Huge discrepancy between scales?!

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GardenOfSongs
GardenOfSongs Posts: 37 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I went to the doctor's today and when they weighed me it said I weigh 77 kilos/12.1st
Both sets of scales we have at home say I weigh 11.8st, so a 5lb difference! Has anyone else experienced anything like that? I am just confused as to why both the sets of scales agree but seem to be wrong...

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  • janeite1990
    janeite1990 Posts: 694 Member
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    Yes, this happens to me, too. I figure as long as I'm going in the right direction, it shouldn't matter. (I don't wear anything to weight at home and I do at the doctor's, so that makes a difference, too.)

    I track each week on my home scale, so that is the one that will tell me if I'm moving in the right direction. Otherwise, no worries...carry on!
  • 2013sk
    2013sk Posts: 1,318 Member
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    Maybe change your batteries in the scales you have at home, and weigh yourself again. Or weigh at your local boots to get a different reading
  • Alwayssohungry
    Alwayssohungry Posts: 369 Member
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    Happens all the time - my old scale died and my new scale said I was 4 pounds heavier. My moms scale says I'm 2 pounds lighter. Pick a scale, stick with it and track from there.
  • michaelablueeyes
    michaelablueeyes Posts: 38 Member
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    I have a set of springy scales and I had a set of digital scales there I used the digital scales to take my readibg start of the year it put me 4lbs heavier than my spring scales but I decided to stick to digital as I found them easier to read as my eye sight is pants but before I was due to take my weekly weigh in I smashed my digital scales so im back to using my sping scales so couldnt really get an accurate reading from my first weigh in as there was already a weight difference.

    So going by my weight last monday to today on my spring scales ive lost 3lb
    I weigh naked before my breakfast.

    Id just stick to one scale as long as you are loosing if thats your intention then the number doesnt really matter yet
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Scales are calibrated differently, and I chose to weigh first thing in the morning with no clothes. As you eat different things/drink different things throughout the day, that's going to affect the weight too, so it will always be different at a doctor's office. Just pick one scale to use as a reference and ignore your other weigh ins.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Scales lie............take the readings with a grain of salt.

    If I put my scale on carpet .....whallah, I weigh 5 pounds less. Time of month and time of day can skew readings. If I've eaten a lot of sodium the day before.....my (water) weight is up.

    Just use ONE scale consistantly, and weigh the same time of day. When you get closer to goal.....a measuring tape is really, really helpful.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    How much time between when you weighed at home and at the doctor's? Had you eating and or had something to drink? Were you wearing different clothes?

    Example:
    At home - weigh yourself before showering, in the morning nude, nothing in stomach - 150 pounds.
    At doc's - wearing jeans, blouse, jewelry, maybe even shoes, within a couple hours of eating, drank water in the car on the way - 155 pounds

    5 pounds is within the normal range for daily fluctuation so nothing to worry about.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    I went to the doctor's today and when they weighed me it said I weigh 77 kilos/12.1st
    Both sets of scales we have at home say I weigh 11.8st, so a 5lb difference! Has anyone else experienced anything like that? I am just confused as to why both the sets of scales agree but seem to be wrong...
    Pretty normal to have that high of weight difference between home and doctor's office scales. Nothing to worry about at this point.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Well, I don't know about you, but here I weigh naked after peeing when I wake up. At the doctor... with clothes on (sometimes shoes), after eating. So it's inevitable that you'll weigh more there. For me it was 4 lbs extra last week. I don't really care, I know it's not fat, lol!
  • truddy6647
    truddy6647 Posts: 519 Member
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    there are many factors to take into consideration when comparing scales first how you stand on a scale, what you where, if you ate or drank anything, different manufactures, and lastly not every scale weighs the same .......my dr's scale is 5 lbs less than my scale where as when my husband goes to the va he usually goes to multiple places within the va and the weigh him at each station and each time it is a different weight never the same
  • Bianca42
    Bianca42 Posts: 310 Member
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    I went to the doctor's last week. I had weighed myself first thing in the morning at home and then weighed 7 pounds heavier at the doctor's in the afternoon. I figure it was a combination of scale differences, time of day fluctuation and clothes/shoes. Even if my scale is off...I'm more concerned about the scale going down than I am about the exact number.
  • Followingsea
    Followingsea Posts: 407 Member
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    When you weigh yourself at home, under what conditions are you doing it? Are you dressed? Have you eaten (is there anything in your stomach?) i.e., are you at your lowest weight?

