunk area of your body. High levels of visceral fat increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and type-2 diabetes.
Physique Rating: Describes your overall physique or body shape by examining
the balance between the amounts of body fat and muscle in your body.
Who should use body composition scales
Weight loss candidates:
It’s important to understand that while weight loss is the aim, there are other drastic changes happening in the body. For example, a weight loss client of mine recently hit a plateau for two weeks whilst on holidays. They told me they were training every day, but doing more weights. Normally I’d be very concerned about this plateau but when he returned and we analysed his results, he had actually lost 6% body fat and gained 4kg of muscle. As soon as I increased his heart rate through interval training, the weight fell off and he lost 5kg the following week (he weighed over 100kg).
Healthy BMI/less than 5kg to lose:
These people I feel benefit the best from body composition scales because they are accurately able to track the more subtle effects, thus being able to refine what they are doing based on results. An individual may lose 5% body fat and gain a few kilos of muscle with very little change on the scales, even though they look very different. It is very encouraging for this group.
Serious exercisers (more than 10hr week training and resting heart rate below 60bpm):
There is a special ‘athlete’ setting for these people to make the readings more accurate (although they do suggest that bodybuilders and professional athletes may have a less accurate reading, but it still remains consistent, showing trends). I find the scales particularly useful to monitor my hydration levels, muscle mass (and loss due to marathon running) and of course body fat (I am a vain girl after all!).
Factors affecting its accuracy
Hydration:
The more varied your hydration levels the less accurate it is. A full bladder, diuretics (e.g. alcohol), dehydration, recent eating or menstrual cycle all affect its accuracy. Around 5pm is apparently the best time of the day as you are most likely to be correctly hydrated. They don’t recommend weighing first thing in the morning or after exercising. I however, always weigh myself first thing before I train due to point two below.
Consistency:
Weigh yourself at the same time of the day, in the same manner. Hence morning is best for me. There are some more tips for accuracy here, such as having clean feet and wearing as little clothing as possible.
My Verdict
It’s a winner! It’s a bit fiddly to set up initially, but once you’ve taken the time to RTFM it’s really easy. I recommend keeping a chart or a book handy to jot your results down, and I recommend measuring 2-4 times per month. If you are committed to changing the shape of your body, and you want some accurate, raw hard facts; then the BC1000 is for you.
You can buy the scales at Amazon
Oblique Exercises to Help Get Rid of the Muffin Top
We all know you can’t spot reduce body fat, so if a spare tyre is your issue, hit the cardio machines and get your diet sorted. Once you’re ready to shape, watch this clip for my five favourite oblique exercises. Do each exercise 12 times each side, and complete the circuit for 3 sets.
What is the Best Milk to Buy? Differences Between Milk Products.
Once upon a time the dairy aisle was simple, but stand in front of the shelves at the supermarket now and you’ll find an abundance of options. With so many varieties on the market, choosing the product that’s right for you can be confusing and not to mention time consuming. Here’s what you should know before your next venture to the dairy section.
What’s in your milk?
Before you reach for a carton of milk it’s important to know if you’re allergic or intolerant to lactose. Most of us don’t have an intolerance, but if you’re worried, you can check by having a simple hydrogen breath test or blood test by your doctor.
When buying milk, the main thing to look at is the difference in fat content between full cream, low fat and skim. All the other labels usually have more of an effect on your wallet than your health.
• Regular Milk
Contains less than or equal to 4% fat content, and is pasteurised and homogenised. It is also known as full cream or whole milk, and is rich and creamy in texture.
• Reduced Fat
Contains less than or equal to 2% fat and often has extra protein and calcium added.
• Low Fat
Has less than or equal to 1.5% fat and almost the same nutritional benefits as regular milk, with a boosted calcium content.
• Skim Milk
Has less than or equal to 0.15% fat and sometimes milk solids are added to optimise the taste.
• Modified Milk
This type of milk may be protein enriched, high in calcium, iron fortified or low in lactose to cater for a range of dietary requirements.
• Ultra Filtration (UF) Milk
This milk is also enriched with protein and calcium.
• Lactose-reduced Milk
Lactose is the sugar found naturally in milk. Lactose-reduced milk has an enzyme added to it that breaks down the lactose making it more digestible for those who are lactose intolerant.
• Buttermilk or Cultured Milk
This has a tangy flavour and is ideal for baking. A special starter culture is added to the pasteurised milk to develop the flavour and acidity.
Other types of milk are long-life milk, concentrated milk and powdered milk.
Milk with added calcium and vitamins
A study conducted by consumer group Choice showed that the added nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, (A2 proteins), or omega-3 fatty acids are unlikely to make any difference to your health, just your wallet. You’d need to drink an extra 2-litres of milk with added omega-3’s to get the same benefit of a 50g portion of salmon.
How much milk do we need?
• Under 12 months old:
Cows milk is not recommended (although adding to food is fine, just not on its own). Breast milk is the best option, then formula.
• 1-3 year old infants:
Whole milk is recommended as opposed to low fat milk, but low fat is fine for larger infants from 2 years old.
• 2 years onwards:
Reduced fat or low fat milk is fine. Be careful not to replace normal diet as can create other deficiencies, e.g. low in iron.
• Pregnant women:
If you have a normal BMI then it is fine to go with full fat, as you need an extra 500cal per day. Overweight women should stick with low fat milk.
The recommended daily calcium intake for children 1-3 years old is 500mg per day, which is just under 2 cups. The recommended daily intake for adults is 1000-1300mg per day, which is the equivalent of 3.5 cups daily.
The low down on cream
Have a good look at cream and see the difference between low fat and regular fat.
• Regular cream 100ml = 337calories, 35g fat.
• Low fat cream 100ml = 221 calories, 20g fat (116 less cal, 15g less fat).
What’s on your cheese plate?
There’s nothing better than a nice, soft gooey Brie. But we all know too much cheese will go straight to our hips. So what are the best and worst cheeses?
Low fat makes a difference if you’re looking to manage your weight, but cottage cheese wins by a landslide – it’s lower in fat and calories. And that goes for low fat ricotta too. A good rule to remember is that generally the more pungent cheeses are best as you will use less, e.g. Parmesan.
Here’s your cheese in order, from lowest to highest in fat:
• Low fat cottage cheese (90cal/2g fat)
• Feta and soft goats cheese (255cal/20g fat)
• Camembert (300cal/23g fat)
• Brie (320cal/25.5g fat)
• Cheddar (415cal/33.5g fat)
Choosing yoghurt
When it comes to yoghurt, there are a lot of different low and fat-free flavours available. But are manufacturers adding unhealthy ingredients to compensate for the lack of fat? And if so, does that make full fat a better option?
A low fat yoghurt is definitely a better option, but the very best variety is unsweetened Greek style yoghurt. It’s low in fat and you can add sweetness to it using fresh fruit. Always choose yoghurt that contains the live cultures Lactobacillus acidophilus to help restore a healthy balance of bacteria in the body.
Food to Help Boost Your mood
Here Kerri-Anne and I discuss some amazing research coming out linking the foods we eat with depression. What moods affect your cravings? What are the best foods to help combat depression.
Healthy Dining Restaurant of the Month: RedBrick
RedBrick Pizza combines this centuries-old Italian tradition with new world technology to create fresh fire-roasted gourmet pizzas.
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Crispy Baked Chicken Cutlet with Pasta, Salad and Strawberries
Want an Italian dish that’s big on flavor, but low in fat and calories? Look no further!
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Super Success: Autum Loses 86lbs for Good!
Autum lost 86 pounds, beat asthma and changed her life! See how she did it!
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You don’t need a personal trainer or an expensive home gym for this great workout!
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Here are the best ways to burn fat and have fun this summer!
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