Scale Accuracy

Buffm4n
Buffm4n Posts: 21 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What is your experience with the accuracy of scales? I finally bought my own and after my second day weighing myself I weighed 1 lb more than I had the day before. I had stayed under my caloric limit for the day and weighed myself at the exact same time. Any thoughts?

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Normal fluctuation. Weight loss isn't linear and will go up and down all the time.
  • Buffm4n
    Buffm4n Posts: 21 Member
    Thank you everyone!
  • mazcor536
    mazcor536 Posts: 115 Member
    Are they mechanical or electronic? I had a set of mechanical scales that I used at the beginning of my weight loss journey. They’d never show the same reading twice (stepping on and off), but they did show a gradual loss over the weeks. Then I stepped on my mother’s scales for fun and there was about a 7lb difference between the two. Not knowing which was wrong, I got an electronic scale and found that there was a 9lb discrepancy between that and the mechanical scale. I was a whole 9lb heavier than I thought! I use the electronic scale now and trust it (step on and off and the reading is the same). I’m assuming this is what you mean by accuracy? If your scale shows the same weight if you step off and back on, I’d be confident in it, but you won’t know how *accurate* it is without directly comparing with another scale or two. As long as you use it at the same time of day, in the same clothing (or lack of), you can track your progress accurately regardless.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    mazcor536 wrote: »
    Are they mechanical or electronic? I had a set of mechanical scales that I used at the beginning of my weight loss journey. They’d never show the same reading twice (stepping on and off), but they did show a gradual loss over the weeks. Then I stepped on my mother’s scales for fun and there was about a 7lb difference between the two. Not knowing which was wrong, I got an electronic scale and found that there was a 9lb discrepancy between that and the mechanical scale. I was a whole 9lb heavier than I thought! I use the electronic scale now and trust it (step on and off and the reading is the same). I’m assuming this is what you mean by accuracy? If your scale shows the same weight if you step off and back on, I’d be confident in it, but you won’t know how *accurate* it is without directly comparing with another scale or two. As long as you use it at the same time of day, in the same clothing (or lack of), you can track your progress accurately regardless.

    The bummer is, I've read that electronic scales are sometimes programmed always to give the same reading if you step off and back on in short succession without a significant weight change (I can't attest to the truth of this, it's just what I've read). On the other hand, you can try using a dumbbell or jug of liquid to test the accuracy of your scale. On the other other hand, it's really the trend that matters - no one has a single "correct" weight.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    MegaMooseEsq wrote: »
    mazcor536 wrote: »
    Are they mechanical or electronic? I had a set of mechanical scales that I used at the beginning of my weight loss journey. They’d never show the same reading twice (stepping on and off), but they did show a gradual loss over the weeks. Then I stepped on my mother’s scales for fun and there was about a 7lb difference between the two. Not knowing which was wrong, I got an electronic scale and found that there was a 9lb discrepancy between that and the mechanical scale. I was a whole 9lb heavier than I thought! I use the electronic scale now and trust it (step on and off and the reading is the same). I’m assuming this is what you mean by accuracy? If your scale shows the same weight if you step off and back on, I’d be confident in it, but you won’t know how *accurate* it is without directly comparing with another scale or two. As long as you use it at the same time of day, in the same clothing (or lack of), you can track your progress accurately regardless.

    The bummer is, I've read that electronic scales are sometimes programmed always to give the same reading if you step off and back on in short succession without a significant weight change (I can't attest to the truth of this, it's just what I've read). On the other hand, you can try using a dumbbell or jug of liquid to test the accuracy of your scale. On the other other hand, it's really the trend that matters - no one has a single "correct" weight.

    One of my old scales does this. If the weight doesn't change by ~3/4 of a lb, it shows the previous reading. Step on it with one foot, get a new reading then step on it normally to get the actual reading.

    Annoying but not a big deal. I just ended up finding a connected scale in a clearance bin so I retired that one.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    To add to that, note that the time of day you weigh-in can have a drastic effect on the scale number. Surely you've heard of the oft repeated mantra of going to buy shoes in the evening rather than the morning? It's because you bloat with water throughout the day. You will typically weigh the least first thing in the morning immediately after emptying your bladder and the most just before you go to bed. So if you're terribly interested in the minor fluctuations, (weight loss happens over months, the day to day is negligible), just be sure to weigh in at precisely the same time every day and in the same conditions.
  • andreascjonsson
    andreascjonsson Posts: 433 Member
    edited March 2018
    I used to compete in martial arts, wich has weightclasses and most scales have less than a +/- 1 Pound diffrence. Used diffrent scales and ofcourse the places i competed at did 2 and i never missed weight becouse of a diffrence in what the scales showed. Only important part is that the floor that you have the scale on doesnt have a lean.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,238 Member
    edited March 2018
    Unless you've been extremely lucky you're one of the many many owners of a fake consistency scale.

