Frustrated by a Difference in Scales

Dozrzz

Hey everyone!
So my job is doing a Weight Loss Challenge where we weigh in each week and whoever loses the largest percentage of weight by the end of the challenge (10 weeks) wins some money.

So I joined thinking this would be a good way to motivate myself and stay accountable.

This was the first weigh in after our initial weigh in and I am somewhat frustrated at the difference between the weigh-in on my scale at home and the weigh-in on the scale at work.

At home it said that I had lost 3 pounds this first week. This was weighing myself first thing in the morning before eating/drinking anything.

Weigh in at work is different because I have already had breakfast and I drink coffee and/or water in the morning already. According to my weigh-in on the work scale I only lost 0.8 pounds the first week.

I would expect the weights themselves to be different consider it is a different time of day and I am wearing clothes/shoes at work. But I would have at least thought that the amount I lost would be similar.

Any thoughts on this? Or suggestions. Has anyone had a similar experience?

MscGray

well my home scale is mean, and my gym scale is much gentler! So perhaps some of the difference that your experiencing is strictly based on the calibration of the scales.

SingRunTing

Like you said, time of day and clothing matter. Also, you had food and more water in your system than you did at home.

Is there any way that you could wait until after the weigh ins to eat? I understand if it's at 11am or something not wanting to wait, but if you weigh in at 9am or so, I would wait to eat.

Dozrzz

Waiting to eat is ok. It is harder to wait before I drink anything...especially my coffee.

But my initial weigh in at work was also after drinking/eating. So I figured I still should have shown a similar weight loss from that weight since it was at a similar time...

kr1stadee

Take your breakfast with you? Eat after you get on the scale.

It's different, yes, but if you keep everything the same (what you eat, drink, wear), the measurement will be consistent.

SergeantSausage

If you ingest a pound of food and liquid between two weighings where you haven't had a chance to evacuate anything ... what do you think that pound of food/liquid does to your weight?

Water's pretty heavy (8+ pounds a gallon). I can easily put on 2 pounds in coffee in a 50-minute commute to work, right? And that's without actually eating anything.

inchwormbyinchworm

I wouldn't put off breakfast just for a scale. Most advice out there recommends a protein and dietary fiber breakfast. Better to take the reading in stride. Yeah, the money would be nice -- but the true reward of eating right and exercise is your health! That is great that your workplace is supporting weight loss! You can turn down treats without stigma. Good luck!

Sued0nim

Gosh, competitive weight loss worries me .. perhaps unduly .. but it feels wrong

that said, I very much hope this works for you and you enjoy it

Unknown

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pamd352

Could be the type of flooring each scale is on also. I've noticed a 5 +/- difference depending on where I put my scale at home. and if I put it on carpet I weigh 30 pounds less. woo hoo!!

RavenLibra

this is exactly why weight is NOT the best gauge of success... IF you want a meaningful metric Y'all should take meaurements and consider inches lost and NOT lbs... heck... a person could cheat the scale simply by deyhydrating themselves for 2-3 days in advance of the final weigh in... Competitive fighters do it all the time. WHY not for a few bucks ? BUT measurements won't lie.

jasonmh630

Also... Remember at work you wouldn't weigh in naked like you would at home lol. Depending on what you wear, your clothes could weigh up to 5 pounds. Are you saying you would have thought your initial weigh in at work and this weigh in would be similar, or are you literally comparing your home weigh in to your work weigh in? If it's the latter, I'm sure you could chock it up to clothing. On top of that, every scale will give you a different reading... A friend and I have the exact same scale and the weights differ by up to a half pound.

krdews

Our sales team did a biggest loser for 4 years and I was the person doing the weigh-in tracking. Most people weighed in immediately upon arrival and some did grumble about the difference; however they knew full well that any fluid or food would tip scale as well as clothing. We had three payouts of 10% of the pot and then remaining 70% at the end. On the payout dates when the total lost really mattered - some people would fast the day before, on the day of some would go to the gym on their lunch break workout, sit in the sauna and most would wear the same light weight clothing on weigh-in day. So my advice, do what you need to do to make the scale at work reflect your weight-loss on those specific dates.

SergeantSausage

krdews wrote: »

Our sales team did a biggest loser for 4 years and I was the person doing the weigh-in tracking. Most people weighed in immediately upon arrival and some did grumble about the difference; however they knew full well that any fluid or food would tip scale as well as clothing. We had three payouts of 10% of the pot and then remaining 70% at the end. On the payout dates when the total lost really mattered - some people would fast the day before, on the day of some would go to the gym on their lunch break workout, sit in the sauna and most would wear the same light weight clothing on weigh-in day. So my advice, do what you need to do to make the scale at work reflect your weight-loss on those specific dates.

It also pays dividends to weigh heavy at initial weigh in.

I've gamed that system before, too.

Dozrzz

jasonmh630 wrote: »

Also... Remember at work you wouldn't weigh in naked like you would at home lol. Depending on what you wear, your clothes could weigh up to 5 pounds. Are you saying you would have thought your initial weigh in at work and this weigh in would be similar, or are you literally comparing your home weigh in to your work weigh in? If it's the latter, I'm sure you could chock it up to clothing. On top of that, every scale will give you a different reading... A friend and I have the exact same scale and the weights differ by up to a half pound.

