After several weekends of too much beer and barbecue and not enough exercise, I go with the Bill Burr body image motivational system: I take my shirt off, look at myself in the mirror and start fat-shaming myself.

This method isn't for everyone, of course, and die-hard fitness nuts might prefer a more data-based assessment of how their body has changed given recent exercise and diet changes. Stepping on a scale can tell you you've gained weight, but can't tell you precisely where. Thus a company called ShapeScale has developed a personal 3D scanning machine that provides greater detail about your body:

As depicted, the machine seems it would be useful (or depressing, in my case) for displaying that kind of data and changes over time. But as we all know, a concept video is one thing and real-world reviews are another. As the ShapeScale will not be released until this fall, it's impossible to say whether the machine is worth the price.

The price, by the way, is $299--or $599, or somewhere in between, depending on what option you go with. What's not mentioned in the video is that the software that generates the scans will not be with you, but will be up in ShapeScale's cloud, and available on a subscription basis of $9.99 or $12.99 depending on whether you want to be billed annually or monthly. That's assuming you've paid $299 for the machine. If you spend $599, there's no subscription required and you get lifetime access to the app.

Lastly, those are pre-order prices. That $299 and $599 jump to $499 and $899, respectively, if you order after the ShapeScale has hit the market.

I can't help but think that $899 buys a lot of barbecued chicken and IPA's, but admittedly I'm not the target market.

Fitness nuts among you, what say you?