What is your personal attitude regarding bathroom scale weights?
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INteresting questions
* I have a digital scale and it weighs per 100 grams
* I am doing a very slow cut at the moment, just want to lose a couple more kilos trying not to go crazy or obsess over it
* I step twice. See, against all advice, my scale doesn't live somewhere where it doens't move and I just step on it because the bathroom is not big enough for me to leave it there and everywhere else except the kitchen has carpet. So, it lives under my shoe rack and I take it out, put it on the bathroom floor (at exactly the same place each time - I have the tiles counted exactly) and I step on it. Then I step on it again after it zeroes out again. The weight difference is usually about 2-3 kilos LESS than reading number 1. I have tried to keep stepping on it to see if it kept changing and no, after the second step on and the massive weight drop, it stays at the same reading as the second step on, no matter how many times I step back on.
* I don't consider my weight to have changed if slightly different every day or day after a weigh in. I only consider it changed after a few weeks. Coz sometimes, especially if im cutting very very slowly, it will happen that on official weigh-in day I might be heavier than the week before but due to water or whatever, and not actual fat. So I look at the trend on Happy Scale app and go off that.
* yes my feelings change. It's purely psychological i'm sure. It's like "oh yeay!!! I"m back in the 61s!!" or "pooooo!! still 62s" or whatever. Definitely change.
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How small of an increment does your scale weigh you in?
0.1 lbs
Are you maintaining or attempting to change your weight?
losing
Do you step on more than once to verify a weight? If so, if it is the next increment higher or lower do you accept it as verified or does it have to be exact?
The scale manual says to step on it once (to "wake it up" or whatever), step off, and then step on to weigh yourself. After that first "wake up" reading, I've always found my scale to read the same no matter how many times I step on it.
If you weigh yourself the next day or scheduled check-in and it is one increment higher or lower than the previous day do you consider your weight unchanged or does it have to be exact?
I consider my daily reading changed, but treat it as "raw data." My 10-day moving average is what I consider my "real" weight.
Does your feelings change if it is the whole number that has changed? Is 165.2 and 165.4 the same but 165.0 and 164.8 seem different?
My feelings change - it's fun to see the whole number decrease, and even more fun to pass decades (and centuries!). But I don't really take it as satisfaction or accomplishment until I see that change in my 10-day moving average.
I know my daily scale reading will fluctuate due to random things like water retention, salt intake, battery life, kitty kibble on the floor, etc. I figure it's "noise on the signal," like static on the radio. I keep a spreadsheet in Numbers with my 10-day moving average, and that's the number I rely on.
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5 years in maintenance, still a daily weigher and still use a trending weight app.
My WW scale is just ok, should have stuck with previous Salter and upgraded to their newer version instead.
My scales go in increments of 0.25lb. They need calibrated every time grrr! (don't buy WW ones is my advice!)
Fluctuatations don't bother me or freak me out MOST of the time, but if I am on a cut I'll still get annoyed with them if they don't move back down like they should
I still doubt my ability to maintain, not sure why either as I've been at goal range for years. I just don't want to ever get fat again I suppose.
My feelings only change if I don't keep seeing 120 something, I am never happy to be in the 130's, I occasionally dip into them after vacations but thankfully its only briefly.1 -
RelCanonical wrote: »My scale goes to .1 pounds. I'm working on losing weight. I haven't had the experience of worrying about maintenance fluctuations yet.
My scale has a tendency to "stick" at a weight. I think this was done to avoid fluctuations (it's a weight watchers scale), but it annoys me. I usually pick up something heavy and weigh myself to "reset" the scale and then weigh again to get a more accurate reading. I usually trust that reading.
I weigh myself only once a month. When I was weighing daily, I usually considered .1 change up to be unchanged, and .1 down to be true since I'll take what I can get, lol. I figure it will eventually even out as I continued to log weight. Now that I only weigh myself once a month (and at an ideal time, generally) I am usually down 3-4 pounds and fluctuations don't impact me.
yeah my WW one do that too, I need to re calibrate them before each weigh in.0 -
My scale has .2 lb increments. I have been in maintenance for almost 3.5 years. I weigh myself pretty much daily.
Before stepping on the scale I can guess pretty much what it will say. I'm not saying my weight doesn't fluctuate, just that based on how much sodium I have eaten recently I know whether I'm going to be on the high or low side of the range I stay in.2 -
This is not really about weight fluctuations but about scale operational fluctuations.
