Looking for accurate but not overly sensitive weight scale

helaurin
helaurin Posts: 157 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My current scale is a Homedics. I like that it breaks out my %fat, %muscle, %bone, and %water, that I can set it to my age/gender, etc.

But the darn thing is very sensitive to placement, even on a hard tile floor. Move it a half-inch, and you can weigh +/- up to 3 pounds, from what you weighed 30 seconds earlier.

I try not to move it at all, so that while it might not be perfectly accurate vs. a doctor's scale, at least if it's not moved, I can trend my weight over time. But the only place to put it is in a common-use bathroom, and apparently it gets moved - sometimes a tiny bit, sometimes several inches - from where it was last.

What scales are folks using - which specific currently-available models do you recommend, what do you like/dislike about them?

Thanks in advance.

Replies

  • Coffee_qd
    Coffee_qd Posts: 31 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    All the digital ones are like that. Mine does that too, I just live with it. If you step on then step off, and it sets to 00, it will weigh accurately, in my experience.

    You can buy an old-school mechanical one.

    This. I don't have a good place to keep my scale, so I have to bring it out of my closet every week. I place it in the same spot, step on, step off. It resets to zero. I step back on to get an accurate weight.
  • Running_and_Coffee
    Running_and_Coffee Posts: 811 Member
    The $20 one I got from Costco is the Weight Watchers brand. It works fine. I just get a read out to the .0 digit and it's accurate enough for me to see a trend.
  • DoubleUbea
    DoubleUbea Posts: 1,115 Member
    I used my parents old Weight Watchers branded scale made by Conair, I get consistent readings stepping on it multiple times, and the same reading if I move it to a different location.
    Make sure your scale is on a flat surface, make sure you are putting your feet in the the same spots each time.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    All digital scales need to calibrated after they moved. Just lightlt step on it with one foot, it will reset to 0, then you can accurate weight. My first scale explained this in instructions. My 2nd one didn't mention the need to do this, but I found through experience it's required.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    I always step on and off and on again with my scale to get an accurate reading. It's usually 2-3lbs less once it's calibrated. It's kind of a fun morning game.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    Try thrift stores, just don't pick the ones with bullet holes.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    All digital scales need to calibrated after they moved. Just lightlt step on it with one foot, it will reset to 0, then you can accurate weight. My first scale explained this in instructions. My 2nd one didn't mention the need to do this, but I found through experience it's required.

    Thank you for posting this.

    My scale came with similar institutions about calibrating it after moving it. It lives under a shelf and comes out when it's needed.

    It's not common knowledge that you have to do this. You probably saved some people a headache.
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    Coffee_qd wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    All the digital ones are like that. Mine does that too, I just live with it. If you step on then step off, and it sets to 00, it will weigh accurately, in my experience.

    You can buy an old-school mechanical one.

    This. I don't have a good place to keep my scale, so I have to bring it out of my closet every week. I place it in the same spot, step on, step off. It resets to zero. I step back on to get an accurate weight.

    I do the same. Mine was under $20 off amazon. It’s been very good and consistent. But I always move it and reset it. I know the tile where I always set it and weigh.
  • ruqayyahsmum
    ruqayyahsmum Posts: 1,513 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    All digital scales need to calibrated after they moved. Just lightlt step on it with one foot, it will reset to 0, then you can accurate weight. My first scale explained this in instructions. My 2nd one didn't mention the need to do this, but I found through experience it's required.

    Yep. Mine came with calibration instructions
    Lives in my bedroom and I take it into the bathroom every morning, calibrate it and then get weighed
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    DoubleUbea wrote: »
    I used my parents old Weight Watchers branded scale made by Conair, I get consistent readings stepping on it multiple times, and the same reading if I move it to a different location.
    Make sure your scale is on a flat surface, make sure you are putting your feet in the the same spots each time.

    Your scale is faking you out. Had the same one.

    Read my thread on it. https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10485204/dumb-scale-question-weight-watchers-scale/p1
  • WholeFoods4Lyfe
    WholeFoods4Lyfe Posts: 1,518 Member
    I like my FitBit Aria scale. It's WiFi enabled so automatically uploads to my FitBit app which I have synced to my MFP app.

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