Tanita BC554 Ironman Glass InnerScan Body Composition Monitor Elite Series | 
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| Brand: Tanita
Category: Health And Beauty
Buy New: $129.99
New (4) from $129.99
Rating:  97 reviews
Sales Rank: 1509
Color: Glass and Silver
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Number Of Items: 1
Batteries: 4
Batteries Included: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 9
Dimensions (in): 13 x 2 x 12
MPN: BC554
Model: BC554
UPC: 742496800886
EAN: 0742496800886
ASIN: B0007ZH18M
Release Date: April 10, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Highly accurate body composition monitor | | • | Easy to read 2.25" LCD display | | • | 4 person memory | | • | Weight, body fat recall, body water and muscle mass recall | | • | Physique rating |
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Product Description
Features: Glass/chrome. 10-year warranty. 330-pound weight capacity. Easy-to-read 2.25" LCD display. Weight, body fat, body water and muscle mass recalls. Highly accurate body composition monitors weight, healthy range, muscle mass, total body water percentage, tone mass, metabolic age, physique rating, visceral fat, body fat percentage and BMR.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 45 more reviews...
 Great scale--shows real changes in physique over time March 9, 2006
Jeffrey A. Crisp (Brentwood, TN USA)
57 out of 58 found this review helpful
This was the top of the line consumer Tanita scale when I bought it ($115 US), and I'm glad I chose this model. I'm sure I won't use it as much as time goes on, but currently I am using it 3 times a day for the last month and plotting all the readouts in excel. I know you don't care, but just to prove that it does work, I have been constantly adding reps to my workout, and I am seeing results only a scale like this could tell me. My weight is staying constant, but my body fat is dropping by 0.06% per day and my muscle mass is increasing by 0.1 lbs per day. That's 3 lbs of muscle and almost 2% body fat in only a month! I only regret I didnt get this scale sooner. Oh, and it only stores your last measurement, so don't expect to track your changes with just the scale.
Their instructions say to take your reading just before your last meal of the day. I also take mine right when I wake up and just before bed, but the afternoon reading seems to be the most reliable (smallest standard deviation from the trend for those math majors out there).
If you are what Tanita considers to be an athlete (10 or more hours of workout per week or resting pulse of 60 beats or less), then you definitely need a scale with an athlete mode, bc otherwise your body fat % will be discouragingly high. I have had a few other people take their measurements using this scale (different heights, ages, body types, and genders), and the consensus is that it is pretty accurate for them as well.
Yes, it does use electrical resistance for the readings, but you could chew the two AA batteries it uses and not feel anything. (I disclaim any liability for injuries resulting from chewing batteries)
The instructions and reading material that come with it are informative and gives you explanations of all the extras (like BMR and visceral fat) along with the healthy ranges for both male and female.
If you are serious about getting in better shape, I encourage you to get this scale or one like it. It will motivate you to keep going and think twice about that fourth doughnut. If you just want to lose weight, don't waste your money, any scale can tell you that.
I would call this scale "the motivator" September 7, 2005
i5pro (South Florida, USA)
47 out of 50 found this review helpful
OK... This scale is expensive. In this case, you get what you pay for. Why did I buy a scale that is so expensive? Because I did the research and this scale gives the most details and is super easy to use. You simply pick what button you want to be. (1-4) and you enter your weight, height, and age. Also you can select if you are an athlete...this makes the measurements accurate for people who work out 10+ hours a week. This scale is a must for athletic people because the other scales out there will say that you are fat and out of shape...even though you are looking in the mirror at your finely sculpted six pack abs and rock hard biceps.
So how do you use it? You push the number you set up for yourself and stand on it. It gives you your weight and then does the other test. It is absolutely painless, in case you are wondering. Also, it takes between 5-10 seconds to do the measurements. I haven't timed it with a stop watch but it is quick.
Then it gives you all this info. Weight, Body Fat%, Body Water%, Muscle Mass (nice), Physical Rating, BMR (This is the calories you need to survive through a day.), Metabolic Age (sweet), Bone Mass, and Visceral Fat (This is the fat you have around your stomach and organs.)
