Quit your diet because the scale wouldn't budge? You're using the wrong scale.

We break down why the bathroom scale can derail fat loss and how bioimpedance scales reduce the emotional whiplash of daily weight changes. We explain how body composition data helps us make smarter training and nutrition decisions by tracking trends over time. 
• Why weight alone creates frustration and quitting 
• How bioimpedance scales ease emotional stress and build patience 
• What a bioimpedance scale measures beyond body weight 
• How bioimpedance works using electrical resistance and water content 
• How to use weekly weigh-ins and consistent timing for better readings 
• How body fat, muscle, and water trends guide calorie deficit, protein, and strength training adjustments 
• What to expect for pricing from budget to high-end models 
• Why we treat body composition tracking as a key requirement for programming fat loss 
Remember to follow us on all socials at Time Under Tension PT. And if you haven't already, check out our weekly blog posts on substack.com and we will see you next time.

We’re a father-son coaching team behind Time Under Tension PT, and this podcast is built for men 30+ who used to be in great shape but now struggle with low energy, weight gain, and inconsistent habits due to work and life demands.

Resources:

Book a call // Book a call for more info about our 1-on-1 fat loss coaching.

4-Step Fat Loss Starter Guide // A simple starter guide.

Transcript

Welcome And Who We Help

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey everyone, and welcome to TUD Radio, a show that aims to help men over 30 who are done with social media fitness hype and want to help getting their health back using structured systems for training and nutrition. My name is Brian, and I'm here with my son Vincent. We are both certified personal trainers and nutrition coaches. And today we're going to talk about something that maybe seem a

Why Bioimpedance Beats Weight Alone

SPEAKER_00 0:21

little strange. We are going to talk about a bioimpedance electrical scale. Okay, so what is that, how it actually works, and how it can significantly help you stay on track with your fat loss plan. But before I get into how this actually works, I'm going to pass it over to Vince since you are the psychology graduate. And could you just please talk about how these scales can really ease the emotional stress that the common bathroom scale can create?

SPEAKER_01 0:49

Yeah, sure. So bathroom scales, as we all know, only really give you one metric, that is your weight, right? And it fluctuates every single day. Bioimpedance scales remove some of this emotional volatility you can kind of experience that's attached to weight gain and weight loss. It kind of helps you build like patience throughout the entire weight loss process. And it does that by just simply reinforcing all the positive things that are happening behind the scenes.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Okay, perfect. We see that all the time. You know, people get stuck in this um terrible habit of actually weighing themselves every single day. They see the fluctuations, they get frustrated, and then they end up just quitting. It's just it's the worst absolute reason in the world I can think of to stop on your journey towards doing something great

How The Scale Measures Body Fat

SPEAKER_00 1:32

for yourself. Okay, so let me explain then how the scale works. Real simple. It measures fat percent, usually muscle mass, and uh water, not just your weight. So it's a combination of those three things. And so how does it kind of work? Well, it sends tiny, harmless electrical currents through your body, and then it measures how fast that current actually travels through your body, and then it estimates your body composition from there. So why why does this work? This is actually kind of cool, I think, and it's it's pretty interesting. So the electricity passes through water easily, and muscle has a high water content, about 70 to 75 percent. So the current passes through quickly and easily through muscle. And fat has a much lower water content of around 10 to 20 percent, and so electricity kind of struggles to pass through that. So as the current goes through your your body, it really measures the resistance. So then the scale combines that statistic that it gathers with your height, your weight, age, and gender, and then applies it to an algorithm to estimate body fat percentage, again, muscle mass, water. And so one of the things I just kind of want to point out here with the scale, like everything else, even like wearables, everyone always questions the accuracy of these things.

How To Weigh For Better Accuracy

SPEAKER_00 2:53

So here's a couple of quick pointers when you're using these scales that really can help. One, only weigh yourself weekly, okay, because that's important, because there's too much fluctuation between water weight and things like that that uh will even you know throw this scale off. And then try and do it at the same time every single time that you do it, usually probably in the morning. So, Vin, why don't you uh get tell everybody how this new data and information can really, really help them get better results while they're trying to lose weight.

Using Trends To Adjust Your Plan

SPEAKER_01 3:26

Right. So so because that you have a bunch of extra analytics to go off of now, if you see that your fat percentage is going up, you may want to adjust your calorie deficit. If you see that your muscle is going down, we might have to adjust, you know, protein intake and maybe look at their strength training program. And it's not a perfect science, but over time, viewing trends can help paint a more accurate picture of what's actually going on. For example, like on a regular scale, over the course of a month, right, you may see that you've lost a net two pounds. But in reality, you put on a pound and a half of lean muscle mass, a pound and a half of water weight, and lost five pounds of fat.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

You know what I mean? So if somebody actually wants to buy one of these skills, then what you know, what kind of money are

What These Scales Cost

SPEAKER_00 4:08

we are we talking about? We get a break to bank for this, or are there some options that make a lot of sense?

SPEAKER_01 4:13

Now, it is worth mentioning that these things can get a little pricey, but on the higher-end models, they typically come with a bunch of useful features, some of which include, you know, an app integration or greater detail when it comes to the metrics that they provide. But those scales are typically priced around $80 to upwards of $300, I've seen. For some of the more budget-friendly options, you're looking at like $20 to $80, you'll still get some of the basic body fat percentage metrics, some Bluetooth apps that sync your data, things like that. But no matter how fancy your scale is, obviously having additional metrics that can help you better understand what's going on as you try to sustainably lose fat is always going to be to your benefit.

Why Coaches Rely On This Data

SPEAKER_00 4:57

Okay. You know, in the past, we used to always recommend that people go out and purchase a body comp scale as an investment once they start working with us. But today, I you know, I know kind of Vin feels like this too, is that it's it's almost like a requirement because we we really do rely on the data in order to help program somebody's you know fat loss plan appropriately. So it's really, really important. So, you know, whether you know you get help from a professional or you know, you go it alone, remember you know that the real data over time is what can help you stay on track. Thank you again

Follow And Read The Weekly Blog

SPEAKER_00 5:37

for listening. And remember to follow us on all socials at Time Under Tension PT. And if you haven't already, check out our weekly blog posts on substack.com and we will see you next time. Thanks again, everybody, for listening.