Being weighed at the doctors...
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I don't think it matters. The GP is trying to establish whether you're a) within healthy parameters, which you almost certainly are, and b) how/if your weight changes over time. I always weigh heavier at the doctor's, due to food/shoes/my glasses/how much coffee I've chugged/any other silly example.
The gym scale, however, weighs me at 11lb heavier wearing less/lighter clothes than I wear in everyday life and on an empty stomach at 6am. That IS a conspiracy4 -
I think that the doctor knows that your clothes have some weight, and that you will weigh less in the morning naked than you might in the afternoon fully clothed especially if you are wearing shoes. Unless your weight is the issue that you are seeing your doctor about I don't think a few pounds one way or the other makes a difference. As far as people being honest, I don't know that I agree with that. I would probably give an honest weight now, but before I lost 43 pounds I probably would have told them I weighed 5 pounds less than I really did if they asked and didn't weigh me.0
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I'm a nurse and most people pretty blatantly lie about their weight. Not a huge deal at a doctors office but in the ICU where we titrate and dose medications based on weight I'm not using the honor system lol. If it bothers you just decline to get weighed. A 5 lb difference at the doctors office isn't a big deal.7
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Our medical techs/nurses adjust for our clothes. So if I walk in with shoes/socks/jeans/top/jacket, they deduct a full 5 lbs off. If I'm in shorts, sandles, tank top, they take off 3lbs. Sometimes when I'm in ALL THE TIME, they just ask me what my weight is cuz they know I track every day. if they have me step on theirr scale & I tell them what I weighed in the morning, they look at their scale & what I've said & say, "yep, you're scale is right on the money" and put my home scale weight down.
I think I'd be pissed to see them write 140 if I was 135. We work so freakin' hard to get where we want to be that seeing an accurate number is a victory.0 -
I often used to refuse to get weighed at the dr. My weight is a sensitive subject, and if I am there for a sore throat I don't think my weight is relevant. Now that I'm losing, I'll tell my primary care dr what I weighed at home, but I don't like getting weighed on multiple scales.1
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If it really bothers you, maybe next time bring your personal scale with you to the doctor's office. That way you can rule out out any discrepancies between your doctor's scale and yours. Might give you peace of mind.2
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kimdawnhayden wrote: »I think the Doctor's offices have a conspiracy with their scales. I always weigh more there. Just shake it off.
If there isn't a discrepancy between your naked morning weight at home and your clothed, presumably fed weight at your doctor's, one of the scales is wrong.3 -
The frequency with which you are weighing yourself at home along with your reaction to being weighed at the doctors office seems OTT, in my opinion. Maybe it's time to think about how much value YOU are placing on that number.1
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Blondeeee25 wrote: »Hey everyone! I recently was weighed at the doctors and it made me think about some things. My home scale is calibrated every time
Before I use it and so I know it is correct ( within a lb). When I use it I weigh naked and in the morning. After just breakfast my weight is up 3 lbs and my clothes have never weighed less than 2lb when I experimented weighing before and after getting dressed. This is 5 lb of weight that is not even me... My weight always is back to normal or less in the morning. At the doctors their " just calibrated scale" showed this 5 lb difference and the nurse didn't hesitate to write it down without even considering all the clothes and food in my stomach. This doesn't seem accurate to weigh patients this way. Why do doctors even do it? Most people including me are very honest and would be happy to tell them what # the scale actually said that morning. I weigh myself morning and night ( for tracking purposes) and so I know my weight is more accurate than theirs, but they need to write down something. It's just really humiliating to be told I weigh 140 when I really know I'm 135. The doctor even commented saying " why would you have written down your weight as so much lower than the scale said?" .. First off, five pounds is not a lot especially for an athlete like me who eats a huge breakfast and I drink a gallon of water every morning I run ( which alone weighs 8 lbs). She's not considering I did weigh myself but before I ate my huge breakfast and frank half a gallon of water and then put on 2 lb of clothes ? Anyone else know this frustration? Do you ever comment back or do you keep your mouth shut like I did? I knew I was right so I didn't feel the need to argue with someone so clueless.
I didn't feel humiliated when the scale at my doctor said 240 and don't understand why you have an issue with 140.
