Dodgy scales giving a different number EVERY time?

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philipak9099
philipak9099 Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So on Saturday morning I was really happy thinking I'd got down to my first goal weight of 8stone13, stepped on and off the scale 2/3 times as I always do to make sure and it was the same each time. Then yesterday I weighed myself and I'd gone up to 9stone1, but when I stepped on and off it changed every time sometimes went down by about 4 pounds and then up.. thought I may have gained some water weight so drank lots yesterday to flush it out and weighed again today.. same again, it was different every time I stepped on going from 8stone9 to 9stone3 and pretty much every number in between. I only got the scales recently (from amazon for £10) they had pretty good reviews so thought they'd be fine.. but this doesn't seem right? do i need new scales or have i gained 3 pounds in 4 days??? I've been eating exactly the same amounts and exercising more than I was last week so why the gain?

What scales are good and reliable - think I'll spend a bit more and buy from a shop next time..

Replies

  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    Your body can fluctuate 1-5lbs in a day, so it may just be natural fluctuation (8-13 to 9-1). Try the scales with known weights i.e 5kg and see what they measure. An 8lb range you talk about (8-9 to9-3) seems too much and would have me doubting the scales.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    try changing the batteries

    or send them back as defective - amazon are pretty good

    I always step on my scales up to 3 times (rebalancing in between each one - and they're expensive Salter digital scales) I take the first reading that comes up 3 times - I often have daily fluctuations of 1 - 2 lbs due to exercise, sodium, hormones

    I find it interesting - you're best looking at overall trends over weeks and months

    trendweight.com is quite good for that or other sites
  • fluffyasacat
    fluffyasacat Posts: 242 Member
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    Assuming these are digital scales...

    Weigh on a hard surface, never on carpet. Even floorboards which have a little bounce are not great. I'm sure the batteries are fine as they're brand new scales. Always put your feel dead centre. Mark an outline with a pair of flip flops if you like, to make sure your feet are in the same place each time (although maybe not if you're considering returning them to Amazon...). If you're still getting huge variations, I say return them!

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