It's Christmas and I shattered my scale!

PAV8888
PAV8888 Posts: 14,260 Member
edited December 2019 in Health and Weight Loss
Greetings of the Season!

I guess I got a lump of coal a couple of days ago! Like, for realz!

I actually shattered my scale; but, it was more the bang on the bathroom vanity as opposed to the extra food I've been eating!

Pop went the Fitbit Aria version 1's black glass top, and ouch went my finger on the little pieces of glass I was picking up in spite of the efforts of the safety film to contain the damage!

And it happened like 48 hours ago--but I've been in mourning because there will be no way to know how much of my new weight will be actual weight change how much will be attributed to the new scale!

Any-who. HELP me MFP!!!

I am looking for a scale that either DOES NOT EXHIBIT FAKE CONSISTENCY, or one that makes it easy to bypass the fake consistency (say by using AA or AAA batteries that are easy to pull for a quick reset!)

And, if anyone knows/works for a manufacturer, something that is calibrated for the 130-180lb range which would cover my household quite nicely!

Or will I have to break down and try to buy force sensors and build my own--which will probably result in a worse outcome and WAY too much time spent kittening around with all this?!

Please save me!

<for those who wonder what I am talking about: if you step several times on your scale and get the exact same reading... you are *probably* looking at a scale that is showing fake consistency and keeps the display the same till it detects a weight change that is larger than a pre-set value. I want a scale that shows a difference between two or three consecutive weight ins... just not a large difference! :smiley: >

Thank you!

Replies

  • OAS5
    OAS5 Posts: 376 Member
    Oh my god I fear this all the time with my glass top scale. I always think what a mess this would make and you confirmed it. I love my scale too so really don't want anything to happen to it.
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    Tanita HD351. It's not smart, but it does not have fake consistency! I sorta love mine (although, seriously, my relationship with my scale will always be love-hate).
  • vanityy99
    vanityy99 Posts: 2,583 Member
    Is that rich people scales? I never seen one so fancy like that😍
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    I ruined a scale with an accidentally spilled pitcher of water when I was still 50 pounds from my goal. I didn't buy another scale until I was 15 pounds from goal. I didn't even have a food scale, either.

    It can be done. :wink:

    RIP, though. I'm sorry for your loss.
  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
    edited December 2019
    Tanita HD351 is the Alpha and Omega of scale accuracy.

    Not even your doctor's high-falutin' $4,000 scale with the little weight thingies is more accurate.

    No glass. My first one lasted 9 years and was still going strong until someone dropped it during a bathroom remodeling. Built like a tank. Buy one and you're done with scale problems.

    EDIT: it's on sale for $70 on Amazon. I paid $83 for my second one in July and $78 for my first one in 2010. Christmas sale? Strike while the iron's hot!
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I have a weight watchers digital scale from Walmart. I find it to be extremely accurate. I even double check it with a dumbbell. I weighy puppy and then take him to the vet, and the #s match up.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,260 Member
    Will check out the hd351, thank you!

    I used to have a WW model which was good actually, but I returned another WW I bought

    Same as with Tanita and everyone else, all models do not follow the same construction principles as they are often contract manufactured or multi re labeled. So exact model helps!

    Thank you all so far! Keep them coming so I can hit Boxing Day ready to shop!!! :wink:
  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Same as with Tanita and everyone else, all models do not follow the same construction principles as they are often contract manufactured or multi re labeled. So exact model helps!

    Tanita = made in Japan for 75 years. No subcontracting out to China for components or labor. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing in some cases, but this is more like buying a good Japanese steak knife. You can tell the difference as soon as you open the box, and then every day thereafter.

    Speaking of which, check out this contraption:
    https://www.tanita.com/en/mc-780/
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,309 Member
    I have a Beurer BG-17. I think I bought it someplace like Bed, Bath and Beyond.

    What appears like it might be the same model (possibly newer version?) is on Amazon for $27.18 USD. (https://www.amazon.com/Beurer-Glass-Analysis-Scale-Backlit/dp/B07FN9WN94/ ).

    Pros: It doesn't appear to exhibit false consistency. I've gotten different weights moments apart, even when I invoked the setting that told it my user number (profile setup, presumably to make BIA less laughable). Seems accurate enough (now sure how I'd know, since anytime I get weighed later I'm usually dressed differently, have eaten/drunk/breathed in between, etc. . . . but it seems reasonably consistent with what I'd expect vs. doctors' offices or gym scales, given what's happened between the weigh-ins). Adding a weight of known amount (dumbbell, say) to my weight registers a weight change of expected amount. Cheap.

    Cons: Only even tenths of pounds (so two-tenths gradations). Don't know about kg gradations, but it has a kg switch on the back. Glass top.

    Unsure whether pro/con for you: Button battery (thinking that doesn't matter if you don't need to pull it to reset?), battery lasts well, I'd say several months to a year. It doesn't auto-upload weigh-ins (I generally dislike internet-of-things, so avoid things like that unless network connection is a major need for me, for a specific device).
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,260 Member
    edited December 2019
    Well! The HD 351 was not available to Canadian addresses. A similar model to Ann's was available for shipping up north; but by the time it would arrive the price almost doubled to USD $32.49 (CAD $42.75)

    It was a close call to get it because it was Ann approved :wink:, but I would have had to deal with shipping cross border if it proved *kitten*.

    And I had the option to get the "gamed into the #1 position" "amazon top seller" no name just under US$20 (CAD $26.24 after $6 discount and $8 coupon) shipped using Prime and arriving Monday the 30th #1 seller piece of *kitten* known as the incredible: https://www.amazon.ca/Etekcity-Bluetooth-Body-Fat-Scale/dp/B07FN8PD3Q/ref=zg_bs_2223991011_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KKJBFXPTRDD8HRGT3177

    So I am the "proud" soon to be owner of said *kitten*!

    And if it exhibits fake consistency... oh well.

    My expectations are not the same as what I would want for the >>$100 price tags of Withings, Omron, and Tanita. And it's time I stopped trying for "accurate" readings since in the end it is the trend that matters and random errors should cancel out over the 15 days or so that Trendweight takes into account. --as long as it gives a clean reading every day... if it extends fake consistency over 24 hours... then it may have to go back! :frowning::fearful:
  • unstableunicorn
    unstableunicorn Posts: 216 Member
    A scale that spits out three or four numbers within a five/ten minute window belongs in the garbage. 😕 Unless you run to the bathroom or drink/eat between weigh-ins that number isn’t going to suddenly change. Also, obsessing over the scale like this is a red flag regarding your psychological health, so it may be time to take a break from the scale for a few weeks.
  • chromilo
    chromilo Posts: 33 Member
    unstableunicorn wrote: »
    A scale that spits out three or four numbers within a five/ten minute window belongs in the garbage. 😕 Unless you run to the bathroom or drink/eat between weigh-ins that number isn’t going to suddenly change. Also, obsessing over the scale like this is a red flag regarding your psychological health, so it may be time to take a break from the scale for a few weeks.

    I just noticed your username. We started playing Unstable Unicorn game last night and don’t quite get the linking at the start of a player’s turn. Has potential tho and cute game.
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    unstableunicorn wrote: »
    A scale that spits out three or four numbers within a five/ten minute window belongs in the garbage. 😕 Unless you run to the bathroom or drink/eat between weigh-ins that number isn’t going to suddenly change. Also, obsessing over the scale like this is a red flag regarding your psychological health, so it may be time to take a break from the scale for a few weeks.

    I know this wasn't the OP question but your sentiments reflect exactly how I felt about my scale too. Then I used it to weigh some big-*kitten* packages I just had to Fed-Ex and I got the same numbers on my scale as they did. So I'm thinking I'll keep it for awhile longer. My weigh-in process usually involves stepping on the scale as many times as it takes, and the first 2 identical numbers is what I use.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    unstableunicorn wrote: »
    A scale that spits out three or four numbers within a five/ten minute window belongs in the garbage. 😕 Unless you run to the bathroom or drink/eat between weigh-ins that number isn’t going to suddenly change. Also, obsessing over the scale like this is a red flag regarding your psychological health, so it may be time to take a break from the scale for a few weeks.

    OP isn't asking for a scale that gives three or four numbers, it's a very specific request for a scale that will avoid *fake consistency*, which is a real thing with certain scales.

    Given other posts by this OP, I think it's safe to say that the dramatic language here is in jest and not an actual sign of psychological distress. Some of us just like data and losing access to that data for a few days (or having a gap in the data due to switching tracking devices) is a mild disappointment.

    @PAV8888 be overly dramatic? Never!!

    I'm no help, Pav. My one requirement was no button cells. I found one on Amazon that used AAs and had decent (fake or otherwise) reviews and Primed that baby right to my doorstep :tongue:
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,260 Member
    pinuplove wrote: »
    @PAV8888 be overly dramatic? Never!!
    I'm no help, Pav. My one requirement was no button cells. I found one on Amazon that used AAs and had decent (fake or otherwise) reviews and Primed that baby right to my doorstep :tongue:

    Fake reviews may be overly dramatic! :blush:

    I was referring to the practice of pre arranging with invited buyers for them to buy a product with their own money and leave good reviews.... to Prime the channel so to speak.

    Upon the publishing of the great review what might follow is the totally unrelated gifting to the buyer of, say, a thank you Amazon gift card equal to the amount they spent!

    No way of knowing which products may have Primed their reviews this way. But, assuming something like this took place, well, I would expect such products to be well positioned in the rankings!!!
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,284 Member
    Glad you like the new scale @PAV8888. I still like mine, but it has a button battery, so it wouldn't be for you. I actually already have a different scale because the button that turns on the BIA features wasn't working. The newer scale reads about exactly one pound less. Consistently. To be honest, I don't THINK either one has fake consistency, but I'm not sure. Both are made by Taylor and wear a Weight Watcher logo.

    I don't use the new scale yet. Well, every now and then I'll hop on it to see that it is still the same offset. When the old scale finally does die, I will get a bonus loss of a pound, right?

    One thing I did to check how ACCURATE the scale is was to weigh myself with clothes right before I left for work, then weigh myself again when I get there on the balance in our fitness room. Wanna know what's fun? My actual weight is pretty much exactly in between my two scales. Each one is a half pound off. I know of no way to tare/zero a digital body weight scale. If there is one, I'd apply the correction.

    Any chance you have access to a scale you totally trust as accurate that you can do something similar?

    I'm a daily weigh guy too.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,260 Member
    edited December 2019
    Fake consistency detection.

    Get on scale.
    See number.
    grab (reasonably sized) toothpaste --not one of the Costco half pounders!
    Get on scale.
    if scale claims 0.1 of lb accuracy, that would be 50g accuracy (45.3g). So your weight should be up.
    If it is the same number as before then fake consistency suspicions are in play!
    <the reverse experiment would be to start while holding something and then weigh without.
    In terms of alternatives to tootpaste when trying to determine scale limits, using a water bottle that you can weight on your food scale with increasing and decreasing amount of water can help you figure out the fake consistency limits of your bathroom scale>
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,284 Member
    OK. Mine ain't fake then. It knows when I have a snickers bar
  • BIGFNR0B
    BIGFNR0B Posts: 2,965 Member
    Did you say snickers???
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,260 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    Glad you like the new scale @PAV8888. I still like mine, but it has a button battery, so it wouldn't be for you. I actually already have a different scale because the button that turns on the BIA features wasn't working. The newer scale reads about exactly one pound less. Consistently. To be honest, I don't THINK either one has fake consistency, but I'm not sure. Both are made by Taylor and wear a Weight Watcher logo.

    I don't use the new scale yet. Well, every now and then I'll hop on it to see that it is still the same offset. When the old scale finally does die, I will get a bonus loss of a pound, right?

