My New Digital Scale Told Me the Truth… and I Wasn’t Ready

Every once in a while a household gadget tells you a truth you weren’t prepared to hear.

I thought I was buying a simple bathroom scale at Costco… turns out I bought a brutally honest life coach.

Ray and I have had the same bathroom scale for years. It’s one of those old-school metal ones with the rotating dial and the little window where you try to line up the numbers just right. Over time it’s gotten a little worse for wear—the metal has started to rust and the plastic window is starting to get cloudy,

But it still worked… or at least that’s what we told ourselves.

Old Scale vs. New Scale: One of Them Was Clearly Lying to Me

Then the other day I was walking through Costco and spotted one of those sleek digital body composition scales that connects to an app. Not only does it show your weight, but it also tracks things like BMI, body fat percentage, and progress toward weight goals. These new digital body composition scales can estimate things like body fat percentage and BMI, which makes them a lot more revealing than the old dial scales we grew up with.

Naturally, my curiosity got the better of me and I tossed it in the cart.

Well.

Let’s just say this scale was a bit of a wake-up call.

According to my new “super smart” scale, my body fat percentage is 34.2% and—brace yourself—it cheerfully informed me that I fall into the obese category.

Yikes.

Apparently my old scale had been quietly protecting my feelings for years.

At this point I’m starting to suspect the old scale wasn’t broken…it was just being polite.

Of course, I immediately made Ray step on it too. In the spirit of full disclosure… the scale did not go any easier on him. Let’s just say the word “obese” appeared on his results as well.

So now we’re both having a moment of reflection with our very honest new bathroom appliance.

After the initial shock wore off, though, I realized maybe this little moment of truth is exactly what we needed. Sometimes a clear number can be the nudge that gets you back on track.

So it looks like Ray and I are officially climbing back onto the healthy habits bandwagon.

We’ll see how it goes.

For now, the new scale is staying in the bathroom… but I’m keeping the old rusty one nearby just in case I need a confidence boost.

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Question: Please tell me I’m not the only one who has owned a “polite” bathroom scale. Have you ever had a gadget give you a reality check?

With love & glitter,
Valerie ✨