What's your "scale policy"?

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feltlikesound
feltlikesound Posts: 326 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I bought a scale at the top of my price range -- albeit a fairly modest price range, but it certainly isn't the $8.00 model from the bottom rack. I realize it is never going to perform like the balanced professional grade. I am just wondering how all of you MFPers out there deduce the weight you input based on your own household scales.

I weight myself in the morning around the same time, with the same amount of clothing. I ensure the scale is set up on the same flat surface portion of my bathroom floor.

I always get a higher number on my first weigh. If I weigh myself again, it has ALWAYS dropped by 3+ pounds. Weighing myself a third time, I ALWAYS get the second number again. This morning, for example: 170, 165.2, 165.2.

I am reluctant to just accept the lower weight -- but I have been operating on a "2/3 ain't bad" policy.

Thoughts?
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Replies

  • DemonicWombat
    DemonicWombat Posts: 48 Member
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    The most important thing is when you weigh you should

    1. duplicate conditions, (time, clothing etc.) Which it seems you do.

    2. And always use the same scale to get your "Official" weight. that way even if it is off by a lb. or two (Which most home scales are) your net loss or gain should be the same.

    3. If you get three different weights just add together and divide. Averages work for this too :)

    Hope that helps.
  • NaomiJFoster
    NaomiJFoster Posts: 1,450 Member
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    I have the scale that my parents were given as a wedding present in 1962. It's not digital, lol. Every once in a while I'll set my dumbells on it to check for accuracy,and it's always right on target. I keep it in the bathroom closet. When i pull it out, I always set it on the same spot on the floor, and I place my feet in the exact same spots. I weigh myself after breakfast and after I've used the toilet. And naked. Always naked, lol.
  • tricksee
    tricksee Posts: 835 Member
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    Start off by return the scale to the store and get your money back.

    Look in the mirror every few days and take a snapshot on your phone. Compare the pictures. If you're eating right and exercising correctly, the results you need will show on your BODY. Not on the scale.

    No scale = better weight-loss journey.

    BOOM!!!
  • tigerrp
    tigerrp Posts: 1 Member
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    It is a tough decision on whether to weigh or not to weigh. I weigh myself 3 or 4 times per week. Probably too much but at least every Monday. Sometimes its tough cause the scale doesn't move. But the master scale is a my Doctors office. I recently went and my scale is reading .6lbs high. Its an iScale. My old mechanical scale was reading about 3 lbs low. So it was like I had to lose 3 lbs again when I switched.

    Tricksee is right in one way cause I know my body is changing - clothes are loser sometimes before the scale moves.

    I just dont want to give back any ground.
  • capricorn0120
    capricorn0120 Posts: 109 Member
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    I weigh myself every Friday, first thing in the morning. I always use the first weigh in weight.
  • rjcelmer
    rjcelmer Posts: 431 Member
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    I weigh-in every Monday when I wake up, right after relieving myself.

    Your best bet, like others have said, is to make sure you duplicate your conditions each time. I use the block pattern on my bathroom floor to position the scale in the exact same spot each time, and make sure I have minimal (if no) clothing on just to stay consistent.
  • katelynpelerson
    katelynpelerson Posts: 99 Member
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    I weigh on Thursdays every week in the morning, after I've gone to the potty, BEFORE breakfast. I also weigh 3x, and usually I get the same thing. Go more by what you see in the mirror and not on the scale!
  • ClairBears84
    ClairBears84 Posts: 531 Member
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    I agree return it to store, only weigh once a week or two weeks...... weight fluctuates... x
  • alphabetsoup2013
    alphabetsoup2013 Posts: 208 Member
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    I do the same thing as capricorn0120: I weigh myself once a week, first thing in the morning.

    Then I ignore the scale the rest of the time.

    And I make a point of measuring my success in all kinds of other ways so that I don't get too fixated on what the scale is or isn't showing at any given time. The scale can be fickle.
  • Camille0502
    Camille0502 Posts: 311 Member
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    I weigh once. I have weighed multple times - but I just get confused and worry about what number is the "real" number.
  • Tetonia
    Tetonia Posts: 79 Member
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    I should be so lucky to own a scale like that. If it were mine, I would always go with the first number, unless I was having a really bad day. Then I would step on it again. Poof! 5 pounds gone! Instant mood rise!

    Just kidding... The scale is just an approximation, not religion. Don't get too wrapped up in what it brings up. Tape measure will give you a more accurate picture of becoming compact.
  • Kellyeee2013
    Kellyeee2013 Posts: 221
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    I have a cheap scale. But, I make sure it is accurate by placing weights on it and making sure it is telling me the same number as the weights are.

    My policy for weighing is ONE day a week (Mondays at this point) and first thing in the morning, naked.

    My scale stays hidden under my bathroom sink. If I leave it out, then I am always jumping on it and becoming obsessed.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    Measure progress and understand that the number doesn't tell you what is going on on the inside. And it doesn't really tell you what you're losing (fat, water or muscle).

    I'm maintaining and I weigh almost daily. - It keeps me in check.

    I don't put a whole lot into the numbers since they do change almost daily. I get up, pee, take off the jammies and step on the scale. It reads body fat % and body water %. I don't put number into those numbers either. Aunt Flow screws with those percentages. If I've gone off plan and have been eating a lot of crap that ends up in my colon (only beans, grains, and veggies end up here) - this makes my bf% jump up. So does Aunt Flow.

    Maintenance is for life. You don't go on a diet, you change your diet. You can't change it back. It doesn't matter how the weight is lost. That scale helps me maintain my weight and my health (if it is going up that means I need to bring my carbs back down - those damn carbs are what mess with the scale the most)
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
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    I always get a higher number on my first weigh. If I weigh myself again, it has ALWAYS dropped by 3+ pounds. Weighing myself a third time, I ALWAYS get the second number again. This morning, for example: 170, 165.2, 165.2.

    I am reluctant to just accept the lower weight -- but I have been operating on a "2/3 ain't bad" policy.

    Thoughts?

    You weigh yourself 3 times back to back? I just step on, step off, repeat in a week or so.
    Why is more than once needed on the same morning?

    Are you standing straight, weight evenly distributed, not one one edge of the surface or the other, etc. each time?
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    Some scales will keep your 'last' weight and if it determines the change wasn't great enough, will display the last weight instead. I wonder if that's what's going on. Does your first weight equal the last weigh in you had?
  • iLoveMyPitbull1225
    iLoveMyPitbull1225 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    my "policy" is that I never weigh myself more than once a week. Also I only weigh on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, with minimal clothing. I feel like this is the most consistent practice.
  • mbarryteach
    mbarryteach Posts: 52 Member
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    My scale does the same thing, I'm scared to change scales now because there seems to be so much difference between scales and while the numbers don't matter the number lost certainly does. I like the idea of putting weights on the scale to balance. My weight can change 3 lbs in 2 min some mornings. I just average them.
  • NicholeElizabeth92
    NicholeElizabeth92 Posts: 186 Member
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    If you move your scale you need to step on it to readjust it. Mine does the same thing so I weigh twice and always take the second weight to use as my official weight
  • dmaloof2013
    dmaloof2013 Posts: 134 Member
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    Like you, I always weigh myself in the same conditions. Another ting that I always do is I only weigh once a week, since your body tends to fluctuate daily, that way I don't get frustrated.
  • peppiee
    peppiee Posts: 84 Member
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    I have a cheap digital sunbeam model. I get the same number the first or second time. Getting 3 different numbers on the same day would drive me crazy!

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