Erratic Scale

Rilzy

I have pretty much gone off using the scale. I am going to buy a measuring tape next week and have started taking photos which I will take ever so often. But at the same time I am afraid that if I don't have some idea of my weight I will either eat too much or too little calories. Last Sunday when my trainer weighed me at the gym after my workout the scale showed 152. I completely refused to believe it because I knew I had not been eating healthily and my previous weigh in at the doctor was 164. There was no way in heck I would have lost that much weight in the intervening three weeks when I ate like a slob even though I had gone to the gym three times per week. So I randomly used 158 as my current weight when I began MFP. Yesterday after six days of working out and eating properly I took to the scale at the gym again and it showed 158. Either means I am excellent at guessing and that was my actual weight and I didn't lose any or I weighed more and I had some loss. Not too concerned right now as my fitness has definitely got a bit better (I no longer want to jump out the window half way through my workouts lol). However, I am pretty worried that the scale could be so off. How do I trust it? And, if I decide to consider the scale irrelevant how would I be able to properly gauge what I should eat. Going to weigh before my workout today to see if it is basically the same as yesterday since this might give me a bit more confidence.
Side note: I doubt it is water weight or muscle tone (weight lifting starts next week, wanted to ease into things). But mostly because both of those envisage a correct first reading but I think it was wrong.
Sorry I rambled. The question really is how do I workout my calories without relying too much on the scale?

Lupercalia

Nobody can really say for sure what your scale issue is caused by, but it's totally normal to see crazy fluctuations like that--both between different scales, and even the same exact scale. When you weigh (time of day, time of month, pre/post exercise, pre/post shower, etc), what you were wearing when you stepped on the scale, your hydration levels, your stomach/bowel contents (sorry), etc. etc. etc. all factor in to scale weights, which is why the scale is just not really the best predictor of progress or lack of progress.

Using your measuring tape and photos, and also going by the way your clothing fits is really a much better way to see what's going on with your body--it's great that you're already thinking that way.

My scale has fluctuated over a 10 lb range this past week--it's usually not that wide of a range for me--I usually stay within 4 pounds or so. I'm chalking it up to water retention due to the heat, as nothing else has really changed, and I've somehow gained and lost amazing amounts of weight overnight, haha.

You can work out your calories by figuring out your TDEE and then subtracting 10 or 15% from it to get the amount of calories you need to eat each day to lose fat. It shouldn't be terribly different if you use 158 vs. 152...you could even go somewhere in the middle of those two weights if it makes you feel a bit "safer". If you want to use MFP's calculations, I would just set the goal to be .5-1 lb loss per week (you don't have a lot of weight to lose, relatively speaking). Make sure you enter all your exercise and eat back most or all of those calories burned from exercise, as MFP directs you to do. Either way you calculate your goal (via TDEE- or MFP) it should work out to be a pretty similar amount of calories in the end.

shadus

Using a scale for reasonable accuracy 101:

1) Weigh yourself once a week on the same day each week (this helps eliminate daily fluctuations, ladies also don't be shocked if on shark week or just prior things get a bit wonky on the scale numbers, don't stress it and things will go back to normal the following week... or skip that weigh in!)
2) Put the scale in the same place every time.
3) Weigh yourself 3 times. Take the highest of the three weights. OR Average the weights. Reset the scale between them if it's digital and verify it is zeroed out before each time if it's analog.
4) Weigh yourself at the same time of day (preferably mornings, before breakfast and exercise which can make you retain water.)
5) Weigh yourself in the same clothing (or lack there-of)

If you realize your scale is a total crack head, go to body measurements. They're more accurate for assessing progress really.