Why I Probably Won't Depend on the Scale Anymore.

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Pearsquared
Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
in Motivation and Support
A mildly amusing yet eye-opening anecdote from this morning:

I weigh myself on Friday mornings in my pajamas - usually just a t-shirt. This morning, I had remained the same from last week - 147.3. A certain amount of exasperation had bubbled just below the surface.

I brushed it off, and took a shower. It nagged at me, so after my shower, I weighed myself again without clothes just to see how low I actually was. The new number? 145.7.

I couldn't trust this number because it wasn't consistent with my other weigh-ins (because I had no clothes on), so I put my pajamas back on, and checked to see if I would gain the 1.5 lbs. back.

The number? 145.7. The same as it was without my pajamas on, even though before it was 147.3.

I'll be taking that number with a grain of salt now. xD

Replies

  • hananah89
    hananah89 Posts: 692 Member
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    That's happened to me before. When I do my weigh ins, I typically do it about 2-3 times just to see if the first was a fluke.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    Scale may be saving your previous value until there's a notable shift.
  • ChasityLindsey
    ChasityLindsey Posts: 36 Member
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    I usually weigh 2 or 3 times as well. I tend to retain water over night, so I will go down as much as 2 pounds after I go to the bathroom a few times.
  • stevepax
    stevepax Posts: 86 Member
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    You must have been really dirty to lose that much weight just by taking a shower. :)
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
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    You must have been really dirty to lose that much weight just by taking a shower. :)
    I do smother myself in coconut oil the night before, and scrub it off in the morning. 8D It's all that fat!
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
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    Scale may be saving your previous value until there's a notable shift.
    It does seem to do this, although it seems like a useless thing to do considering it weighs in .1 increments.
  • doomspark
    doomspark Posts: 228 Member
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    One of my cats got on the bathroom scale the other day, and it said she weighed 49 lbs.

    This same scale reads 5 lbs lighter if I move it into the kitchen.

    I don't trust its over-all accuracy, but I do trust it to at least track trends.
  • Lo65
    Lo65 Posts: 33
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    I used to be able to move my old scale a few inches and drop a pound or so. One day, I chased the scale all over the room. I varried as much as 2.5lbs!!! I couldn't believe it. I have laminated hardwood floors. I got a new scale. The new scale does it, too. A high-end non-digital scale. I just decided on a place for my scale, and there it sits, although the temptation is pretty high, sometimes.
  • rosellasweet
    rosellasweet Posts: 163 Member
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    Digital scale? I weight myself after the shower too (I'm just doing it out of curiosity now) and I always weigh less. What the what? I stopped trusting my digital scale and bought an analog one. I was tired of stepping on the scale and having to average all my weights together. The analog has been consistent for me. Only 10 bucks if you'd like to try.
  • mfoster1019
    mfoster1019 Posts: 152 Member
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    That's happened to me before. When I do my weigh ins, I typically do it about 2-3 times just to see if the first was a fluke.

    ^ This
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
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    I've asked this before - who wrote the rule that the scale is our primary measure for our health or our appearance? Health is measured by so many things these days - you can have blood work or a scan done for virtually anything. Our appearance- duh! A mirror and measuring tape is all you need.

    We, especially women, need to stop worrying about a number on a scale! I've lost only 2 pounds in the past 2 months, but I've lost an inch off my thighs, an inch and a half off my hips and an inch off my upper arms (all of my 'problem' spots). I've lost an additional two inches off my waist, calf, chest and shoulders combined, and gone from a size large shirt to a medium. That's what matters to me!
  • KayRisTee
    KayRisTee Posts: 31 Member
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    I have the same kind of problems with my scale. I''ll weigh myself see a number, get excited, go grab my husband, Weigh myself not even a minute later and the number will be completely different. Same clothes, same scale, same me, EVERYTHING is the exact same and yet a different number. Its changed by 2 or 3lbs sometimes. It's super frustrating/
    I've been measuring myself and that's where I see the real difference.
  • qtgonewild
    qtgonewild Posts: 1,930 Member
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    absolutely agree. my weight hasnt changed since last sunday. i mean its gone up sometimes but in the morning when i weigh its pretty much the exact same as last sunday. that is frustrating me because im doing so much. but i will not let it affect my efforts.
  • qtgonewild
    qtgonewild Posts: 1,930 Member
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    absolutely agree. my weight hasnt changed since last sunday. i mean its gone up sometimes but in the morning when i weigh its pretty much the exact same as last sunday. that is frustrating me because im doing so much. but i will not let it affect my efforts.

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