Digital Scale or old dial scale?

BSmith0926
BSmith0926 Posts: 51 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I have two different scales one is a digital and is always right on the same number. and the other is the kind you step on and the dial turns. it is always on. or so i thought. the scales have a 6 pound difference I am not sure which scale is closer to correct. which would you choose and is there a reason why you would pick it? Thanks

Replies

  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    I would probably look for a 3rd scale to confirm, maybe at the gym?
  • jazee11
    jazee11 Posts: 321
    I have a digital scale. It feels more accurate to me.
  • powahouse11
    powahouse11 Posts: 13
    I prefer a digital scale so that you can see exactly what you weigh, for example the digital scale might say 83.7kg but the other kind may look closer to 84kg....
  • HMToomey
    HMToomey Posts: 276
    I use my Wii Fit as a scale. I like it because it gives me a chart of how far I've come. I think as long as you use the same one and it's going down that's all that matters... Until you step on the one at the doctors office. Why are those always wrong? :grumble:
  • derekj222
    derekj222 Posts: 370 Member
    if you have a dumb bell 10lbs or more, but that on digital scale, push down on it so it registers that lower lb amount and see what it reads. This is how I check on my digital scale for accuracy.
  • SweetCheekszx0
    SweetCheekszx0 Posts: 478 Member
    I use my Wii Fit as a scale. I like it because it gives me a chart of how far I've come. I think as long as you use the same one and it's going down that's all that matters... Until you step on the one at the doctors office. Why are those always wrong? :grumble:

    ^^this.. When I reach my GW I plan to pay the doc a visit just out of curiosity lol. I use a dial scale
  • Beethoven1827
    Beethoven1827 Posts: 102 Member
    I don't think it matters too much which one is 'correct', so much as which is more consistent. We had an old dial scale that gave a different number every time you stood on it, so I always did 3 readings and took the worst (once I'd realised the pointlessness of taking the lightest just to kid myself!). We recently bought a digital scale, and it's consistent. And has the nice bonus that it shows about 3lb lighter than the old scale, which is the opposite of what I was expecting! :smile:

    So I'd say choose whichever you trust more, and stick with it. Doesn't matter so much about the absolute numbers, as long as you can track the small changes week on week.
  • Lisah8969
    Lisah8969 Posts: 1,247 Member
    I have a digital scale and what I do like most about it is that is has a memory for two people. I step on it every morning, but my official weigh in is on Wednesday morning. So on Wednesday, I step on the 1st person memory button and up comes my weight and body fat % from one week ago. I think you can step on 10 scales both digital and old school and you will get 10 different weights. You just need to pick one and stick with it.
  • RockinSkiBunny
    RockinSkiBunny Posts: 152 Member
    if you have a dumb bell 10lbs or more, but that on digital scale, push down on it so it registers that lower lb amount and see what it reads. This is how I check on my digital scale for accuracy.
    great idea!!!
  • RockinSkiBunny
    RockinSkiBunny Posts: 152 Member
    I hated my old scale. I could tap it with a finger and the dial would move and stick! My new digial is coming today.I miss having one. its hard for me to read the exact number on the old one.
  • MSam1205
    MSam1205 Posts: 439 Member
    Best investment in my diet plan was purchasing a digital scale. My old dial scale either never moved, or gave a different reading depending on where I placed it on the bathroom floor. could get a difference of almost 5lbs!!. My digital says the same thing no matter where I put it :tongue:
  • SherryR1971
    SherryR1971 Posts: 1,170 Member
    I have both, but I prefer the digital. I just keep the other as a back up.
  • SheilaN1976
    SheilaN1976 Posts: 266 Member
    i prefer digital...dial scales are a pain and if not zero'd correctly and exactly, then its wrong.
  • maspicantexfa
    maspicantexfa Posts: 73 Member
    My old dial scale weighed me less than my digital one, so I used the balance beam scale at the gym to confirm ... the digital one (3lbs more) was correct. At least I have a starting place!
  • been285
    been285 Posts: 99 Member
    measuring loss ,,,, or looking for calibration to scientific standards ???????
    don't let the bias between two uncalibrated instruments bother you, I have never spent enough money to get a scale that could be accurately calibrated.
    use: same scale
  • LindseySprake
    LindseySprake Posts: 333 Member
    I have both too but I only use my digital one ... I love it!!!
    It's a Weight Watches super-duper-all-singing-all-danicing one :-) did cost a fair bit, but for me it was worth it.
    It measures lots of different things like body fat, body water, BMI etc etc and tracks your losses (and gains!!) so you can see how you are doing, how far to GW etc (I'm a bit of a gadget geek incase you couldn't tell lol)
    Anyway....

    Don't know if anyone else has had this happen to them too ... but I found that with the dial one, if I lean more towards the right it make me lighter and if I lean left it make me heavier (or vice versa, can't remember now lol!)

    With my digital one, it tells me if I am not standing dead centre and won't give a reading until I am.
  • Amberonamission
    Amberonamission Posts: 836 Member
    I have a Salter dial scale. It weighs me exactly the same as at my Dr office. So I'll stick with it. I can step off and on it a dozen times and it gives me the exact same number. I had a ww scale before this one and every time i stepped on it I got a different number.
  • shrobi1
    shrobi1 Posts: 1
    I have a digital scale in one bathroom and an "old fashioned" scale in another. The digital scale is always easier for me to read. While the old scale is accurate, I have a heck of a time seeing where the needle is pointing to. It is also important to consistently use the same scale to better track your individual progress. One a side note, I recently visited my doctor and my weight was only one pound different from my digital scale at home. I feel pretty confident about the scale now.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    if you have a dumb bell 10lbs or more, but that on digital scale, push down on it so it registers that lower lb amount and see what it reads. This is how I check on my digital scale for accuracy.
    great idea!!!

    Am I missing something here? I don't see how this would work at all - most bathroom scales aren't accurate below about 30-40 lbs. If you are pushing down on the dumbell, how do you know how much weight you are putting on? Confused on many levels!

    Digital scales tend to be inherently more accurate than the spring type (dial).
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
    I use a dial scale. The digital one I had was giving me different weights each time I stepped on it (minutes apart, some were higher, some were lower).
    The dial scale seems to be accurate enough. It's measuring a loss, so it's working for me lol
  • vmekash
    vmekash Posts: 422 Member
    I prefer a digital scale so that you can see exactly what you weigh, for example the digital scale might say 83.7kg but the other kind may look closer to 84kg....

    ^^^this
  • Fitburd
    Fitburd Posts: 92 Member
    Digital scale on flat surface, I have had 3 different scales and they all read different things depending on where the scales were. Now my scales sit on a piece of wood hubby cut especially for them.

    Digital shows you oz so you can see small results you may not with a dial scale.
  • BSmith0926
    BSmith0926 Posts: 51 Member
    I only ask because my digital scale has said 153.2 for the last month each morning I use it. my old tells me dial scale will read 147 every morning. So i wasn't sure which one to go with.
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