weighing more on tile than carpet (digital scale)

peckish_pomegranate
peckish_pomegranate Posts: 242 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been weighing on my digi scale from the start of my weight loss, and I was 230 to begin with and it read 220 yesterday (this is after a month of work)- all with the scale on the bathmat. Today I weighed with the scale on the tile and weighed 233! WHAT? Is my scale broken? Was it screwed up to begin with?? What is going on?

;_; I'm really upset. I was so proud of myself for losing that first 10 lbs and now I feel like even though clearly there was still the same amt. lost, I'm still set back 10 more lbs from my goal weight. Honestly kind of feeling like crying.
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Replies

  • a_certain_shade_of_green
    a_certain_shade_of_green Posts: 134 Member
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  • jmariscal3
    jmariscal3 Posts: 57 Member
    I noticed my scale at home shows me weighing 3 pounds more in one spot, then less in another. I gave up with that scale and now weigh myself at the gym. The scales that you adjust with weights are more accurate and match what the doctor tells me. Don't give up and keep trying. I hate the scale sooo much because it never changes, but I won't give up because I know someday it will. Good luck!
  • missmegan831
    missmegan831 Posts: 824 Member
    Put your digital scale on a hard flat surface and that will be more accurate than the carpet. With the carpet the scale tends to shift some and can give you inaccurate readings... I also have been told that weighing yourself once a week is enough since our bodies fluctuate throughout the month....joys of being female!!!
  • sleibo87
    sleibo87 Posts: 403 Member
    Ok lets start off by saying no way you gained 13 pounds over night, you know that! Totally impossible to gain that much fat over night. I always weigh on a scale on tile floors and never tested it elsewhere so I can't be sure of the change. But I always make sure i do the same routine the day i weight myself, naked, same place in the house, etc...so even if my numbers off from other scales I know that at least according to my scale i lost a pound. I always weigh about 2 pounds more at the doctors, but thats clothes and water from the day.
    Don't let it get you down. Make sure the batteries are good, and tomorrow try it where you normal weigh yourself.

    PS i recommend weighing only once a week (and skipping TOM) I don't even own a scale, I go to my moms lol. I know I would get to obsessive and our body naturally fluctuates. And as for TOM thats usually a let down ready to happen so why bother.

    Good luck!
  • gwicks54
    gwicks54 Posts: 201 Member
    I noticed my scale at home shows me weighing 3 pounds more in one spot, then less in another. I gave up with that scale and now weigh myself at the gym. The scales that you adjust with weights are more accurate and match what the doctor tells me. Don't give up and keep trying. I hate the scale sooo much because it never changes, but I won't give up because I know someday it will. Good luck!

    Scales are evil. Mine weighs me less if the room is hot. You do know that you lost the weight, so don't give up. Also try measuring intead of weighing & going by how your clothes fit. Those things are not as fickle as a home scale.
  • jillica
    jillica Posts: 554 Member
    Yes, a scale on a hard surface is more accurate then a scale on a soft surface. And if you take that scale and put it on more "cushier" carpet, you will weigh lighter!

    You still lost 10 lbs - great job! Focus on that & your health & the inches lost.

    For consistency (and your sanity), you may just want to keep weighing yourself on that bathmat until you reach your goal.
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
    Put a hand weight on it if you have one to test it. Have it in the same spot that it weighed you at 233lb and see if the scale reads the weight properly.

    Scales don't read properly on carpet or uneven floor. Also, if it is moved alot it can mess up the readings.

    Were you always weighing in on the carpet? If so maybe it was off by 10lbs when you started? Or was your first weigh in on a hard, level floor?

    I believe there should be a way to change your start weight which you can do... just weigh in the same spot from now on.
  • neurochamp
    neurochamp Posts: 261 Member
    I don't mean for this to sound discouraging, but you need to trust the readings that you get on tile - bathroom scales need a hard surface to sit on (carpet cushions the scale's feet; you won't get a terribly accurate reading because the carpet is absorbing some of the weight you're putting on it). But don't give up! You've still made the same amount of progress - 10lbs lost is 10lbs lost - you're just giving yourself a new (and better/more accurate) baseline if you move your scale to a tile or other hard floor, and you can use that baseline for your future progress.