I am trying to compare the first work weigh in to the second work weigh in.

So basically:
Work Weigh In 1 to Work Weigh In 2 : I only lost 0.8 pounds. Both would have been in similar clothes and after similar amounts of coffee.

At Home Weigh In 1 to At Home Weigh In 2 : I lost 3 pounds.

These weigh ins were all on the same dates. I am not comparing the at home weight to the at work weight, I am just comparing the loss over the week. It is making me question if my scale at home is accurate.

Dozrzz

krdews wrote: »

Our sales team did a biggest loser for 4 years and I was the person doing the weigh-in tracking. Most people weighed in immediately upon arrival and some did grumble about the difference; however they knew full well that any fluid or food would tip scale as well as clothing. We had three payouts of 10% of the pot and then remaining 70% at the end. On the payout dates when the total lost really mattered - some people would fast the day before, on the day of some would go to the gym on their lunch break workout, sit in the sauna and most would wear the same light weight clothing on weigh-in day. So my advice, do what you need to do to make the scale at work reflect your weight-loss on those specific dates.

Yeah, I've thought about that. But I am not so worried about "winning." I am more concerned about the accuracy of my scale and trying to figure out why one set shows a 3 pound loss and the other only shows a 0.8 pound loss.

ransaka

I'd always just use the same one in the same conditions (for example, 1st thing in the morning at home, once a week before getting dressed) or it will end up driving you mad. Don't put yourself through it. As long as the one you choose shows you going down steadily over time it's all a win

leggup

Dozrzz wrote: »

jasonmh630 wrote: »

Also... Remember at work you wouldn't weigh in naked like you would at home lol. Depending on what you wear, your clothes could weigh up to 5 pounds. Are you saying you would have thought your initial weigh in at work and this weigh in would be similar, or are you literally comparing your home weigh in to your work weigh in? If it's the latter, I'm sure you could chock it up to clothing. On top of that, every scale will give you a different reading... A friend and I have the exact same scale and the weights differ by up to a half pound.

I am trying to compare the first work weigh in to the second work weigh in.

So basically:
Work Weigh In 1 to Work Weigh In 2 : I only lost 0.8 pounds. Both would have been in similar clothes and after similar amounts of coffee.

At Home Weigh In 1 to At Home Weigh In 2 : I lost 3 pounds.

These weigh ins were all on the same dates. I am not comparing the at home weight to the at work weight, I am just comparing the loss over the week. It is making me question if my scale at home is accurate.

Your weight also fluctuates throughout the day. Maybe you weighed in high for for "At Home Weigh In 1" because you had recently had a bowel movement/peed for an extra long amount of time. Maybe you were retaining water from hormones/salt consumption that week. For At Home Weigh In 2, maybe you were dehydrated. Maybe you had recently had a bowel movement. Maybe you had recently had a low amount of sodium.

Weight fluctuates. If you are concerned that your home scale is not weighing you accurately, try weighing a known weight on it, like a 5 lb weight. Make sure you're weighing on a level surface with no give (no carpet or spongy bath mat).

fatcity66

Maybe you were wearing heavier clothes this time? It could be anything, really. I would try not to stress over it, as long as the overall trend is downward.

ttcbelieve

Dozrzz wrote: »

Weigh in at work is different because I have already had breakfast and I drink coffee and/or water in the morning already. According to my weigh-in on the work scale I only lost 0.8 pounds the first week.

I would expect the weights themselves to be different consider it is a different time of day and I am wearing clothes/shoes at work. But I would have at least thought that the amount I lost would be similar.

Dozrzz wrote: »

Yeah, I've thought about that. But I am not so worried about "winning." I am more concerned about the accuracy of my scale and trying to figure out why one set shows a 3 pound loss and the other only shows a 0.8 pound loss.

Hello ....My two cents
Based on your response there really is no difference in the two scales technically. I normally take my weight at night before i go to bed and first thing in the morning after i get up and use the bathroom. This is my experience and it makes sense to me. If i take my weight first thing in the morning after the bathroom and it says 150, and i have a glass of water within the hour and take my measurement on the same scale, it says 151, i put on clothes within the same hour, depending on the clothes i could be looking at 153/154.

Quite frankly, i am surprised that the only difference between home weigh(before eating/drinking anything) and work weight in after clothes, breakfast and coffee/water is only 2.2. I would have expected it to be more.

This is my recommendation. Simple put you need to be consistent and make equitable comparisons. You have 2 options. At anytime and to set a bench mark

1) Do your weighin at home in clothes before weigh in, don't eat anything get to work and weigh in on the work scale. This will allow you to be able to set an equitable bench mark and will verify if the two scales are near equal. allow for some variation..at least 0.5 difference
Or
2) Weigh in at home after your cloths, breakfast, coffee/water and then do the same at work. This sets your bench mark. allow for some variation..at least 0.5 difference


PIck one, decide which one to use consistently, then for your next "official" weigh in, your readings at home should be close to your work scale.

Hope this helps, goodluck
Iyaye