These damn scales!

aishazi
aishazi Posts: 25 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm so confused by my dads digital scales i've been using to track my weight since i've been staying at his house!
Before I left home in the UK about 3 weeks ago my scales said I weighed 110 kilos, and since i've left i've been tracking my calories and doing fine (this Caribbean heat seriously reduces hunger, bonus hah!). Anyways, I weighed myself a couple of days ago on my dads digital scales and they said i weighed 106.8 kilos. I know his scales change a lot depending where you place them so a checked in 3 different floor positions to make sure and it said the same thing. However since that day I've checked a couple of times and the scales have said in between 107 to 109 kilos(within the same minute) depending where I put them! I'm really confused I dont know what weight I should go by, I was so happy thinking I had lost 7lbs too and now i'm not sure whether thats even the case!
Does anyone think the 106.8 kilos weight is correct because that one came up consistently, or because its never been that low the past 3 days i've weighed myself after that I'm still probably heavier?
Thanks in advance to any replies I know it will be hard for someone to know for certain I just want some opinions on what I should go by so I'm more certain of how much weight I have actually lost!

Replies

  • JakeBrownVB
    JakeBrownVB Posts: 399 Member
    put them in the exact same spot, stand on them the exact same way and try and do it on as flat a floor as possible. you can do nothing more than this.

    My gf's scales always weigh me in 5 pounds heavier than mine do! do i care? not really.. you should not be overly concerned about what the scales say as this will drive you nuts when your water weight / glycogen levels jump all over the place and you will be back posting a "not losing weight on 1200 calories thread". Let the mirror be your constant guide and the scales be your once a week check to get longterm over view of your progress.

    p.s. never be happy to lose 7 pounds
  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
    Seems every scale is different.
    I use mine at home for reference since it hasn't changed.
    However, the one in the men's locker room in the fitness center in my office is actually calibrated. It always measures lower than my scale at home. But The measurements are separated by time as well. So that may be a factor as well.
    The closest I have come to getting the same measurement of two different scales was on the day of my annual physical last May.
    I weighed myself on the digital scale at the Y right after swimming 5km. Fully dressed. About 15 minutes later I stepped on the scale at my doctor's office (also fully dressed) and the number was the same down to the tenths of pounds.

    It is rare to have two scales, particularly from two different manufacturers, match the readings.
    Don't sweat the small stuff. Just take it as a new reference point and move on. Don't obsess. Though by definition, everyone here has more than a bit of OCD. If we didn't we would not be here on MFP. :bigsmile:
  • jayjay12345654321
    jayjay12345654321 Posts: 653 Member
    put them in the exact same spot, stand on them the exact same way and try and do it on as flat a floor as possible. you can do nothing more than this.

    My gf's scales always weigh me in 5 pounds heavier than mine do! do i care? not really.. you should not be overly concerned about what the scales say as this will drive you nuts when your water weight / glycogen levels jump all over the place and you will be back posting a "not losing weight on 1200 calories thread". Let the mirror be your constant guide and the scales be your once a week check to get longterm over view of your progress.

    p.s. never be happy to lose 7 pounds

    I used to zero out my scale to purposely weigh in a few pounds heavy. Sort of like setting the alarm clock a few minutes fast.
  • maegmez
    maegmez Posts: 341 Member
    Place the scale in the same location on a flat hard surface, step on and weigh and record that number, do not step back on. It's annoying that scales do that but just take the first reading.

    If you want a scale that won't change each time you step on it, get an Omeron, they are really good.
  • aishazi
    aishazi Posts: 25 Member
    Place the scale in the same location on a flat hard surface, step on and weigh and record that number, do not step back on. It's annoying that scales do that but just take the first reading.

    If you want a scale that won't change each time you step on it, get an Omeron, they are really good.

    Thanks i'm just gonna do that and take it for what I see.

    I know the scales arn't everything I just don't wanna log or tell people when they ask i've lost X amount of weight and be lying to them hah!

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