I’ve never really tracked my weight. (My weight has always stayed quite healthy, thankfully!) But as I’m approaching 40, I can see a future where I’ll need to pay much more attention to it.
So three months ago, I finally got a Withings scale (the cheapest one, just for weight), hooked it up to Beeminder, and it’s like magic! I now have two goals: one is pure weight and the other is a meta goal, pulling from the first goal, as a reminder to weigh myself regularly.
I really love tracking my weight this way, and it’s very motivating both to make sure I’m weighing in every day and also to keep my weight stable.
I finally got a Withings scale about three months ago too! I used to have a not-smart scale, and just enter the readings manually (well, via Fitbit, but I added them to Fitbit manually). I don’t utilise most of the features of the Withings app, but I love the scale, and the fact that on a busy morning I don’t have to stop to enter data or anything.
Like you I also have a weight goal and a meta goal; for me the latter is most important, as I’m more interested in what my weight is doing than trying to get it to go somewhere in particular in the short term. Weighing in every day is almost enough on its own to keep me mindful. Still, I like having the Beeminder graph over time, too.
I feel like such a hipster. We got one circa 2009. Had to order it from Europe! That original one lasted at least a decade and the new one we got is rock solid as well.
Does your Withings scale automatically updates your weight on your phone?
I used to use one that required me to hold my phone with the app open to sync it, which added too much friction. I switched to one that automatically synced, and now I weigh myself every day without effort!
No, no phone required. The scale connects to the wifi. I think bluetoothing it to one’s phone is also an option but even then, it happens in the background automatically, as I recall. It sometimes is a bit slow to sync, but almost always minutes, not hours.
Ours has been rock solid for over a decade. Also a basic model, lovingly selected exactly because of the Beeminder integration.
The apps have wobbled on occasion, notably during the transitions of Withings to Nokia and back again to being independent.
Having a Withings scale then also made it easy to choose other devices in the ecosystem. I’m very happy with the ScanWatch2 and the basic blood pressure cuff.
Fun fact: pjh/w is my oldest continuous Beeminder goal, in operation since 30/05/2012.