    When weighed at the doctor, under what conditions are you doing it? Are you dressed? Have you eaten?

    Look, a cup of coffee weighs about half a pound, so if you have a cup of coffee in the morning after weighing yourself, you just "gained" half a pound of temporary water weight. Are you dressed when weighing yourself at the doctor? A pair of jeans weighs between one and two pounds. Your shoes will weigh around two to three pounds, more if they're boots. If you're wearing a sweater (it's winter in the northern hemisphere, after all), maybe add another pound. Did you eat before heading out? Add another pound or two.

    Also, it may be that your scale is moving out of calibration, but I'd be more likely to chalk this up to daily variation.
  • perrymick
    perrymick Posts: 79 Member
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    This was posted up on MFP somewhere this week but I couldn't find it.

    So here's the direct link to How to weigh yourself accurately:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYMNPP2ZR1U

    It may explain a few things :)
  • GardenOfSongs
    GardenOfSongs Posts: 37 Member
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    Maybe change your batteries in the scales you have at home, and weigh yourself again. Or weigh at your local boots to get a different reading

    Weighed myself at Boots a little while back and it said 12st4 when my scales at home were reading 11st13 or 12st
  • GardenOfSongs
    GardenOfSongs Posts: 37 Member
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    When you weigh yourself at home, under what conditions are you doing it? Are you dressed? Have you eaten (is there anything in your stomach?) i.e., are you at your lowest weight?

    When weighed at the doctor, under what conditions are you doing it? Are you dressed? Have you eaten?

    Look, a cup of coffee weighs about half a pound, so if you have a cup of coffee in the morning after weighing yourself, you just "gained" half a pound of temporary water weight. Are you dressed when weighing yourself at the doctor? A pair of jeans weighs between one and two pounds. Your shoes will weigh around two to three pounds, more if they're boots. If you're wearing a sweater (it's winter in the northern hemisphere, after all), maybe add another pound. Did you eat before heading out? Add another pound or two.

    Also, it may be that your scale is moving out of calibration, but I'd be more likely to chalk this up to daily variation.

    I generally weigh first thing in the morning, naked, before I've eaten or drunk anything. I was dressed and had had two meals when at the doctors's, as well as wearing heavy winter boots.
  • Followingsea
    Followingsea Posts: 407 Member
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    I generally weigh first thing in the morning, naked, before I've eaten or drunk anything. I was dressed and had had two meals when at the doctors's, as well as wearing heavy winter boots.

    That will definitely account for the variation then :)

    A lot of people on this board find it decreases scale anxiety when they weigh themselves only once a week, or once a month. You may find it helpful - and interesting - to do the opposite the next time you are home for a full day, and weigh yourself every few hours.

    Weigh yourself first thing in the morning, naked, after using the bathroom, before breakfast. Then take a shower and marvel at how much the water in your hair adds to your weight. Then towel off, get dressed, put your shoes on. Weigh yourself again to get a feel for what your outfit weighs. Eat breakfast, weigh again. Use the restroom, weigh again. Do a regular workout, weigh again. Etc.

    It will give you a better idea of your daily variation and how your weight will go up and down as the amount of food/water/clothing you have in or on your body changes. Especially when you weigh yourself in the morning and see that even though your weight changed a lot during the day, day-to day the variation isn't much.
  • Tiranoua
    Tiranoua Posts: 24 Member
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    Haha oh dear yes this happens a lot :) it actually happens with my scales at home, instead of variances between two scales. I weighed myself on Sunday, then out of curiosity, a few seconds later I did it again and I lost 4Ibs in those few seconds! I then weighed myself a third and forth time and it was DEFINITELY the second weight it shown me.
    I was using electronic scales and I have no idea where the phantom 4Ibs came from as I didn't add or remove clothing! So I always weigh myself 3 times just to make sure!
    Just be sure to weigh yourself in the morning, preferably in your underwear or nightwear whatever is comfortable and keep your weigh in routines consistent :)
    I even have a certain spot on the floor which I weigh myself as I feel like if I moved it, it would affect it in some way. Silly, but that's what goes through my mind!
  • bubbalou2you
    bubbalou2you Posts: 1
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    Have exactly the same thing as the poster above with the 3lb loss in a few seconds.

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