    I had a similar thing happen when I bought a new scale to replace my old one (which gave questionable readings) - all of a sudden I had "gained" 5lbs... I didn't *really* gain weight by getting a new scale, I just got a new, more accurate (honest?) scale. Think of it this way: when you reach your goal on a good scale on a hard floor, you can be FULLY confident that you really did it! This is not a setback, it's just a reality check to keep you moving on the right path.
  • TigressPat
    TigressPat Posts: 722
    I've had them be more than 30lbs off before.
    they must be on a hard flat surface to be accurate.
    if you weighed yourself the first time on the carpet then it was not accurate.
    Start again and weigh yourself at the same time of day and in the same place each time. or, as suggested use one of the doctor's style scales at the gym.
  • Amanda21202
    Amanda21202 Posts: 210 Member
    I need new scales! Mine say I weigh a lot less on tile in the bathroom yet they're more or less around the right mark on my carpet :S
    I don't know why mine are so messed up! Uneven flooring I've heard can mess the readings up too?
  • aliciab307
    aliciab307 Posts: 370 Member
    I've been weighing on my digi scale from the start of my weight loss, and I was 230 to begin with and it read 220 yesterday (this is after a month of work)- all with the scale on the bathmat. Today I weighed with the scale on the tile and weighed 233! WHAT? Is my scale broken? Was it screwed up to begin with?? What is going on?

    ;_; I'm really upset. I was so proud of myself for losing that first 10 lbs and now I feel like even though clearly there was still the same amt. lost, I'm still set back 10 more lbs from my goal weight. Honestly kind of feeling like crying.

    carpet is really inaccurate and the best reading will be on a tile/wood flat surface, also the evenness of the floor plays a role in the reading as well. My brother did a test between carpet and tile just to see the difference, and the difference was about 30 lbs lighter than his actual weight.
  • peckish_pomegranate
    peckish_pomegranate Posts: 242 Member
    Well it looks like I'm just 10lbs heavier than I thought and that's the way it is. Sucks hard to accept but it is what it is. Really bummed out that I had to reset my weight on here and lost that 10lbs lost on my tracker. Now it says 0! D:<
  • neurochamp
    neurochamp Posts: 261 Member
    If you go into Home -> Check In you can "edit previous entries" to change your start weight to reflect the difference (I totally understand how the ticker motivation can help you along) - just be honest and change the start weight to reflect the difference you're seeing between scale-on-carpet and scale-on-hard-floor and you'll get your "ticker progress back". Stay positive - you can do this!
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    All scales need to be on a hard, flat surface. The Wii Balance Board has the same issue if you're using it as a scale. Even putting the extra carpet feet on it won't make it accurate on carpet.
  • howdoiloathethee
    howdoiloathethee Posts: 2
    Hey guys, this is driving me a bit insane, ive looked everywhere for the answer (even physics websites :s) but there are different answers everywhere!

    My conundrum is this- I weighed myself in the bathroom and came up 11st 8lb. I still wear size ten jeans but my chest is pretty broad so I usually wear a 36 bra (which is often stated a size 12). Now I thought that was excessive so I weighed myself on carpet and it came up 10st 9. I thought well, I didnt want to get my hopes up so I dug out those little carpet feet for it, and came up 9st 8lb. My 6ft BF weighed himself in the bathroom, he came up 2kg heavier so about 12 st. But his stomach fat is like 05%(we meisured him with calipers).

    So which is more likely to be correct? 11st 8, 10st 9, or 9st 8?! I cant believe the 9st so it must be 10 or 11,

    The tiles in my bathroom are rough gravelly things a bit like sandpaper as its a wet room, and the carpet is only a couple of mm thick, its not fluffy at all just a covering hehe.

    If anyone has any ideas id really appreciate it, as I was really down at t idea of being waay over 11st for the first time in my life!
  • howdoiloathethee
    howdoiloathethee Posts: 2
    also- my profilel pic is me just 2 days ago :)
  • rjmudlax13
    rjmudlax13 Posts: 909 Member
    You need to have your scale on a hard and flat surface for it to work properly.
  • vedirice
    vedirice Posts: 2 Member
    blog.scalesgalore.com/bathroom-scales-2/how-to-weigh-yourself-properly recommends never weighing yourself on carpet.

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