seriously, whats wrong?

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BrandNewFabulousMe
BrandNewFabulousMe Posts: 259
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been using my current scale no more than 2 years to track my weight. It is a heath o meter I got for like 20 bucks. I purchased a new scale, Taylor brand, for like 25 bucks today (needed a cuter scale for my new bathroom) and the new one says I weigh 5 lbs less than the old one. How do I know which is accurate?

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  • froeschli
    froeschli Posts: 1,292 Member
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    I always step on mine several times to see if it changes it's mind. As long as it consistently gives you the same number, you can work with it. As for which is accurate (if both are consistent) - you'd need a third measurement to tip the scales :tongue:
  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
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    Do you have something of known weight that you can try on each scale? Jug of milk? Dumbbell? 5 pound bag of flour?
  • keeptehpeace
    keeptehpeace Posts: 189 Member
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    Weigh something that you already know the weight of e.g a bag of sugar
  • helenrosemay
    helenrosemay Posts: 375 Member
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    Most scales are different. My doctor's scales have me 7lbs heavier than my own. It doesn't change the amount you lose though, if you lose 2lbs on your old scales, you'll have lost 2lbs on your new scales.
  • lgrahamtx
    lgrahamtx Posts: 10
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    Also, generally when one weights at the doctor's office, one has on clothes and perhaps even shoes. That adds on a lot of weight.
  • GnosisGnosis
    GnosisGnosis Posts: 148
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    You get what you pay for. A $25 scale will not give you accurate results.
  • jillianbeeee
    jillianbeeee Posts: 345 Member
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    I check my scale periodically by placing a 5 lb weight on it. It lets me know if its accurate.
  • helenrosemay
    helenrosemay Posts: 375 Member
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    Also, generally when one weights at the doctor's office, one has on clothes and perhaps even shoes. That adds on a lot of weight.

    I take my shoes off weighing at the doctors, plus when I got home I weighed myself still in clothes to see the difference. I also weighed myself at my Dad's and was a different weight there too.
  • BrandNewFabulousMe
    BrandNewFabulousMe Posts: 259
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    Do you have something of known weight that you can try on each scale? Jug of milk? Dumbbell? 5 pound bag of flour?

    smart idea
  • Scott_2025
    Scott_2025 Posts: 201 Member
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    It is kind of amazing, but weighing stuff is not as accurate as we would like to believe. I work in a business where we weigh many truck loads of things every day. And the places we ship to also weigh them. I can say that 95% of the time the weights are never the same on two different scales. The weights can vary as much as 150 pounds on an 80,000 pound load. Both sets of scales are tested by the state and certified to be accurate to within 20 pounds with 80,000 pounds on the scale. There are reasons for the discrepancies that I won't go into here, but the differences are real. A truck scale such as ours cost about $70,000.

    If a $70,000 scale can not match another $70,000 scale, then it is safe to assume that two household scales will have different readings as well.

    I personally would believe I am 5 pounds lighter and go by the new scale.
  • BrandNewFabulousMe
    BrandNewFabulousMe Posts: 259
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    You get what you pay for. A $25 scale will not give you accurate results.

    actually, the new $25 scale seems to be weighing things fine after my experiments ;) thanks though!
  • BrandNewFabulousMe
    BrandNewFabulousMe Posts: 259
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    It is kind of amazing, but weighing stuff is not as accurate as we would like to believe. I work in a business where we weigh many truck loads of things every day. And the places we ship to also weigh them. I can say that 95% of the time the weights are never the same on two different scales. The weights can vary as much as 150 pounds on an 80,000 pound load. Both sets of scales are tested by the state and certified to be accurate to within 20 pounds with 80,000 pounds on the scale. There are reasons for the discrepancies that I won't go into here, but the differences are real. A truck scale such as ours cost about $70,000.

    If a $70,000 scale can not match another $70,000 scale, then it is safe to assume that two household scales will have different readings as well.

    I personally would believe I am 5 pounds lighter and go by the new scale.


    Wow, that is very interesting to know. Now I want to experiement LOL buy a few random scales of the same and different brands and see what results I get
  • froeschli
    froeschli Posts: 1,292 Member
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    It is kind of amazing, but weighing stuff is not as accurate as we would like to believe. I work in a business where we weigh many truck loads of things every day. And the places we ship to also weigh them. I can say that 95% of the time the weights are never the same on two different scales. The weights can vary as much as 150 pounds on an 80,000 pound load. Both sets of scales are tested by the state and certified to be accurate to within 20 pounds with 80,000 pounds on the scale. There are reasons for the discrepancies that I won't go into here, but the differences are real. A truck scale such as ours cost about $70,000.

    If a $70,000 scale can not match another $70,000 scale, then it is safe to assume that two household scales will have different readings as well.

    I personally would believe I am 5 pounds lighter and go by the new scale.
    Well, if your driver was 150lbs, that'd explain it :tongue:
    My dad did that once when taking a carload of trash to the dump - weighed in when he was in the car, weighed out when he wasn't - so he paid for disposal of his own weight was well :laugh:
  • hannahpistolas
    hannahpistolas Posts: 290 Member
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    Take it as a 5 pound loss and go from there. :laugh:
  • peachcats
    peachcats Posts: 99
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    digital scales aren't accurate.
    If you have something heavy that you know the weight of(e.g, I often have 80lb bags of concrete around my house) you can use them to see which one is more accurate.

    If you want your weight accurately, buy one of those scales you see at a doctor's office. They cost $100+.

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