Also when you don't need all this info and you just want your weight. There is a quick weigh option that just measures your weight. Very simple, quick and easy.
Can you hit these buttons with your big toe to work them? Yes you can.
So what do you do with the info? Well I made an excel spreadsheat with charts so that I can keep track of the data and also keep notes on what I did. For example one week I did cardio for an hour every night, in addition to my regular weight training and my body fat% went down, and my muscle weight increased. (awesome) Then another week we had a hurricane, so I didn't do any work out for 5 days straight. I measured myself after this and I was the same weight. Woo hoo, I lucked out right? Wrong...Even though I weighed the same...my fat% was up and my muscle mass was down. (bummer) So this of course motivated me to work out like crazy the next week to get my numbers back in line and even drop some weight. Can your scale do that? Or would you just look at the weight, see that it's the same and say, great I'll take another week off. This scale tells you the truth while other scales don't give you the complete picture of what is going on with your body.
I am the type of person that likes to buy the very best and I am very happy with this scale.
Bottom line is that this is the best scale...period.
additional features not included in the manual April 14, 2006
HSB (Christiana, DE)
40 out of 43 found this review helpful
After recieving this scale I got answers to a few questions I had wanted to know before I ordered it that I couldnt find in the online manual (from tanita's website) or from the reviews that I did read. First of all, I was disappointed from what I read that the recall was only for some readings not all. HOWEVER, what no one mentions is that you can (once off the scale) scroll thru ALL the readings using the arrows keys as long as the scale hasn't turned off. You WILL have plenty of time to record your readings...all of them.. one by one. Don't worry about the limited recall. Secondly, the scale will beep twice to let you know when it's done recording and when you can step off. These are petty, but since I can't see anything while I am on the scale, these two features make this scale simple to use and important to me. Don't listen to people complaining about the small icons. Just step on, wait for the double beep, step off and record.
I know a lot of people worry about the acurracy. It is clearly stated in the manual that it is more accurate to take the average number of all the readings. I personally use a spreadsheet and have it average the numbers every time I add in a new days worth of numbers.
I am using this scale to track weigh loss and I tend to get hooked on a number even though I know I shouldn't (it's easier said then done). This scale keeps me focused on the overall picture. Also, once I started to exercise my weight didn't seem to change for the better which is descouraging. I found it helpful to see the muscle mass increase while my weight sometimes increased!
Well Worth the Money July 28, 2005
Nikko (Santa Ana, CA)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
A question of accuracy! This scale is the very first I have ever used to actually agree with the measurements taken when I visit the doctor. Even my doctor was impressed with everything this baby could do.
Use. You must weigh yourself in your bare feet, otherwise the internal scanner will not work properly. Once it does, look out! Perhaps one of the most important items it tells you is how many calories it takes to maintain your body "AS IS". This then becomes the figure to beat to lose weight. There's one more thing I get a real kick out of... and that is when it tells me I have a metabolism of a person less than my age.
Excellent tool to improve your health and your shape - Helped lme lost over 200 lbs July 11, 2006
David De Sousa
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
Is an excellent motivational tool to keep you inspired day after day, as you see the results of your workouts, diet or life-style translate into numbers in the body composition display.
I use this Tanita Body Composition Monitor, along with a Polar Heart Rate monitor (the s625x running computer) and the ABS Diet book (from Men's health Magazine) to go from 44 to 32 size pants, and I have been able to keep the weight off for more than 5 years.
There will always be a debate on how accurate this monitors are, no matter which model or brand you buy. Independently of the technology that the scale uses, the data displayed will always be related to statistical groups.
The important thing to keep in mind is that you have to record your results and see if the trends show improvements (e.g. decrease in fat %, increase in muscle mass, increase in metabolic rate, decrease in metabolic age, etc.). You get off the scale, scroll thru all the displayed measurements using the arrows keys (as long as the scale hasn't turned off). You have plenty of time to record your readings. This keeps you motivated as you see the numbers improve week after week. It may be slow improvement or small steps improvements, but over time the motivation will keep you focused and you will get the results you want.
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