Book Review: ‘Friends with the Scale’ by Linda Spangle, R.N., M.A.

Have you ever noticed that the majority of weight-loss plans are the same? Keep track of your calories, get lots of regular exercise, eat mostly complex carbohydrates (vegetables and fruit), choose lean protein, limit grains to whole grains, and skip processed foods, refined sugar, and chemical additives. Boom! I just saved you endless amounts of money and time.

But having read and reviewed dozens of weight-management books, imagine my surprise to find one that’s totally different, unique, fresh, and original. It’s the new book by nationally esteemed weight-loss coach and bestselling author Linda Spangle, R.N., M.A., called Friends with the Scale: How to Turn Your Scale into a Powerful Weight Loss Tool (SunQuest Media, 2014). It’s not surprising that Spangle’s new book would be such a gem. It follows in the footsteps of her award-winning book, Life Is Hard, Food Is Easy,which has been a top seller for several years, as well as her hit title, 100 Days of Weight Loss, which also received national acclaim.

Spangle is the founder of Weight Loss for Life, a healthy lifestyles coaching and training program located in Denver, which boasts a remarkable 90 percent success rate—far exceeding the national average. The reason for her success, and the appeal of her new book as well, is that Spangle doesn’t tell people what to eat or how to diet. Instead, she helps people change their behaviors around emotional eating, motivation, exercising, self-sabotage, and other areas that are universal to every dieter, no matter what plan, book, or program they follow.

This time around, she focuses on one of the most fraught symbols of self-esteem, progress, anxiety, and frustration: the bathroom scale. In Friends with the Scale, Spangle shows readers how to use the bathroom scale as the helpful tool it was intended to be, and how to change their morning weigh-in ritual into one of the most positive and motivating moments of their day.

Like her previous books, this one is filled with tips and strategies in every chapter. Readers learn, for example, times they should never step on the scale (after being sick, for instance, or after traveling), and many surprising factors that can make the number on the scale go up, such as over-exercising or hot humid weather. Didn’t you always wonder how your weight could go up by 2 pounds in a single day? What’s that about? Spangle explains what the number on the scale really means, shows how to “read” it and track one’s true progress, and introduces an entirely new way to make the scale an integral, daily part of your weight-loss or weight-management routine. She offers tricks to move the scale when weight loss stagnates, secrets for managing the dreaded scale at the doctor’s office, and suggests interesting rituals and new behaviors that greatly improve success.

Unlike other “weight loss” books, this one is based on the success of thousands of real-life clients. Friends with the Scale delivers a step-by-step way to get motivated, stay on track, and learn about one’s own metabolism, weight-loss patterns, and behaviors using the scale as a helper rather than an obsession.

If you or someone you know is trying to lose weight, whether it’s through one of the national weight loss programs or by following the latest fad, this book is a must. Why? Because when used correctly, your scale will become your best ally and actually help you maintain a healthier attitude, set of behaviors, and lifestyle.

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