I’ve never been one to weigh myself regularly. I generally go off how my clothes fit or how I look in the mirror, not a number on a scale. Now that I’ve been taking my health and fitness more seriously, I have been more interested in the details of my body composition. I was beginning to research smart scales, when I was pleasantly surprised by an email from Beets BLU asking if I would like to review their scale. Needless to say, I was pretty excited to get in the mail and start putting it to use!
First off, I would like to mention that I didn’t know what a “smart scale” was up until recently. The only experience I had with measuring body composition was a BodPod scan that I did during college to help a friend with a research project. When I learned that you could measure body composition in the comfort of your own bathroom and have the results automatically tracked and stored in your phone, I was pretty floored. After I learned a little more about what these modern day scales were all about, I started doing research to find a scale based on the following criteria:
- Measures weight and % body fat
- Easy to set up and use
- Aesthetically pleasing design
- Connects to an iOS app (preferably a free one!)
- Graphically show changes over time in the app (I like visuals)
- Ability to track and store data for more than one user
To my surprise, the Beets BLU scale hits on every one of these factors…and more!
Like judging a book by its cover, the first thing I noticed about this scale was its modern design. Definitely not an eyesore on the bathroom floor! It’s a very thin, sleek, black scale with shiny metal rectangles for you to place your feet on. The digital display has a pretty blue backlight with easy to read white numbers. It wipes clean easily and doesn’t show dust or smudges as easily as I expected for such a glossy finish.
What It Measures
The Beets BLU scale measures:
- Body Weight
- BMI
- Body Fat Percentage
- Muscle Mass Percentage
- Bone Percentage
- Lean Body Mass Percentage
- Hydration Percentage
One feature that I wasn’t expecting, but have started to love, is the hydration measurement. Staying hydrated is something that I really have to work at. For some reason I just don’t get very thirsty during the day, so drinking water is something I’m constantly reminding myself to do. Having the measurement show up every day and being able to see my how my hydration level changes day to day motivates me to drink more water.
Easy Set Up
I found the scale very easy to set up and start using it right out of the box. All I had to do was insert batteries (which were included), select if I wanted to measure in pounds or kilograms and calibrate the scale by setting the scale on a flat surface (ideally, where you will be placing the scale for use) and hop on for a quick measurement. The scale has four metal rectangles on it that indicate where your (bare) feet need to be touching to get an accurate measurement.
How it Works with the App
The Beets BLU scale works with the SmartScale app that is available for iOS and Android. This is a free app that you have to download and works only for the Beets BLU scale. Beets BLU does make other products that sync via bluetooth with an app, but those products require separate apps. I can only speak for the iOS app, but so far I’ve had no issues. The app is very clean and easy to use.
Once I downloaded the app, I had to go into settings to set up my scale and pair it with my scale. First, I answered a few simple questions to create a user profile. It asks you to enter if you are a male or female, specify if you have an “Athletic Body Composition” (which I’m not entirely sure what classifies as athletic body composition, but I selected yes), your birthday, your height and specify if you are looking to “Lose/Maintain” your weight or if you are looking to “Gain” weight.
The scale also has the ability to be used with multiple people, which is a great feature. Each person needs to download the app, and after you set up your profile it is able to detect which person is using the scale.
In settings you can also connect it to the Apple Health App, determine if you would like to see your changes over a 30 day or 7 day period, set your weight units (kg, lb or st) and pair the app with the scale. I’ve had issues in the past using bluetooth to pair devices with my phone, so I was a little worried about this part of the set up process. To my surprise, I was able to pair the app with the scale on the first try and haven’t had any connection issues in the three months I’ve been using the scale.
You can also specify the “announcements” you would like in settings. When I initially set up the app, I didn’t touch this section because I wasn’t sure what it was for. I generally have my phone on silent, so it took me a few weeks before I learned that if your phone isn’t on silent a woman’s voice comes through the speaker on your phone to announce your measurements for the day. It’s quite startling and a bit embarrassing if somebody else is listening. Every time it has happened I’ve quick silenced my phone to get her to stop talking. Thankfully, I noticed that you can turn this feature off in the settings section (whew!). I guess some people might appreciate this feature, but it wasn’t for me.
The app has multiple different views to help you analyze your data. It calculates averages and uses little red and green arrows to let you know how you are trending. The app also has the ability to set goals. I haven’t used this feature, but you can select a target value for weight, lean body mass, body fat percentage, muscle mass percentage or BMI.
Below are screen shots from the app so you can see exactly how the information is displayed.
Daily results with your 7 and 30 day changes:
You can customize the graphs if you’d like to show different criteria. I have mine set to show all factors, but it would be easier to read with less information.
Daily results with all information:
Monthly averages and changes:
Total monthly measurements so you can easily compare day to day. It’s best to weigh yourself at the same time every day to get the most accurate measurements for day to day comparisons.
Options to set targets:
Syncs Weight with Apple Health App:
One downside to the app is that it must be open on your phone in order to record your measurements. I could see this being a deterring factor for some people because it does take a little extra work to remember to grab your phone and open the app.
I’ve gotten into a habit of weighing myself every morning – I stumble out of my bedroom, grab my phone and go into the bathroom. I use the toilet, promptly take off all my clothes, open the app, step onto the scale and wait a few seconds before I hear the beep that tells me my data has been transmitted to the app. If you don’t have your phone handy, the scale works just like a normal “dumb” scale by displaying your weight, but none of the other measurements will be recorded.
A Scale I would Recommend
Now that I’ve used the scale for a few months, I can say that I would highly recommend the Beets BLU Bluetooth Smart Scale. If you have a weight loss goal that you are working toward, using a bluetooth scale that easily compiles your data for review can be a great tool to help you achieve your goals. I was always against using a scale because I didn’t want to get too caught up in “that number on a scale” because I never really cared what the number said. I am aware that muscle weighs more than fat, so seeing the number on the scale rise wouldn’t bother me as long as I felt like I was getting stronger and more fit. What I like about this scale is that I’m able to monitor the changes in my body fat and muscle mass percentages – things that actually matter to me!
Sound like the scale of your dreams? Buy one today from Amazon.
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