Please tell me digital scales are more accurate!

Shirlls123
Shirlls123 Posts: 65 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know most people say that analogue scales are most accurate as digital scales can be wonky due to various factors like batteries running low, etc.

I have a set of analogue scales, and they are quite expensive scales similar to those you see in the doctor surgery, not a cheap set, and I also have digital scales. I have been using both although I have been using the digital ones for my MFP weigh ins as the analogue scales are the type that have 2 pounds between each marker and I find it better getting an actual reading of so many stones and pounds.

I am really confused as since I started using MFP over 3 weeks ago the analogue scales have been showing I am 6 pounds heavier on them than the digital scales and the reading hasn't changed for the past 2 weeks despite the digital scales having registered a 5 pound loss 2 weeks ago and a pound loss last week. I have been eating very healthily and exercising a hour a night on the rowing machine so I don't understand how the analogue scales haven't moved for 2 weeks??!

I don't know what to think. But I know what scales I'd prefer to believe. This isn't wishful thinking but I can feel a difference in my clothes so I can't help but hope the digital scales are right. The batteries are new in the digital scales so they aren't wonky and I weighed myself on different flooring in case it was giving a faulty reading and I know sometimes digital scales can vary every time you step on them, however they register the same weight each time.

But how can analogue ones be wrong? I am so confused!!

Replies

  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    No home use scales are likely to be totally accurate, and most scales will give you a different weight.

    All you can do is measure yourself on the same scale each time. As long as you can see your weight moving in the direction you want it to then the actual number is not particularly important.
  • SukieCookie
    SukieCookie Posts: 12 Member
    The spring in the analogue one probably keeps moving and adjusting when you use them. I just stick to digital ones.
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    I threw away our digital scales becaise 1) they weighed me 7lb heavier (OK that was BEFORE I started this journey :wink: ) but mosty because they were widely variable - even Hubs found his weight would go up one week and down the next with no extra exercise, eating changes or whatever.

    You could be retaining a bit of water (my scales never move for the week before and during TOM, and sometimes a bit after than wham! down they go:ohwell: ) or maybe if you've been working out a lot you've built some muscle and lost fat. I always use a tape measure as well as a scale, as often even if my weight hasn't budged the measure shows a loss.

    ETA make sure you have the analogue correctly zero'd - I get Hubs to read it for me as the dial is a loooong way away these days:laugh:
  • m4ttcheek
    m4ttcheek Posts: 229 Member
    Are you using them at the same time? Or different times of day?
  • Shirlls123
    Shirlls123 Posts: 65 Member
    Thanks everyone. if it was even just a pound or 2 between them I wouldn't be so bothered but 6 is quite a bit and I'd hate to think I am half a stone lighter when I'm not, lol.

    mazdauk, good idea, I am going to start using a tape measure too and see if there is a loss detected as it might give me a better idea.

    m4ttcheek, I always use them both first thing in the morning before I shower.
  • A_Fit_Mom
    A_Fit_Mom Posts: 602 Member
    I have both and my analog one says I am anywhere from 3-5 pounds lighter. So I don't go by that, I go by the digital. And judge by where I started on the digital to what it says now.


    I say stick to one scale and see the difference on that one scale.
  • Suzanuh
    Suzanuh Posts: 36 Member
    I used to weigh myself on an analog scale, but one day I discovered that it was weighing me 10lbs lighter than every other scale! What a blow to the self esteem. So I broke down last year and bought a digital scale and have stuck with that one ever since. Extra 10 lbs and all. I've discovered that my digital scale is only different from my doctor's scale by a pound or 2. Which I conclude is probably my clothes and shoes since I weigh myself in my jammies at home.

    Just stick with one scale or the other. Like others said as long as you see it moving down, the number really doesn't matter too much.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    ...measure yourself on the same scale each time. As long as you can see your weight moving in the direction you want it to then the actual number is not particularly important.
    ^^THIS^^^
    I say stick to one scale and see the difference on that one scale.
    ^^THIS^^^

    And finally this:
    Just stick with one scale or the other.
  • hjcopeland
    hjcopeland Posts: 53 Member
    I understand where you;re coming from. "Just pick one and use it, it doesn't matter" is not the answer you're looking for!

    You want to know which one is correct, regardless of which it is.