    As to the OP, it is a perfectly normal fluctuation. Use at trending weight app or website to better evaluate your weight level over time! :smiley:
  • 1houndgal
    1houndgal Posts: 558 Member
    Buffm4n wrote: »
    What is your experience with the accuracy of scales? I finally bought my own and after my second day weighing myself I weighed 1 lb more than I had the day before. I had stayed under my caloric limit for the day and weighed myself at the exact same time. Any thoughts?

    Could be water weight.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,228 Member
    I just got a new scale to replace one that seemed to be failing. It's a body composition scale. It seems to be inaccurate.

    I've been using a relatively cheap Weigh Watchers body composition scale (bioelectrical impedance) for about five years. I've only had to change the batteries once It's been a fairly decent scale. I weigh daily when I wake up, I record my stats in a spreadsheet, and I have been using a trending weight application for about six months. Aside from a little backsliding recently, I've been managing well. When I bought the old scale, I weighed myself fully clothed right before I went to work, then weighed on the balance scale in our fitness room. The weights matched. I think I did that once or twice over the years to make sure it was still giving a valid weight. That old scale replaced an ancient analog scale that I could calibrate, but then it was only accurate in a small weight range, and it would go out of calibration often.

    Fast forward to last month. My scale has a button to activate the body analysis features; you can get weight just by turning it on and standing on it. The body composition button began to fail, and it would take a few presses to get it to respond. It finally stopped completely the other day.

    Yesterday I bought a replacement made by Taylor. It has some features I like. It uses AAA batteries instead of a CR2032 coin battery. It has an auto-on feature so you just have to hop on. It has a memory so you don't have to push a button to activate body composition analysis. It assumes different users have weights that differ by at least six pounds. As the only user, it knows it's me. It has a setting for "elite athletes" that allegedly has a better algorithm for body fat analysis for athletes. The manual describes an athlete. I don't quite meet the description :wink: It also has a setting for activity level, though I have no idea why that matters for body composition analysis.

    Here's what's really odd. I weighed myself with both scales, and the weights were significantly different. I weighed again this morning with both scales, and the new scale reads 2.6 pounds lower than the old one. Thinking maybe the old scale was failing, I was pleased. That's less than a 2% difference, but I'm really close to my goal weight. I'd like to know for sure. Worse, the new scale suggests my body fat percentage is 5% higher than the old one. That's actually a 25% difference between readings. It also told me my body water percentage was 15% less than the old scale, almost a 40% difference in readings. Something DLR (don't look right)!

    Next, I weighed myself fully clothed immediately before I went to work. I weighed on the balance scale in our fitness as soon as I got to work. As it turns out the old scale is pretty much dead-on for weight. No idea about body composition.

    At this point I'd like to just keep using the scale I had been using for consistency and for the fact that it agrees with a balance.

    Are all scales this bad? Am I doing something wrong? It all seems pretty odd. Does anybody have any experience with Taylor digital scales? I think it will go back to the shop and get replaced by something that I hope will be more accurate.
  • Torxa
    Torxa Posts: 61 Member
    edited September 2018
    MegaMooseEsq wrote: »
    mazcor536 wrote: »
    Are they mechanical or electronic? I had a set of mechanical scales that I used at the beginning of my weight loss journey. They’d never show the same reading twice (stepping on and off), but they did show a gradual loss over the weeks. Then I stepped on my mother’s scales for fun and there was about a 7lb difference between the two. Not knowing which was wrong, I got an electronic scale and found that there was a 9lb discrepancy between that and the mechanical scale. I was a whole 9lb heavier than I thought! I use the electronic scale now and trust it (step on and off and the reading is the same). I’m assuming this is what you mean by accuracy? If your scale shows the same weight if you step off and back on, I’d be confident in it, but you won’t know how *accurate* it is without directly comparing with another scale or two. As long as you use it at the same time of day, in the same clothing (or lack of), you can track your progress accurately regardless.

    The bummer is, I've read that electronic scales are sometimes programmed always to give the same reading if you step off and back on in short succession without a significant weight change (I can't attest to the truth of this, it's just what I've read). On the other hand, you can try using a dumbbell or jug of liquid to test the accuracy of your scale. On the other other hand, it's really the trend that matters - no one has a single "correct" weight.

    Mine does this. If the weight is within half a pound, it just reflects the last weight. I keep a three pound weight next to the scale and weigh with it, then weigh without it so I can see my actual weight to the tenth of a pound. Then I record on a weight trender so I can see that I am on track.

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