Worker Meal Delivery Promotion: Free Withings Body Scan Scale valued at $200

I will admit To fear the scale, which weighs you, and not the one on the snake. And so my first reaction to the idea that I would be getting a free body scan scale by subscribing to Factor’s takeaway kit was something closer to “Oh no!”

I thought it was always bad news or shameful, and probably nothing I didn’t already know. Although, as it turned out, I was wrong on both points.

The factor, of course, is the meal kit brand from meal kit giant HelloFresh, which I tested while reviewing dozens of meal kits last year. Think of dinners delivered on TV, but actually fresh and never frozen. Factor meals are supposed to be cooked in the microwave, but I found when I reviewed Factor last year that the meals taste much better if you air fry them (it’s best to use the Ninja Crispi, which is the best reheater I know).

In particular, Factor excels at a low-carb, high-protein diet that has become equally popular among people who want to lose weight and people who love to lift it. Hence this measure. Factor would like you to be able to track your progress in gaining muscle mass, losing fat, or both. The agent is then supposed to continue to be used to achieve fitness or health goals.

While your first week of worker comes at a discounted price right now, regular-priced meals will run $14-$15 per meal, plus $11 shipping per box. That’s less than most restaurant delivery, but certainly more than if you were preparing these meals yourself.

If you subscribe between now and the end of March, the Third Factor Meal Box will come with a free Withings Body Comp scale, which generally retails for up to $200. The Withings doesn’t just weigh you down. It scans your fat, bone and muscle percentages, and indirectly measures stress levels and blood vessel elasticity. It’s actually WIRED’s favorite smart scale, and it’s like a fitness watch for your feet.

Anyway, to get the deal, use code CONWITHINGS on the Factor website, or follow the promo code link below.

Is it my body?

The scale that comes with a Factor subscription is as fancy as it gets: the $200 Body Comp scale from high-tech fitness monitoring company Withings. The scale uses bioelectrical impedance analysis and some other proprietary methods to measure not only your weight but also your body fat percentage, lean muscle mass, visceral fat, bone and water mass, pulse rate, and even arterial stiffness.

To get all this information, all you have to do is stand on the scale for a few minutes. The scale will identify you based on your weight (you’ll need to be accurate in describing yourself when setting up your profile for this to work), then cycle through a series of measurements before giving you a cheery weather report for the day.

Withings

Smart body scale

Your electrical activity — “skin response via stimulation of the sweat gland in your feet” — provides a measure of stress, or at least arousal. Withings also aims to measure the age, or stiffness, of your arteries by the speed of your blood with each heartbeat. This sounds esoteric, but it has some scientific backing.

Note that many doctors caution against taking indirect measurements of body composition as gospel. Other doctors say previous “gold standard” measurements aren’t entirely accurate either. It’s a big debate. For me, I tend to take smart measurements as a convenient way to track progress, and also as a good at-home indicator when there’s an issue that might require attention from a doctor.

And of course I was terrified. Too much bad news to get in all at once! I expected that.