Should I buy a scale if I have an eating disorder?


Sharing is Caring


For those with eating disorders, an easily accessible scale can fuel the disorder, lead to obsession, and spark dangerous behaviors like bingeing, purging, or restricting food intake.

What is the shapa scale?

The Shapa is a new kind of bathroom scale with no screen. That’s where the scale comes in. Ariely imagines the common bathroom gadget as a gateway to better understanding our health, a way to subtly reshape human health behavior one pound at a time.

What is clear step scale?

Numberless Bluetooth virtual scales, such as ClearStep, are quickly becoming a popular tool for eating disorder recovery. These digital scales will never display a number. Instead, they capture a client’s weight and store it in a secure online portal that can only be accessed by their healthcare provider.

What is a blind weight?

Conversely, blind weighing involves the therapist not sharing the patients’ weight with her or him. When patients are blind weighed, they are usually asked to step on the scale backwards and the weight is not explicitly discussed [3].

How often do anorexics weigh themselves?

Many patients will weigh himself daily, multiple times a day. It becomes an obsession and a game. Often, clinicians will hear that the client will try to see how much weight they can lose in a day, or two days, or a week. It can become a contest with other sufferers to see who can keep their weight the lowest.

Why can’t I stop weighing myself?

Why do you weigh yourself? What is it that you’re looking to get when you step on the scale? Weighing yourself is a kind of body checking, a way to cope with anxiety stemming from a preoccupation body weight or size, and the behaviors you utilize to attempt to control it.

How accurate is Shapa?

In a 12-week pilot study with 645 participants, Ariely found that participants who used the Shapa (app and all) lost on average 0.61 percent of their weight per month (for a 200-pound person, that’s 1.2 pounds for the first month), while the group of regular numerical-scale users gained 0.91 percent.

Can I use Shapa without a membership?

+Do I need an active subscription to use Shapa? Yes, all current features including the weigh-in experience require an active subscription. This applies to scales purchased directly from Shapa as a gift or for yourself as well as Shapa scales purchased second hand.

How do you use the Shapa scale?

  1. Order your Shapa scale and membership.
  2. Order now.
  3. Download the Shapa app from the App Store or Google Play Store.
  4. Create a new Shapa account or log in to an existing account.
  5. Answer questions about your personality, habits, and environment.
  6. Turn on bluetooth on your mobile device.
  7. Start stepping on your Shapa daily!

At what weight do you get hospitalized for anorexia?

One Place for Treatment Admission criteria require that patients be less than 70 percent of their ideal body weight, or have a body mass index (BMI) below 15. In a woman who is 5 feet 4 inches tall, that’s about 85 pounds.

What BMI is dangerously underweight?

There are also different tiers of anorexia based on BMI ranging from mild (<17.5), moderate (16-16.99), and severe (15-15.99), to extreme (<15). A BMI below 13.5 can lead to organ failure, while a BMI below 12 can be life-threatening.

Why do people become anorexic?

The exact cause of anorexia is unknown. As with many diseases, it’s probably a combination of biological, psychological and environmental factors. Biological. Although it’s not yet clear which genes are involved, there may be genetic changes that make some people at higher risk of developing anorexia.

Why you should ignore the scale?

While the scale can tell you how much you weigh, there’s something more important you need to know: your body composition. While many of us focus on how many pounds we’re losing, what’s more important is how much fat we’re losing, something the scale can’t discern.

How do I stop being obsessed with the scale?

  1. Deep breaths and a mantra. Take a deep breath before you weigh yourself and repeat this mantra, “The scale will not change how I feel about myself.” Repeat it until you believe it.
  2. Weigh yourself no more than once per day.
  3. Numbers don’t reflect fat and muscle.

Why you should not use a scale?

Being hung up on the number on the scale can lead to obsessing about food and your body, lower self-esteem, negative body image, repeated weight loss and regain (which is tied to higher morbidity and mortality), eating disorders and more.

What does blue mean on shapa?

Instead of your weight, the app displays your “Shapa Color.” Blue and green mean you’re losing weight, while gray means you need to step up your game.

How is shapa age calculated?

Your Shapa Age takes into account both the age and weight you said you felt your healthiest. You provided this feedback during the initial assessment when first getting started with Shapa. As you make progress towards your weight and health goals you’ll see your Shapa Age change.

How do I reset my shapa scale?

Your Mission History, Activity Tracker, and Weigh-in History will all stay current. If you are ready to reset your Shapa Color you’ll find this option in the app under the side menu > Settings > Reset my Shapa Color.

How does shapa measure fat?

The scale records the fat percentage on the Shapa app. We run a smart algorithm on the app to show the most accurate body fat percentage and present that in the Shapa app as opposed to other scales which may show the extreme variances and fluctuations to body fat that can occur with outlier measurements being recorded.

How do I cancel my shapa subscription?

You may cancel your Account at any time by sending an email to [email protected].

How do you get blue on Shapa?

Make sure that you have Bluetooth enabled on your smartphone. The scale syncs with app via Bluetooth (the light behind the S on the scale will turn blue when the app and scale are syncing). Try turning the Bluetooth ‘off’ and then back ‘on’ again on your phone, then step back up on your Shapa scale.

When does anorexia become serious?

The disorder is diagnosed when a person weighs at least 15% less than their normal/ideal body weight. Extreme weight loss in people with anorexia nervosa can lead to dangerous health problems and even death.

At what BMI do you get Hospitalised?

for hospitalization: BMI < 13 is an indicatior for certification under the Mental Health Act if the patient refuses admission although BMI < 13 alone is not enough for admission.

How do anorexics tube feed?

A form of enteral feeding, the NG tube is inserted through the nostril, down the esophagus and into the stomach, where nutrition is delivered directly at a volume and frequency based on the metabolic needs of the patient.

At what BMI do periods stop?

Infrequent Periods The greater your BMI (typically in the obesity range over 35), the more likely you are to miss your period. It is even possible to stop bleeding altogether, a condition known as secondary amenorrhea.

Craving More Content?

Eating Disorder Resources