What scale do you trust most?

Nightmare_Queen88
Nightmare_Queen88 Posts: 304 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I weighed myself the other day and my home bathroom scale said I weighed 218.6. That's a 6.2 lb weight loss in just 7 days. I was excited. But then yesterday I was weighed at the place where I give plasma and it said I weighed 223.7. That's a big difference. So my question is which is more accurate? And keep this mind as well, the first time I weighed myself it was morning and I hadn't had anything to eat. The second time I was weighed, I'd eaten, I'd drank over 300ML of water and I was wearing clothes and shoes. So which one should I say is my current weight?

Replies

  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    The one you use consistently. This way you can see the trends and count on the accuracy. Make sure the batteries are good.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    The first thing in the morning, after bathroom, before food or drink is the most accurate. :)
  • lemonlimelama
    lemonlimelama Posts: 7 Member
    Weigh yourself in the morning is the best. It doesn't matter what the number is down to the pound. Know that especially for women, that number can change a lot based on the time of the month. Using tape measure is a much more accurate way to determine weight loss as well. I use the app "progress" to track all the numbers.
  • Nightmare_Queen88
    Nightmare_Queen88 Posts: 304 Member
    lemonlimelama wrote: »
    Weigh yourself in the morning is the best. It doesn't matter what the number is down to the pound. Know that especially for women, that number can change a lot based on the time of the month. Using tape measure is a much more accurate way to determine weight loss as well. I use the app "progress" to track all the numbers.

    I always weigh myself in the morning before I eat and everything. But I've read that bathroom scales are highly inaccurate. So that's why I was curious as to why the number was so different from the one at that plasma place. I was measuring myself every month but I haven't recently. I'll definitely have to start doing that again. I know I'm losing weight mainly because I've dropped two pant sizes and I can tell just by looking in the mirror.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    Do you think your weight with clothes and shoes on should be considered your actual weight? Of course not. Seems silly doesn't it? Everything from clothes to food to liquids adds weight. I'm 110 pounds but after a day of super indulgence, I weighed myself at night and was 117 pounds. Did I take my new weight as 117? Nope, I let it pass and I was back down to 110-111 again within two days.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    Use the same scale, same conditions each time you weigh. (example: first thing in the morning, right after using the bathroom, no clothes, nothing to eat/drink - basically same time every morning)

    When I get weighed at the gym by my trainer their scale almost always shows me 5 pounds higher because when THEY do it, it's like 4 in the afternoon, I've got clothes and shoes, I've eaten a few times that day, etc. So OF COURSE it's going to be higher. AND it's a different scale than mine. So I don't take that weight all that seriously. I only track mine.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYMNPP2ZR1U
  • TJnTexas
    TJnTexas Posts: 44 Member
    Here is how I look at it: My scale at home is the baseline from which I measure my progress. It is what I use to compare today with yesterday. If I weigh more (or less) on another scale it does not bother me. If I weigh myself consistently on that other scale, I may see "different" numbers for today and yesterday, but the CHANGE is the same, and that is what is important. It does not matter if you measure yourself in pounds on a scale or by the number of acorns it takes to balance a scale - it is your progressive difference that counts (less acorns this week than last week). "Pounds" is merely a unit of measure that lets us compare ourselves to another person ON THE SAME DEVICE. Consistent progress on the same device, under the same conditions (same time of day, same - or no - clothing, etc.) is what is the key.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    I would blame the scale at the plasma place more.
    You have to be over a certain weight to donate (forgot number). Food for thought.
    Also, that scale is used a lot, day after day after day. And does not really need to be accurate.
  • xmichaelyx
    xmichaelyx Posts: 883 Member
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    The one you use consistently. This way you can see the trends and count on the accuracy. Make sure the batteries are good.

    This is all that matters. I don't care how much I weigh; I care that my weight is moving in the direction I want it to.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    The one you use consistently. This way you can see the trends and count on the accuracy. Make sure the batteries are good.

    This ^^

    It's hard to tell which is most correct but if you weigh on the same scale at the same time of day wearing similar (or no) clothing you'll see how much you are losing, even if the actual weight may be off by a few lbs.
  • JLG1986
    JLG1986 Posts: 212 Member
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    The one you use consistently. This way you can see the trends and count on the accuracy. Make sure the batteries are good.

    +1 to this. Your scale is telling your weight loss story even if another scale somewhere else (and don't forget that in the doctor's office you may be wearing shoes, more clothing, or it's at a different time of day) says a different weight.

    That being said, I do check my scale's accuracy occasionally by stepping on an off several times in a row. I expect it to keep saying the same weight. If it doesn't, there might be a problem with one of the load cells or it needs new batteries.
  • Nightmare_Queen88
    Nightmare_Queen88 Posts: 304 Member
    Thanks guys. I'll keep all of that in mind next time I donate and get weighed. In fact I won't even bother looking at the number on their scale. :) I'm trying to only weigh myself once a month or every two weeks anyways.
  • Nightmare_Queen88
    Nightmare_Queen88 Posts: 304 Member
    JanetYellen wrote: »
    I would blame the scale at the plasma place more.
    You have to be over a certain weight to donate (forgot number). Food for thought.
    Also, that scale is used a lot, day after day after day. And does not really need to be accurate.

    I actually thought about that. And yeah you're right. Besides I remember going from one scale to another in there and the numbers being different. That definitely makes me feel better. :)
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    I trust the one at my company's asphalt lab the most. It's calibrated every few months. ;)
  • paulandrachelk
    paulandrachelk Posts: 280 Member
    I use Omron and depend only on that scale at home.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    My at home scale, the one I use every morning is my mother ship scale.

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