Should I trust my scale?
imanibelle
Posts: 130 Member
My scale has been saying I weigh at least a good ten pounds less than I think I should. I think I've had the scale 1.5-2 years. I've replaced the batteries and it still says that. I'ts been doing that for a few months, ever since I moved into a new place, unpacked my stuff and was able to weigh myself again. Should I trust it? And can living at a higher altitude affect what you see on the scale?
2
Replies
-
And please don't check the weight I have on my profile because that's not the weight I actually am. I put that there to motivate myself at one point and am a bit too lazy to change it because MFP can be hard to use on mobile sometimes, except MFP forums.
Thanks for the advice. 0 -
Check with a different scale. If that other scale agrees then go with it. If the other scale is more in line with what you think you weigh, then your scale may need to be adjusted.
Meantime, try checking something you know the weight of on the scale like a bag of sugar or flour or dumbbells.3 -
Ten pounds seems a lot - did it just start doing that overnight when you moved? Can you check against another scale somewhere? Maybe something got borked when you moved.0
-
My scale some times lies to me one out of three times so i get on and off the stupid thing three times to be sure.1
-
Good idea, you two. It didn't happen overnight, I don't think, because I didn't check my weight for a while before moving. I didn't want to risk wasting money, but I might need to get a new scale because my scale is the only scale around here.0
-
It doesn't really matter what you weigh, as long as you weigh yourself on the same scale in the same spot at the same time of day after you wake up then you should be able to see trends OVER THE LONG TERM. You can test it by stepping on and off with known weights (16 oz of water is 1 lb) to see if it's calibrated right.1
-
If I'm mathing it right, it would take the average person eating at a 1k calorie surplus every day for 35 days to gain ten pounds, and I'm thinking you'd remember if you were that far over whatever your current goal is for the time that you weren't weighing yourself, right? If the scale had been up only a couple of days, I'd say it was water weight from moving related stress/travel food/whatever, but if it's been months, it sounds like the scale.0
-
No, don't trust it. Your scale is probably seeing someone else.11
-
Get an item that you know the weight of--a 10 lb dumbbell, a 4 lb bag of flour, a gallon of water [8 lbs]--and put it on the scale to determine if it is correct or not.0
-
I know this is classic advice, but if the scale is off by 10 lbs, that's not going to show up by setting something light on it. Even if it is off by 10% in general, that's really hard to detect with 4 lbs or even 10 lbs IMO.Get an item that you know the weight of--a 10 lb dumbbell, a 4 lb bag of flour, a gallon of water [8 lbs]--and put it on the scale to determine if it is correct or not.
Of course the obvious question is, why do you think you should weight 10+ pounds less when you hadn't been weighing yourself for "awhile"?
Comparing with another scale isn't proof because every scale gives a slightly different weight.
It's possible the scale got out of whack during the move. Have you reset it with the button on the back?
Do you consistently weigh yourself at the same time of day (in the morning after using the bathroom) and wearing the same thing? At the old house and current one?
TOM and normal fluctuations can account for 5-10 lbs of temporary weight change.
How do your clothes fit compared to before? A 10 lb change is noticeable to most people. Since you hadn't checked your weight "for awhile" it is quite possible that you gained weight.
5 -
I choose not to look at the scale. Sometimes you loose inches and not pounds. Instead I let my clothes and how they fit do the talking for me.0
-
I know this is classic advice, but if the scale is off by 10 lbs, that's not going to show up by setting something light on it. Even if it is off by 10% in general, that's really hard to detect with 4 lbs or even 10 lbs IMO.Get an item that you know the weight of--a 10 lb dumbbell, a 4 lb bag of flour, a gallon of water [8 lbs]--and put it on the scale to determine if it is correct or not.
Of course the obvious question is, why do you think you should weight 10+ pounds less when you hadn't been weighing yourself for "awhile"?
Comparing with another scale isn't proof because every scale gives a slightly different weight.
It's possible the scale got out of whack during the move. Have you reset it with the button on the back?
Do you consistently weigh yourself at the same time of day (in the morning after using the bathroom) and wearing the same thing? At the old house and current one?
TOM and normal fluctuations can account for 5-10 lbs of temporary weight change.
How do your clothes fit compared to before? A 10 lb change is noticeable to most people. Since you hadn't checked your weight "for awhile" it is quite possible that you gained weight.
I guess I figured that people would realize they would need to use a weight larger than the possible amount that it is off. Next time I will list a 35 lb bag of dog food in my list of examples.0 -
Put something with a known weight on the scale and test it...0
-
Not sure if I'm doing this right, but I weighed myself while holding 112 fluid oz of water in bottles.0
-
Was that too light? I want to figure out what's really up before buying another scale. I know it doesn't make sense to be so set on knowing my weight, but I really want to know. It says I'm 173-175. I thought I should be 183-185 or more. But I just don't know.0
-
If I've really lost 10-15 lbs more than I thought, I want to know. Same if I am really 10-15 lbs heavier.0
-
Do you know how to calibrate your scale and have you tried it? Some digital scales require calibration each time they're moved. Do you have the scale on level ground that's not carpeting? Do you store your scale flat or upright? Storing it upright between weigh-ins can affect some scales.0
-
I store it flat and have it on level ground. I have no idea how to calibrate.0
-
Places with scales where one might manage to sneak a quick weigh in:
-- public pool, public or private gym or fitness club or fitness area, doctor's office, vet office, hospital.
You would normally be clothed and wearing shoes and it will often be after eating and drinking so the expectation would be that you would weight more than you would at home in the morning after using the bathroom and before eating or drinking.
Some stores have open scales on the shelf... you might lay one or two flat on the floor to check out how they look while thinking about buying one...2 -
I've had scales where if I bumped them too hard when I set them down they would go out of wack. Trying to reset is the best bet.0
-
I figured out how to calibrate it and did so. Should i trust the weight it shows?0
-
imanibelle wrote: »I figured out how to calibrate it and did so. Should i trust the weight it shows?
Two options I see: Go with PAV8888's suggestion above, or accept what your scale says (as long as it is consistent) and go from there.
1 -
Ok. I just realized I have a gym in my apartment complex, so maybe they have a scale. I'll try that. Thanks, everybody. I'm interested in seeing what happens.0
-
Grocery stores also often have scales. Or the some blood pressure machines can actually weigh you.0
-
imanibelle wrote: »Ok. I just realized I have a gym in my apartment complex, so maybe they have a scale. I'll try that. Thanks, everybody. I'm interested in seeing what happens.
Me too after reading through this whole thing...3 -
imanibelle wrote: »Not sure if I'm doing this right, but I weighed myself while holding 112 fluid oz of water in bottles.
You weighed yourself while holding 7 pounds of water. Really. Methinks you might be trolling the masses here.
2 -
Wow, this was a much longer string than I thought it would be, yet I kept reading. Now I need to know if the scale can be trusted.3
-
Terrapin_Station wrote: »imanibelle wrote: »Not sure if I'm doing this right, but I weighed myself while holding 112 fluid oz of water in bottles.
You weighed yourself while holding 7 pounds of water. Really. Methinks you might be trolling the masses here.
Lol. I love that this is what got you to post for the first time. But I thought the same thing.1 -
No . . . I may not know exactly how to do everything right, but I'm not trolling. Thanks to all who gave advice, though.0
-
in for the plot twist5
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 394K Introduce Yourself
- 43.9K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 176K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 430 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153.1K Motivation and Support
- 8.1K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.9K MyFitnessPal Information
- 15 News and Announcements
- 1.2K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.7K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions