anyone else have scale issues???

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danielledimedio1985
danielledimedio1985 Posts: 54
in Introduce Yourself
hey everyone...question--do you use a digital scale to get weighed or do you use an old fashion doctor's scale? I have been using a digital scale that I've had since college (so about 4 years) and I thought it was working fine. However, my parents have the old fashion doctor scale and I weighed myself using that and it weighed me 15 pounds heavier!!! I wanted to die :( I know I've lost weight regardless because there's no way a number on a scale would go down if you weren't..but it's depressing to have been thinking I weigh a certain amount but really I'm 15 pounds heavier. Which do you think is more accurate? What brand of scale are you using (for instance, my digital is Taylor brand)? Any input would be helpful!
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  • jenbridges
    jenbridges Posts: 213 Member
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    One of the scales needs to be calibrated. If your parents is old, it may be theirs! My dad recently bought a digital WW scale and took it to the dr's office and they measured the same. When is the last time your parents scale was calibrated?
  • _stephanie0
    _stephanie0 Posts: 708 Member
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    im staying away from the scale for a long time, but two weeks ago, i weighed myself first thing in the AM @ my apartment, i weight 139 lbs. i went to visit my mom later in the day and i weighed 131. umm... yeah. i went with my moms. LOL

    funny thing is, they are the EXACT same scale. (digital)

    measurements are more reliable.

    best way to track progress? the feeling you get when you look in the mirror :)
  • KaleidoscopeEyes1056
    KaleidoscopeEyes1056 Posts: 2,996 Member
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    I hated Taylor brand. This is what I use now: http://www.amazon.com/Gurin-Precision-Digital-Bathroom-Technology/dp/B006JTNWVK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340817193&sr=8-1&keywords=gurin+digital+scale

    It's kind of sensitive to changes in the floor, so you might have to move it around to get an accurate weight. Also, I have noticed that the first time you step on it, the number will be a little high, but if you step on it again afterwards you should get the right number. It's not always like this, but sometimes I do it if I notice the first number being way too high.
  • Thena81
    Thena81 Posts: 1,265 Member
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    im currently having that issue! ive had my weight watchers scale for a few years and im exercising, eating semi right lol but it says i gain lbs like everyday! i know it cant be so cause i can fit clothes now that i couldnt at that weight before so i think its bout time to get a new one. its also making me not want to exercise too, like it has a weird hold on me lol. we should get new scales lol
  • PittShkr
    PittShkr Posts: 1,000 Member
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    Only when my skin feels dry.
  • lilmisfit
    lilmisfit Posts: 860 Member
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    Definitely sounds like one of the scales needs to be calibrated. Do you have any weights that you can set on both scales to see which one is more accurate? I did that with my digital scale and found out that it's .8lb off.
  • carray250
    carray250 Posts: 43
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    I have Taylor brand. Its pretty consistent. I agree with Jen. Your parents scale may need to be calibrated.
  • BreanneMG
    BreanneMG Posts: 42
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    I only use digital scales, no one I know has the other, My scale at home says I am 4-5lbs lighter than the one at work, I use my work scale though, I work at a vet office and we use the scale to weigh animals before usingmedication or anesthetics therefore I think this one is more accurate. The best thing to do is next time your at the doctors ask to be weighed and then use that weight to find out which scale is more accurate.

    Good luck.
  • dfborders
    dfborders Posts: 474 Member
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    Did you make sure that the old fashioned scale was accurate. Most digitals reset themselves to -0- but an old fashioned scale doesn't. The best way to do it is to get on there by yourself - get off - get back on with a 5-10 pound bag of flour or sugar (unopened so you know the weight is pretty accurate) - and look at the number again. If the scale is really old and hasn't been reset in a long time it is possible that it is way off. There is usually a fly wheel toward the bottom that you can use to set it back and forth. If that wasn't the case then maybe try a friends for a few days or one of the ones at the grocery store. I know if my scale was 15 pounds off I would definitely get rid of it and relog at the correct weight. Just don't be upset about it like you said you know you have been working hard and the numbers have been going down - it is just a question of whether the initial number you started with was correct. Good Luck!!
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,012 Member
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    It's just a number. I know it bothers you......but it doesn't really matter. How are your clothes fitting?
  • MustBeTheRows
    MustBeTheRows Posts: 377 Member
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    No, just daddy issues...
  • Blt231112
    Blt231112 Posts: 6
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    Go with the old fashion "doctor" scale...its a weighted scale that is usually right...sorry for the bad news...you could be losing inches and building muscles...muscles weigh more than fat...
  • va_va_voom
    va_va_voom Posts: 467 Member
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    We set a 5lb hand weight on our scale to calibrate it. Sadly, the number I see every morning is correct. lol

    However, I have been taking my measurements and now prefer the tape measure over the scale. While the scale may not be moving much in a favorable direction these days, I have lost a total of 5 3/4" overall off my body so far in June. Take that ya stupid scale! :tongue:
  • amoffatt
    amoffatt Posts: 674 Member
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    Ya, it lies to me everytime I get on it then yells for me to please get off...:laugh:

    But for real, my digital matches my wii yet the DR office always says more. But my DR now has a new digital scale as well.
  • Dayna154
    Dayna154 Posts: 910 Member
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    With that much difference I'd say the two scales need to be calibrated.
    Find something to weight that you KNOW what it weighs and do it that way. Get back on and see what your weight is.
    Also unless you weigh at the same time the same way each time there can be all sorts of things that will cause differences.
  • Jules2Be
    Jules2Be Posts: 2,267 Member
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    I prefer this scale:
    funnyscale.png
  • Teresa3612
    Teresa3612 Posts: 21 Member
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    I have both types of scales and they are about 5 off from each other. I don't know which one is right. I just use the same one for my "official" weigh-in each week. It may not be quite right, but it is consistent.
  • Jackdog89
    Jackdog89 Posts: 57 Member
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    I suspect the analog scale is out of tolerance.

    I used to calibrate hundreds of these "doctor" type scales for all of the high schools in the Phoenix area for the schools' wrestling program. What I found is that these scales are typically fairly accurate but are much more prone to drift away from their stated accuracy over time. They rely on cheap internal mechanical parts that wear or break down leading to, in some cases, huge errors in readings. I found some that were off by as much as 25lbs.

    In fact the calibration of these types of scales is voided if the scale is moved. That's how easy it is knock these things out of tolerance.

    I would go with your digital scale, and rest easy. =)
  • CajunNino
    CajunNino Posts: 269
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    I prefer this scale:
    funnyscale.png
    :drinker: :bigsmile: :drinker:
  • juwan24
    juwan24 Posts: 27
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    I know my scale is off as we had one at work for our contest and it was 3-4 pounds lighter, the one at Planetfitness is 4-5 pounds lighter and the Doc office is 3-5 pounds lighter.

    I use my home scale strictly to know how much i've lost, it's the one I initially weight on. The doc office is the only one I get a reading and say "I weight x pounds"

    In the end, go by feeling, if you feel better, you're doing better. The actual weight that we are has no importance at all. It's all about fitness and how you feel. Most people (they say the target weight at 6'3 (me) is 179 pounds) I'd look like a crackhead at 179. That number is way less important than the 35 that I don't carry around with me anymore

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