Tipping the Scales
The other problem children? The one I think most of us deal with in one way or another is those wanting hypnosis for weight loss. Now, I have complete and utter empathy here ('cause I love food). There are so many factors with weight issues. Now these people, so far, have never really been hateful, though I hear a lot of self-loathing.
There seems to be two camps when it comes to weight loss hypnosis or just weight loss in general - how one measures the results. Some say to measure the waistline and such and others prefer scales. I tend to go with the one the client feels the most confident with, but add a lot of codicils (muscle causes weight gain, women can bloat up to five pounds or more a month at various times in their cycle and so on).
So, I have been looking at scales for the office. I am rather infatuated with a particular brand at scalesetc.com. These are Phoenix line bathroom scales from My Weight. They do have ones that talk, but I think that might be unnecessary for the office. Not only do they show body weight, but they decipher body fat percentage and water percentage. In my mind this takes care of the muscle and water retention issue nicely. Oh, and they have a lifetime warranty in the US (thought I might say the UK, didn't you?).
A quick note about these, though. If have clients using the scale that have certain implanted medical devices such as a pacemaker or have one yourself, using a body fat scale is not recommended. The scale may cause interference with the device. So, I think a traditional non-digital scale is a good thing to have as well.
Another useful tool for clients who are dieting (weight loss, weight gain, diabetics, etc.) are the food scales. Not only do they give the actual weight of food, but by using an index and punching in the code numbers for various food items, the scale can tell you exactly how much fat, salt, calories, carbohydrates, cholesterol, and proteins are in that item. This can be a real weight saver in the diet planning stages...and if you have one at the office and are working with weight loss clients, you can always have a few things to demo to give them an idea about what they are ingesting (compare a candy bar to a few grapes).
Scalesetc.com also offers other digital scales, as well, including postage (hand for those of us with merchandise that gets shipped out) and pocket scales (you can measure that grape at a restaurant).
2 comments:
As someone that's "living large" at 6'6" tall and would tip a truck scale sometimes at 380 lbs or so (ok, that was a joke... about the scale, that is), I'm well aware of "weight issues" and always have been.
In the past I participated in the Body-for-LIFE challenge (www.bodyforlife.com) and completed the program in 12 weeks for a net 55 lb fat removal/26 lb lean muscle gain, and I hope to redo that program again someday and make it a permanent lifestyle change.
From my own experience, I can offer this one goldmine of advice:
Don't have a scale in your home if you're making any effort to lose weight by a change in diet, nutrition, exercise, or any combination of those aspects of your daily life.
A scale is not a valid or even remotely accurate device to measure the changes in body composition that a program (like the BFL mentioned above, or Weight Watchers, etc) will cause, most especially in the first two weeks of being on such a program or lifestyle change.
It's just bad karma, and will lead to a lot of self-feedback that's nearly always negative in nature: "But I didn't eat anything yesterday and I'm a pound heavier! I give up!"
If you have to get on a scale, do it once a month and not before - and preferably do it someplace outside your home, like a gym or someone else's home. Having that scale around is just too easy to hurt yourself in so many negative ways it's not even funny.
Hope this helps and doesn't hurt. :P
Have fun, always...
Paul
btw:
The dirty little secret to real weight loss and change? Eat more, seriously. 3 meals a day is horrible for us humans, it really is. Look at horses and cows: they eat, nibble, graze constantly. Are they fat? Uhhmmm... no. :) Nature sets the rules, so follow 'em. Six meals a day is infinitely better and keeps the inner furnace (aka the metabolism) stoked to high levels and, tada! Weight removal (I don't say weight loss since that implies you'll find it again). :) Good luck!
Very good advice, Paul. Scales can be a little unnerving,as you say. Have you tried the ones that separate out body fat and water weight?
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