How small of an increment does your scale weigh you in?
My scale's increment is 0.1 pounds.
Are you maintaining or attempting to change your weight? I would think a person that is maintaining would be slightly more relaxed with minor operational fluctuations.
I am currently trying to lose weight.
Do you step on more than once to verify a weight? If so, if it is the next increment higher or lower do you accept it as verified or does it have to be exact?
I always step on the scale 2 times to verify.
If you weigh yourself the next day or scheduled check-in and it is one increment higher or lower than the previous day do you consider your weight unchanged or does it have to be exact?
I always record the weight that is displayed and take it for what it is.
Does your feelings change if it is the whole number that has changed? Is 165.2 and 165.4 the same but 165.0 and 164.8 seem different?
See my last answer
I am losing and have been for some time and I have a ways to go. I consider my weight both verified and unchanged until the scale has moved more than a single increment because I know it is not that precise.
You did not ask but I will add: I always weigh myself at the same time every day at the same location. That way this is a fair comparison day after day after day.
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I have a glass digital scale that weighs in .2 increments. Not enough room in the bathroom to lie it flat so I prop it up in a corner, then lie it flat to weigh myself. The first weight is usually 2 to 3 lbs higher, so I weigh again twice and use that number. I plug it into Libra, which says I'm gaining again even though I'm trying to lose and fighting major abdominal bloat. Don't know how, everything is prelogged, weighed, and measured. I even cut back using my exercise calories so I'm under my maintenance.
I weigh again at night sometimes, which is just evidence that I'm getting obsessed with this, when the truth is I'm mentally exhausted with everything I've tried and researched.
ETA: my feelings are a hot mess with every weigh in, usually between hopelessness if nothing changes or I go up, or just being unappreciative if it drops, like the .4 I lost wasn't good enough I want more now!4 -
My scale weighs in .1 increments. I am currently losing and weigh in every day under as close to same conditions everyday. Within half hour if walking up, after going to the bathroom and taking my pills but before eating or drinking anything else, with minimal clothing (scale lives in one spot in the dining room next to a window and I don't want to flash the neighbors).
I always weigh twice in a row. 75% of the time it's the same. The rest of the time I will weigh myself a third time. If it matches one of my previous two measurements, I use that. If all three are different, which rarely happens, I walk away and either try again after making coffee or I don't record a weight for that day. Depends on where I'm at mentally that morning and what I feel like I can handle for the day.
For me every number gets recorded without rounding in my weight trending apps (I use Libra because of all the detail and an app called simple weight tracker for when I just want a simple view). I record on MFP on Mondays and in my challenge in Saturdays. Every number feels important to me. I agree that it's pretty much impossible to say that we have a true weight, so each weight is my true weight in that snapshot of my life. Whether I'm up or down by tenths or full pounds, it all gives me information about how the way I'm living my life affects my weight.
Every number is important to me no matter how big or small. I do feel really good when I see it trending downwards and I celebrate any progress. I also try not to let the ups make me feel bad. It will be a part of life and in the grand scheme of things, a pound or five isn't THAT big of a deal as long as I am generally going in the right direction and doing things that are better for me than before I started. That being said I have gotten "stuck" twice, once for two weeks and once for 3.5 weeks. The first time I didn't get too frustrated but the second time really got to me. I knew I was doing everything the way I should be too loose weight but it felt disingenuous when telling myself that it was normal and I just needed patience. But I kept going because the alternatives were to slowly backslide or quickly backslide and those two options sucked more than being stuck where I was.3 -
Mine goes to a tenth of a pound. I don't typically step on it more than once to verify and the times that I have, they always say the same thing. This morning I did, because I weighed in at 5 lbs less than yesterday and I have NEVER fluctuated that much. I am half assedly trying to lose a few lbs to get to the low end of my maintenance happy range.3
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My scale goes to the .1lb measure. I don't think it's that accurate, because I can come back 15 -30 minutes later, not drinking, not urinating, same clothes, and get a different measure. I don't think that I physically burn that much without expelling waste products.
But, it has some kind of sticking thing, because I can weight myself 3x in a row and get the exact same weight, even if I change something. It's weird.