The doctor's office knows you weigh more after eating and dressing. Plus, it's 140 vs 135. I'm concerned that you have so much self-esteem wrapped up in these five pounds.7 -
The doctor even commented saying " why would you have written down your weight as so much lower than the scale said?"
That's the part that would bother me, OP, as it sounds judgmental.1 -
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The doctor even commented saying " why would you have written down your weight as so much lower than the scale said?"
That's the part that would bother me, OP, as it sounds judgmental.
But where is she even writing this? If the nurse wrote it in her chart, did she take the chart and change it? For a couple lbs? Seems like there is information missing here...0 -
OP, I think you are placing way too much importance on a number which is completely ephemeral. I don't know that there is any such thing as your "actual weight" - it's going to vary so may times during the day, due to your activity, your eating and drinking, going to the bathroom and all the processes that happen in your body. Seeing a trend over time is very useful to track changes, but day to day - it's a pretty unimportant number.
I fully expect that different scales are going to weigh slightly differently, and I'd very surprised if there wasn't a difference in weight at a different time of day and different situation (after breakfast, in clothes etc). I really don't know what you expect your doctor to do, open their doors at 6am so you can come in and use their bathroom and then weigh yourself naked?
You should feel good about making changes that make you feel better and/or make you healthier, and a scale number is just one way to reflect that, but it's not the only way, and definitely not the most important.
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nutmegoreo wrote: »The doctor even commented saying " why would you have written down your weight as so much lower than the scale said?"
That's the part that would bother me, OP, as it sounds judgmental.
But where is she even writing this? If the nurse wrote it in her chart, did she take the chart and change it? For a couple lbs? Seems like there is information missing here...
When you fill out paperwork you have to give your weight. So, probably a new patient or updating their information.
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Labyrinthine93 wrote: »nutmegoreo wrote: »The doctor even commented saying " why would you have written down your weight as so much lower than the scale said?"
That's the part that would bother me, OP, as it sounds judgmental.
But where is she even writing this? If the nurse wrote it in her chart, did she take the chart and change it? For a couple lbs? Seems like there is information missing here...
When you fill out paperwork you have to give your weight. So, probably a new patient or updating their information.
Maybe, but why would the doctor say anything over a 5lb difference? It just doesn't add up (in my head).0 -
Op- its five pounds. Not a huge deal. You seem to be really wrapped up in the five pound difference and that could be unhealthy.
My gym scale weighs me +8lbs. My trainer records that weight. Its no biggie. All scales will have different weights . its normal. If your that upset over a five pound difference at the doctors then you may need to take a step back from this for a while. You shouldn't have that much emotion invested into a scale number. I actually weigh 135 also. My doctor says 141. My gym says 143. My moms scale says 133. Each scale will give a different reading and also add in the other variables like clothing and foods in your belly and its easy to see that all scales won't be the same and sometimes you will get higher readings.0 -
Labyrinthine93 wrote: »nutmegoreo wrote: »The doctor even commented saying " why would you have written down your weight as so much lower than the scale said?"
That's the part that would bother me, OP, as it sounds judgmental.
But where is she even writing this? If the nurse wrote it in her chart, did she take the chart and change it? For a couple lbs? Seems like there is information missing here...
When you fill out paperwork you have to give your weight. So, probably a new patient or updating their information.
I've never been asked to write down my weight during a visit. What is the point when they will be weighing me? Do you get a discount if you guess to the exact 1/10 of a pound?
I weighed in at 139.9 pounds this morning. I'm sure glad it wasn't a humiliating 140.5 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »Labyrinthine93 wrote: »nutmegoreo wrote: »The doctor even commented saying " why would you have written down your weight as so much lower than the scale said?"
That's the part that would bother me, OP, as it sounds judgmental.
But where is she even writing this? If the nurse wrote it in her chart, did she take the chart and change it? For a couple lbs? Seems like there is information missing here...
When you fill out paperwork you have to give your weight. So, probably a new patient or updating their information.
Maybe, but why would the doctor say anything over a 5lb difference? It just doesn't add up (in my head).
Beats me. I don't think it's a big deal. I think it's a weird thing to comment on really, I'm skeptical about it. I'm just saying when I see a doctor for the first time the paperwork always asks for height, weight, age, etc.0
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