My Scales Lying to Me?

jas82007

I have a digital Taylor scale for three years. It's away been known to fluctuate wildly when I use it; it flips around in a wide range of results when I step on it. I get a reading then five minutes later I get a pound or so less. Last night at bed time I weighed 201.0, I often lose 2-3 pounds overnight, this morning I got the same reading, exactly.I just don't think I'm getting the real thing from this scale.

I know being obsessed with scale weight is wrong. But I wonder if I need to get another. Thoughts?

Jthanmyfitnesspal

Unless you like the mystery...

RelCanonical

Have you tried changing the batteries? Also, make sure you're not moving the scale around too much. Although surfaces may appear even and flat, my cats toys rolling around show that they rarely are.

diannethegeek

Before buying a new one you might check to see if any of the common scale issues apply to you:

1. Is your scale on even, level, hard ground? No carpet. Not on a slanted or pebbled floor or anything like that.

2. Do you move your scale at all? Some need to be calibrated each time they're moved and others may have issues just from being on different types of flooring. That's not generally something that buying a new scale will fix.

3. Have you changed the batteries in your scale recently? Do you know how to calibrate it? If not, it's worth a shot.

4. Grab something in your house with a known weight (barbells are great for this) and see how your scale handles them. It's not a perfect test, but it may give you some more information.

5. If you've handled all those things and you still don't like your scale's behavior, then a new scale may or may not help. Weight fluctuations are totally normal and bodies are weird. You might have the same issues with a new scale or you might not. It's a gamble.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

But: No consumer scale that I've seen actually posts an accuracy specification the way a scientific instrument would.

(Don't be fooled when the manufacturer states a "resolution" of 0.1lb. You could be inaccurate to 10 lbs and still have a "resolution" of 0.1 lb.)

Yivs_87

Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »

But: No consumer scale that I've seen actually posts an accuracy specification the way a scientific instrument would.

(Don't be fooled when the manufacturer states a "resolution" of 0.1lb. You could be inaccurate to 10 lbs and still have a "resolution" of 0.1 lb.)

True. And that's why it's important to use one and the same scale, in one and same spot, in one and the same conditions (clothes, bathroom, etc). So that at least you limit the fluctuation of the resolution and you are able to track your weight loss in a more stable pattern.


@jas82007, if you want to make sure that the scale is truly even you can always do a simple balance check. Press the corner of the scale down with a finger and see if the opposite diagonal corner might lift up. Test all of the corners and if there is the tiniest wiggle/move/lift, try to adjust the scale until it stops lifting.

Seffell

Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »

But: No consumer scale that I've seen actually posts an accuracy specification the way a scientific instrument would.

(Don't be fooled when the manufacturer states a "resolution" of 0.1lb. You could be inaccurate to 10 lbs and still have a "resolution" of 0.1 lb.)

To elaborate on the above - the "resolution" the poster is refering to is called "precision". "Accuracy" means how close a given measurement is to the real value. Google accuracy vs prevision for more detail. (Incidentally, the manufacturers are not trying to fool us.)

Indeed, I've never seen an accuracy specification on any bathroom scale.

Some scales are too sensitive and show different measurement each time you move them around (the way the scale works is through its legs so it is important where it stands).

Jthanmyfitnesspal

Note that all the modern digital scales use strain gauges in all 4 legs. They add the 4 forces and deduce your weight. Strain gauge technology has gotten better over time such that the newer scales don't need to "tare" prior to weighing.

Still, my guess is that the ~$25 ones have about a .5lb accuracy. This is just a guess from comparing various measurements.

wmweeza

I had the same problem. I had a basic digital scale and each time I stepped on it the weight range would fluctuate by 15 pounds, so I never knew what my weight was.
I took a chance and bought a weight watchers scale. I had a doc appointment that day and got my weight from her, and hour later I was back home and weighed myself on the new scale and got the same result as at the docs. It may not be a perfect scale but it's consistent and agrees with my docs numbers, that's good enough for me

yirara

Always weight at the same time under the same conditions. In the morning, before food and drinks, after bathroom and with no clothes might be best to get comparable results. Then use those, and maybe a trend app. Other than that: what other people have said: even surface, don't move it around. Finally: don't have your phone with you. Some scales react to mobile phones