Frequently Asked Questions

Many programs can help you to lose weight. A net 3,500-calorie reduction will cause you to lose 1 pound of weight, regardless of how it's achieved. The simple equation for weight loss doesn't take into account individual nutritional needs or sustainability.

We are focused on your long-term results, not just a short-term dip. To achieve weight stability and improve long-term health, it's critical that your initial weight loss is achieved in a way that is sustainable. We help you make better daily choices within the specific challenges in your life, so that those new positive habits can be sustained over the long haul.

To retrofit means to modify something, to make it stronger or better equipped to handle the environment in which it operates. We give you the equipment and tools to better handle your life - a Wi-Fi scale, a wireless activity monitor, and dashboard that brings all of your data together in one place. We also equip you with a team of experts who tailor your program to your needs. Our goal is to replace your current eating habits and activity level with improved strategies for fueling your body with the nutrition it needs, a fitness plan that will increase your total physical performance and motivation to keep your healthy habits for the long term.

Each team is made up of experts who are highly educated and experienced in the 3 core areas that drive successful weight loss: nutrition, mindset and physical activity. You will be assigned a Registered Dietitian, Behavior Coach and Exercise Physiologist. Your team will be based on your personal needs to make sure you get the highest possible level of support.

We love data and we think you will too. It helps you see exactly where you are succeeding and where you may need to focus some attention. We use two devices. The wireless activity tracker is a tiny little pedometer that comes in your welcome kit and is discreet and easy to use. We think it's fashionable enough to clip on the corner of our pockets and compete for steps at work, but if you want to be more quiet about it, you can clip it on your undergarments or the waistband of boxers or briefs, or even on your bra strap. This little device counts steps, calories burned and some measures of sleep restfulness. The second device is a Wi-Fi enabled scale that takes a measurement of your current weight as well as your body fat percentage. Stepping on it once a day takes just a few seconds and displays your information on the scale while it automatically logs your data on your private Retrofit Dashboard. These devices are delivered in your welcome kit during the first week of your program.

No! It isn't waterproof. Do not swim, bathe or sweat profusely while wearing the device or you will ruin it and that would be sad.

The surface of the scale is covered with an invisible layer of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide), a conductive layer, to enable the Fat Percentage feature through a bioelectric impedence analysis. Because fat and muscle conduct electric current in different ways, the scale is able to make a fairly accurate calculation of your body fat percentage. Don't worry, you won't feel any electric current - it's completely harmless (unless you have a Pacemaker or other implanted device, in which case, you should not use this scale.)

To have the most consistent measurement from day to day, we recommend that you weigh yourself without any clothes. This is to ensure your clothing doesn't influence the measurement. You can wear clothes and get a measurement, but as noted, it will influence that measurement. In order to get a valid measurement for the body composition analysis, you need to be barefoot so that the scale can perform the bioelectric impedance analysis.

The weight limit of the Fitbit^® Aria™ Wi-Fi smart scale is 350 lbs, or 159 kg.

Research has consistently shown that 10% weight loss drives some terrific health improvements. See links to research supporting the benefits of 10% below. Reference

Numerous studies show that weight loss, even if only 5-10%, significantly improves lipoproteins, [28] [29] hypertension, [30] DM and insulin resistance, [31] risk for osteoarthritis and its symptoms, [32] risk for selected cancers, [33] and other risk factors for chronic diseases. [34] Reference

The good news is that no matter what your weight loss goal is, even a modest weight loss, such as 5 to 10 percent of your total body weight, is likely to produce health benefits such as improvements in blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugars. Reference

The rationale for this initial goal is that even moderate weight loss, i.e., 10 percent of initial body weight, can significantly decrease the severity of obesity-associated risk factors. It can also set the stage for further weight loss, if indicated. Reference

By losing just 10 percent of your body weight, you can lower your cholesterol and reduce your blood pressure, says G. Ken Goodrick, PhD, psychologist and associate professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Reference

"Lifestyle changes that include healthier diets, regular physical activity and weight loss of 7%-10% have shown phenomenal health benefits that can be more effective than medications," says David Katz, MD, MPH, director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center and of the Yale Preventive Medicine Center.

"We have seen a consistent pattern in our weight loss studies that when patients lose 5%-10% of their body weight, they lower blood pressure, reduce LDL ["bad"] cholesterol, improve glucose tolerance, and, in general, lower the risk for cardiovascular disease," says Catherine Champagne, a researcher with Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Reference

Even a small weight loss (just 5-10 percent of your current weight) will help to lower your risk of developing weight-related diseases. Reference

For a person who weighs 200 pounds, a 10 percent weight loss equals 20 pounds, bringing the person's weight down to 180 pounds. This modest weight loss can reap health benefits even if this new weight is still in the overweight or obese range for the person's height, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Risk factors associated with obesity can be significantly decreased by a moderate weight loss such as 10 percent of initial body weight, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The Department of Health and Human Services adds that achieving this initial weight loss goal helps lower the risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, some cancers and osteoporosis. The CDC indicates that a 10 percent weight loss also improves blood cholesterol. Reference

It could be called the 10 percent solution: in recent years a steady stream of research has found that losing as little as 10 percent of body weight, or sometimes even less, has a disproportionately positive effect in improving health. Small weight losses significantly reduce the risk of a wide range of illnesses that have been linked to obesity, from heart disease and diabetes to some kinds of cancer.

In one national study, for example, patients who lost a mere 7 percent of their total body weight reduced their risk for diabetes by 58 percent. A study in Finland found the same benefit with only a 5 percent weight loss. Similar improvements have been documented for hypertension and even sleep apnea.

Retrofit makes logging and communication with your experts easy while you're on the go. Our mobile app is designed to work on the following devices and operating systems:

• iPhone - iPhone 4 through 6. (Safari browser is supported. Chrome browser is not supported on iOS).
• iPad - iPad 1 with iOS 5.1, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad Mini, and iPad Air. (Safari browser is supported. Chrome browser is not supported on iOS). Note: The iPad can access the full Retrofit dashboard. However, you may use the iPhone app if you wish.
• Android - phones and tablets that have an Android version of 4.0 and higher. Other Android versions may work, but not all versions are currently supported. Android note: Our website is best viewed using the Chrome browser. Not all features will work with the older Android browser, including choosing pictures already taken. Please download the free Chrome app from your app marketplace.

Sorry, we had to draw the line somewhere. The following devices are not supported: Blackberry, Windows phone, Kindle Fire. The Retrofit app is not available for these devices. Note: Although these devices are not officially supported or monitored, you will still likely be able to have full access of our web site through the device's web browser.

Learn more about how you might partner with us by sending an email to .

Retrofit provides weight management solutions to many of the Fortune Best Companies to Work For. To learn more about how we can help your company, email .

While they may look like fitness models, most of the people featured on our website are real, unpaid Retrofit clients who agreed to share their image and stories to help others looking for a way to lose weight for good.

Our customer service line is available at 800-774-5962, Monday through Friday, 8am - 8pm Central Standard Time.