Is my scale broken?

MysticRealm

My scale seemed fairly accurate until the last couple weeks. It is an older scale, I think I have changed batteries on it at some point when I had a long break from using it and then it wouldn't turn on anymore (if memory serves me correctly)
It was showing a fairly normal rate of loss from July 11(225.4) when I first weighed in when I started to work towards losing again. The first couple weeks it was showing around 3ish pounds weight loss and then it slowed to 1-2 ish pounds a week since.
Then last week my weight pretty much stayed the same (I weigh everyday). It hopped up and down a little bit (within a pound) but ended up the same weight at the end of the week that I was at the beginning of the week. I chalked this up to time of the month and holding onto more water weight.
So August 26 I weighed in at 211
then the next day my weight dropped to 209.2 and I thought I had finally started to lose the water weight from time of the month. Weighed that 2 days in a row then had another drop to 208.2, the next day 207.8, the next day 207.4. I did go up a hair the next day to 207.6, but then this morning I was 206.2!
That's 6.4 pounds down in a week and a day. Is my scale broken/running out of batteries? or what's happening? I know I'm quite heavy so have a lot of weight to lose so sometimes it can come off faster than when you just have a bit to lose, and if it was just water weight I was hanging onto the week before it's maybe not as huge of a loss but it's still over 3 pounds per week.

MikePTY

It sounds like you were losing the water weight you held onto last weight, along with your fat loss from this week. There is nothing about that that screams "broken scale" to me. It seems like it is just being on the "woosh" side of the normal water weight fluctuations, especially if they were TOM related.

NovusDies

I have lost 6 pounds like that many many times in the last year and a half. I will do it in the next 2 weeks because I am currently 6.2 pounds up from eating a little more restaurant food over the holiday weekend.

quiksylver296

http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations

lgfrie

That pattern of scale readings exactly mirrors my own experience on the scale when I started, almost to the day and the same weight loss amounts. Scary, almost!

Carry on. Things will get more consistent and boring soon enough.

manderson27

Put something you know the exact weight of on the scale if it reads correctly it is not broken. I use two 10 kg dumbells to check mine.

If it reads correctly then you can do a little happy dance and be pleased with your progress.

MysticRealm

Thanks everyone. I'm praying it's weight loss haha.
I can try to put some weights on it and see what my scale says but I know not all scales are calibrated perfectly (especially after 2 house moves), so I may not be able to totally tell, but maybe if it's close that can give me some peace

AnnPT77

But if you keep losing 3 pounds a week on average moving forward, I'd suggest considering eating a little more. That one to two pounds a week thing sounds a little less risky.

3 per week probably won't happen, but just in case it does . . . it's good to stay strong and healthy while losing weight!