    For what it's worth - I think there is a huge difference in quality between home scales. The $20 one from Wal-Mart isn't going to be as accurate as a high end one. I recently started using a Withings scale and have been very pleased with it. It's around $99, but it's very accurate (to a tenth of a pound), and will also even automatically record your weight to MFP (via wi-fi) if you set it up to.

    Also, with regards to the analog scales like the ones on the Dr's office - they have to be calibarated often in order to be accurate (when you use the one in your Dr's Office next time, look for the calibaration decal - they have someone come in once or twice a year to calibrate them). If yours hasn't been calibrated recently, I wouldn't trust it either.

    Like the other posters said, if you just want to measure your relative weight loss (i.e. relative to the last time you stepped on the same scale), then it probably doesn't matter that much and you will still be using weight.

    But if you want accuracy, go for a high end digital scale. Not a cheap one.
  • RRH001
    RRH001 Posts: 1 Member
    I have used a balance scale like the ones used in a doctor's office for many years. Recently, I tested its accuracy by weighing myself, and then driving to a local scale company that had a calibrated scale, and I was exactly the same weigh (6'5" and 175 pounds). My digital scale, which I have not used for years, is at least 5 pounds off. I agree with others that the main point is to be consistent, using the same scale. This may not reveal your true weight, but it will accurately show changes.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    But how can analogue ones be wrong? I am so confused!!

    Calibration or damage could be the cause. Have you recently move them? How long since they've been calibrated? You could test them with weights if you have them, or a bag of something you have around the house (take a 10 lb bag of dog food and weigh it, dump half out and weigh again. Are the weights approx. 10 and 5 lbs).

    But most of all, if your clothes are getting looser don't stress about it. Getting smaller is the goal, right?
  • kathylukingbeck
    kathylukingbeck Posts: 1
    I'm having the same problem only my digital scales are weighing heavier and dial scales weigh less. I'm going to just stick to one and try to stop worrying about the number one the scales. You can lose inches and it not show up on the scales. Good luck!!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I don't understand how all this advice to stick with one or the other and track progress makes sense for the OP when one is moving and the other is not.
  • rjmudlax13
    rjmudlax13 Posts: 900 Member
    The quality and whether it has been calibrated properly and recently are more relevant factors when trying to determine the accuracy of a scale. Whether a scare is digital or analog is irrelevant. If you really want an accurate reading, you can get your scale (whether analog or digital) professionally calibrated.
  • caseythirteen
    caseythirteen Posts: 956 Member
    I second the suggestion of weighing something that you know the weight of. If you have dumbbells than I would think those would be a good thing to use since they are likely the most exact weight they can be. See which one is closest and go from there.
  • kathymhardy
    kathymhardy Posts: 267 Member
    I have analogue and digital. My analogue in the shower room weighs me 2 pound heavier than the digital ones. But I only use the digital ones more because I can see the exact weight to the quarter of a pound, whereas the markers on the analogue ones are harder to see.
  • GorillaNJ
    GorillaNJ Posts: 4,024 Member
    A man with two watches never knows what time it is!!!

    Pick one scale and stick with it... personally I would go with the analog scale. I weigh myself once a week on the old school balance style scale at my gym.

    Do not let that scale be the way you measure your success... it is just one of many tools to track how you are doing. How are you feeling? Are your clothes feeling a bit looser? Are you finding your workouts are improving either in effort or duration?

    Just keep working hard, eating right and the weight will take care of itself
  • doin_it
    doin_it Posts: 414 Member
    I used to weigh myself on an analog scale, but one day I discovered that it was weighing me 10lbs lighter than every other scale! What a blow to the self esteem. So I broke down last year and bought a digital scale and have stuck with that one ever since. Extra 10 lbs and all. I've discovered that my digital scale is only different from my doctor's scale by a pound or 2. Which I conclude is probably my clothes and shoes since I weigh myself in my jammies at home.

    Just stick with one scale or the other. Like others said as long as you see it moving down, the number really doesn't matter too much.


    My scale was the same..my analog was weighing me 10lbs lighter then the digital one so I stick with the digital one!
  • pollyannasayre
    pollyannasayre Posts: 2
    I prefer my Digital Scale to any other; however, The most important thing is that you weigh on the Same scale everytime. If you are really concerned I know that my Dr's Office will let me walk in and use the scales there and I do this once a month:)

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