Them scales, they lie!

I have been on a mission to Dick Smith and picked up a packet of 40 x AAA batteries and 40 x AA Batteries. Take that assorted toys and remotes!

Meanwhile back at the homestead, hubby has also been acquiring AAA batteries, so my scales are the proud owner of Energiser Plus batteries and the home-brand batteries are relegated to use in remotes etc.

Having worked out how to enter my height (160.2cm) and my age (37 years), gender and body type of a choice of athletic or normal ... I am ready to face my new 'starting weight'.

My starting weight is 90.1kg.

Kinda a shock since my crappy scales at least had the decency to weigh me light at about 86kg.

The scales send an electrical current through you and how much difficulty it takes travel through you provide other details.

Stats helpfully provided by my new scales? 42.2% Body fat (optimal for my age according to the accompanying booklet in several languages is 21-29%).

And apparently there is more water in lean tissue than fat, so the skinner you are, the more water there should be. For my optimal weight, this would be between 52% and 58%. Mine is currently about 40.9%.

So that's it. I am officially on the journey now.

My $75 Fitness Coach

I went to Briscoes today and bought a new set of scales.

As much I don't want to make this journey about weightloss, the reality is that seeing the pounds peel off will form part of the motivation.

And long-term, I need to understand the relationship between food and weight, better.

The old set of scales that were at home have been around for years, probably bought at The Warehouse for $20 and really difficult to use.

The way I place my feet on the scales or the way I balance myself on the scales or the scales being moved an inch to the left or the scales being bumped all cause different readings.

I can effectively cause a change in the result up to about 3kg. Don't get me wrong, this has suited me fine when I really didn't want to know. But now I am getting real, real readings will be part of it.

I had no idea scales had gotten so flash since my last purchase with "Body Composition Plus" and "I Speak" screaming to me from the packages.

Kinda like deciding to buy a DVD player instead of a Video player, I decided that scales that also calculate composition of water or fat or muscle is the way to go.

The set I picked had an original price of $149 but only a fool pays full price at Briscoes and in this instance, my scales came home for half price and include a free pedometer, electronic skipping rope and a sports bag and include the words "Fitness Coach".

Of course it takes 4 AAA batteries, so I can't use it yet, and a quick squizz of the various remote controls in the house suggests a dozen or more AAA batteries are looking for a home with us at the moment.

I'll let you know how it goes when it's turned on.