Beat Your Scale for Tracking Healthy Weight Goals

Published on Jan. 14, 2020

Is it finally time to ditch your bathroom scale for good?

If you’re considering a weight-loss journey, or struggling through a diet and exercise program without progress, it might be time for a change.

Thankfully, the InBody 570 scanning tool at Munson Medical Center’s Healthy Weight Center in Traverse City is here to help you better understand your body and set more informed training goals.

InBody Scans Provide Smarter Training Data

Your scale gives you just a single measurement: body weight. But in less than 60 seconds, InBody’s medical-grade scanning technology provides an overview of your full body composition and unlocks multiple data points traditional scales don’t typically measure:

  • Body fat mass and percentage
  • Visceral fat level
  • Skeletal muscle mass
  • Body Mass Index (BMI)
  • Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), and more.

Knowing these numbers can inform a variety of healthy decisions. Things like how many calories you need to lose weight, where your muscle strength needs improvement, and whether your body fat location puts you at higher risk for diseases like diabetes or stroke.

It’s also ideal for goal-setting and tracking actual progress when you experience a dreaded weight-loss plateau.

Body Weight Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

Your total body weight is a measure of both your body fat and your lean body mass, which includes:

  • Muscle
  • Organs
  • Bones
  • Skin
  • Body Water

But to understand your entire body composition, you need a breakdown of your weight, such as how much of your body is muscle or even just water. Perhaps you’re gaining muscle mass and losing body fat, but the number on the scale never seems to change.

“Utilizing only body weight as a measure of progress can be frustrating and misleading,” said Ben Watson, MS, ACE-CMES, EIM2, Weight Management Coordinator at Munson Healthcare's Foster Family Community Health Center.

“The InBody scan is able to quantify fat loss and allow individuals to understand the complexity and nuances associated with stepping on the scale. It’s a great tool to add to the education process for our patients and participants.”

How InBody Works

InBody works like a traditional scale and nearly as fast. You’ll step onto a square platform—roughly the size of a bathroom scale—and hold the attached handlebars. In a matter of seconds, the machine will gently scan your body.

An experienced Healthy Weight Center staff member will print your results and review them with you. In 3-6 months you can return for a new scan to track progress and establish new goals.

Schedule Your Scan

Confirm your 30-minute InBody scan appointment by calling 231-935-8606. Or you can stop by the Healthy Weight Center inside Munson Healthcare’s Foster Family Community Health Center to schedule. Scan discounts may be available depending on current promotions.

Find more resources for reaching and maintaining a healthy weight at the Healthy Weight Center in Traverse City.