I weigh everyday and use Libra to record everything. I feel that any fluctuations will average out over time. I always weigh in the morning, after I pee, before injesting anything. To keep it "the same". No heavy clothes, but pajamas (or lack therof) vary. I always get a different measure. I don't consider it a gain/loss, I pay attention to my trend weight on Libra. I don't consider a weight change until my trend has moved that direction, it takes 7 days of average.0 -
Can,t really trust it. On any given day mine varies by 5lb. Maybe I'm standing on it wrong. And I know at the doctors I'm 5-10 lb heavier.1
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I wanted to amend my previous answer. In general, no small changes daily do not impact my view that much.
However, last week my weights were between 187.8-188.9. This week, because of water retention and other issues related to my cycle, my weight has been between 190.4-190.9. This morning, the breakthrough back to 189.8 was a bit of a YAY ITS MOVING AGAIN. Even though my trend has stayed at 189.7-189.9 through this week of slight gain, it was nice to see that number move down again.1 -
RelCanonical wrote: »My scale goes to .1 pounds. I'm working on losing weight. I haven't had the experience of worrying about maintenance fluctuations yet.
My scale has a tendency to "stick" at a weight. I think this was done to avoid fluctuations (it's a weight watchers scale), but it annoys me. I usually pick up something heavy and weigh myself to "reset" the scale and then weigh again to get a more accurate reading. I usually trust that reading.
I weigh myself only once a month. When I was weighing daily, I usually considered .1 change up to be unchanged, and .1 down to be true since I'll take what I can get, lol. I figure it will eventually even out as I continued to log weight. Now that I only weigh myself once a month (and at an ideal time, generally) I am usually down 3-4 pounds and fluctuations don't impact me.
Not read all the other comments but this one jumped out at me my scale has been the exact same the last 4 days I thought maybe the batteries so I picked up something to see if it changed it did then when I reweighed it was down so is that accurate or is it the same as the last 3 days?0 -
My scale is digital and measures in 0.2lb increments. I have a bad problem of weighing myself daily, and usually only do it once. But when I'm taking my "log" weight, or updating my weight on MFP or Dietbet or another "official weigh in," I usually weigh 3-4 times. Lately it's been a low weight the first time, then +2lb or so the 2nd time, and the same for the 3rd and 4th. This morning I was 152.6, 154.2, 154.2, 154.6lb
My best friend's scale gives wonky readings like mine is when her batteries are dying and I think that may be the case with mine.
I usually take whichever number appears most often. And I've also noticed that different spots in the bathroom give me different readings. If I weigh near the tub I'm less than when I weigh near the door.
As long as my weight is in generally the same area, I know I'm doing good on maintaining. I usually lose a few 0.Xs overnight when losing weight, so that's easy for me to spot, too. As long as I'm staying on track, anyway.0 -
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Mine goes to .2 lb increments. When I was losing steadily I weighed myself daily and logged any new low that was sustained for 3 days in a row. I almost never went up during 2 years of losing very slowly. BUT THEN. When I hit my lowest, I started with up and down fluctuations and was never sure when to log my weight on MFP. I have now been in that zone for almost 4 years with up and down fluctuations so I stopped logging my weight for months at a time and became more lax with weighing only 2-3 days per week.
In the past few months, I've gone back to weighing and logging every single day. I feel like for me it keeps me more accountable and more likely to lose. It's a psychological thing for me. I still have upswings unfortunately but I have lost 4 lb and that's a big thing for me because I am basically maintaining. I have learned what foods cause a temporary spike in my weight (Mexican) and which ones seem like they would but do not (pizza). I know when I'll see a tiny whoosh downward due to hormone stuff during my menstrual cycle. I kind of know what to expect and for me the scale is a big part of that.
Daily weighing is my thing, I guess. I don't get freaked out by a couple pounds up or down.3 -
How small of an increment does your scale weigh you in? My scale measures in 0.1 increments
Are you maintaining or attempting to change your weight? I’m in the process of losing 75 lbs (29 down, 46 to go!)
Do you step on more than once to verify a weight? Not unless it seems off. It’s pretty rare that I step on it twice though.
If so, if it is the next increment higher or lower do you accept it as verified or does it have to be exact? I usually just take the lower weight. But I weigh myself everyday so I’m not so concerned about the exactness of the scale.
If you weigh yourself the next day or scheduled check-in and it is one increment higher or lower than the previous day do you consider your weight unchanged or does it have to be exact? I log it as a different weight, I don’t just log the same weight as the day before just because the change was minimal.
Does your feelings change if it is the whole number that has changed? Is 165.2 and 165.4 the same but 165.0 and 164.8 seem different? It’s always nice to see the whole number change, even if it’s just a small amount down from the day before. It feels like more progress.2
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