    One thing I did to check how ACCURATE the scale is was to weigh myself with clothes right before I left for work, then weigh myself again when I get there on the balance in our fitness room. Wanna know what's fun? My actual weight is pretty much exactly in between my two scales. Each one is a half pound off. I know of no way to tare/zero a digital body weight scale. If there is one, I'd apply the correction.

    Any chance you have access to a scale you totally trust as accurate that you can do something similar?

    I'm a daily weigh guy too.

    In my case, unfortunately, no to a different, trusted, scale. I've verified that the new scale tares/calibrates the same 3.6lbs it weighs on a kitchen scale. So there's that at least in terms of accuracy. Though being accurate in the 0 to 5lb range doesn't tell you much about the 150 to 160 range!
    -
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,284 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    Glad you like the new scale @PAV8888. I still like mine, but it has a button battery, so it wouldn't be for you. I actually already have a different scale because the button that turns on the BIA features wasn't working. The newer scale reads about exactly one pound less. Consistently. To be honest, I don't THINK either one has fake consistency, but I'm not sure. Both are made by Taylor and wear a Weight Watcher logo.

    I don't use the new scale yet. Well, every now and then I'll hop on it to see that it is still the same offset. When the old scale finally does die, I will get a bonus loss of a pound, right?

    One thing I did to check how ACCURATE the scale is was to weigh myself with clothes right before I left for work, then weigh myself again when I get there on the balance in our fitness room. Wanna know what's fun? My actual weight is pretty much exactly in between my two scales. Each one is a half pound off. I know of no way to tare/zero a digital body weight scale. If there is one, I'd apply the correction.

    Any chance you have access to a scale you totally trust as accurate that you can do something similar?

    I'm a daily weigh guy too.

    In my case, unfortunately, no to a different, trusted, scale. I've verified that the new scale tares/calibrates the same 3.6lbs it weighs on a kitchen scale. So there's that at least in terms of accuracy. Though being accurate in the 0 to 5lb range doesn't tell you much about the 150 to 160 range!
    -

    Indeed. You can do a spot-check on the precision around the weight it needs to assess by taking a known weight and weighing yourself with and without it. The difference should be the weight off the known item. But it won't tell you the accuracy of the major measurement.

    I had purchased another BIA scale. I didn't like it because the numbers were too small, and I didn't like how they displayed. I returned it. I think it was off by a couple pounds from my current scale. It was only testing against a balance that I can assess the accuracy. I hope you can find some way to do that. If not... then WHO CARES?!?!

    I'm fighting my last couple pounds, and it kind of would be SO easy to just skip the BIA scale and start using the new scale and magically lose a pound instantly. At some point, I'll do that, but I won't really care. After all, my actual mass is halfway between what these two relatively accurate (and pretty precise) devices report.

    BIGFNR0B wrote: »
    Did you say snickers???

    Yeah, I said it, but I don't actually remember the last time I had one. For a while I was carrying them for kayaker snacks as they were cheaper than things like Clif Bars, and they are actually a decent nutritional snack for energy. But they melt in my pocket. I did have some Ghirardelli chocolate squares this week. I didn't tell my scale about it :smile:
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,260 Member
    Snickers for their size are not bad, though I admit to Charleston Chews for slower to consume and Eat More, coffee crisp (Canada only I believe), and Mr Big for less expensive candy bars than my current favorite: Rx Bars (dates, nuts, egg whites) 😹

    As I said in my OP, there exists no way for me to figure out how much of a discount the new scale is giving me and it doesn't appear to be a worryingly large one... so what it says is where I'm at!

    It definitely exhibits fake consistency for close proximity weigh ins. But I normally do store it in a drawer and the self tare procedure seems to result in a real measurement so that's good enough for my needs.

  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,284 Member
    So glad you have a LIGHThearted approach to this HEAVYweight issue. It's also great that you see the true SCALE of the problem and you are ready to POUND away towards your goal

    :drinker:
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,260 Member
    edited December 2019
    roflmao!

    May have to count it as exercise!!!

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