Digital body weight scales that continuously update (like a kitchen or dial/analog scale)?

enzamatic
enzamatic Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am shopping for a new scale, the old one broke and it had this really annoying "fake accuracy". If I got on and off the scale 10 times, it always weighed EXACTLy the same,even if I say put on a tshirt. So we used to tap it, keep our foot on it till it showed that low like 25 lbs, then get back on it to "update" our weight. I understand they do this out of pressure to appear more accurate, since people are impressed when they get on/off a scale a bunch of times and it weighs exactly the same.

It made me think - the reason an analog scale is nice is as you bounce on it, you can see it going up and down. Same with a kitchen scale - I can pour UNTIL it reaches the weight I'm looking for, watching the weight go up the entire time.

My question is - are there ANY body weight scales on there that just display the CURRENT weight on the scale, such that if someone handed you something while you were on it it would update? I don't understand if kitchen scales can do this why digital body weight scales all act like - thinking, thinking, and we're DONE. No! Just keep showing me what you've got!

Anyhow if anyone knows of any product that acts like this, I would be very very interested! I would be ok with that even if i had to hit a button to zero it, and it didn't have body fat nonsense, and it didn't send to the internet, etc etc - just something that shows me that it's continuously weighing to ensure there isn't crappy software faking accuracy. Even when I'm doing something like weighing my dog, it's kind of silly I can't - stand on the scale, have someone hand me my dog. I have to get on the scale, remember the number, get off the scale, let it reset, pick up dog, get on the scale.

Thanks in advance for any advice!!

Replies

  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    all the digital bathroom scales I know of measure for a period of a few seconds then average that and display the average. I'm not aware of any scales that save the previous measurement and just keep showing you the same number no matter how many times you weigh yourself.

    That said, the bathroom scale is going to have a measurement increment of about 0.5 lbs. So, if someone gets on the scale naked, then weighs again with a t-shirt on as you stated, it is still pretty likely to show the same number because I doubt a t-shirt weighs a pound. Test out your theory using something that weighs more than a t-shirt.
  • enzamatic
    enzamatic Posts: 12 Member
    Oh - some of them are doing it subtly - ours was not subtle. It seemed like you had to go out of like a 2 lb range to get it to "update". We could demonstrate it regularly like this. Get on/off 5 times, exactly same. Tap with foot, weigh something small. Get back on, weight changes but just a little. Weight was within what you would expect, a .4ish range. But it obviously NEVER changed UNLESS you weigh something different in between. Normally I wouldn't expect weighing something different in between to affect a scale's results, right?

    Read the comments on this scale and you'll see what I mean, it seems to have a similar "issue". - http://www.amazon.com/gp/r.html?C=308E7DQYDUISH&K=A1VOLMS97N2ZBZ&R=G703OTFBFIY9&T=C&U=http://www.amazon.com/Weight-Watchers-Conair-Digital-Painted/dp/B003LKKI6M?ref_=pe_623860_70668520&A=GBMFVJIMXXHRNLWPQMCNFFYFI1OA&H=T9YALJVBA8ITFUPMD5NMAZO8UEIA
  • enzamatic
    enzamatic Posts: 12 Member
    But really - does anyone know why they need to only do the weight calculation once? Kitchen scales continually update, so it's definitely doable.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Because people don't continuously update and you can't pour a certain quantity of someone

    Seriously now, what on earth would be the point?
  • enzamatic
    enzamatic Posts: 12 Member
    I would add - my scale, and the one referenced above, definitely do NOT describe this behavior in documentation. If they would do that, maybe it would have some kind of a feature name I could look for and make sure I don't get in my next purchase. Instead it's part of their algorithm, in addition to the averaging of several weights. It MAY also be because they have low resolution/less precision coming from their actual mechanism and have to make up a number between, say, 150.0 and 152.0 because they really don't have that high of a resolution. Since they aren't really reading that accurate, they go with the last reading unless they get a new reading that's definitely NOT between their two options.

    I'm not the only one to have noticed this - http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/617118

    My question is about 1)getting a scale that doesn't do this, and 2)are there any scales in there that just show you constant current weight?
  • enzamatic
    enzamatic Posts: 12 Member
    edited November 2014
    I get that (what would be the point) - I just am 1)only now buying a scale and prefer one that's not just masking the raw data for me, one that I can really see what the precision is and 2)curious why rather than dealing with customers complaining if the scale weight changes by just showing them their weight - they don't just update the display while you're on it. Then if they jump up/down they can see it change, so they don't keep questioning whether the scale's messed up when it changes on stepping on/off.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    I know what you mean... My scale sometimes does that. Like if the new weight is not enough different it may not register a change. With sharing a scale w/ Hubby it is not a problem these days. But if I don't 'trust' that the # has updated, I'll get on again holding a bottle of shampoo in one hand, mouthwash in the other. Then again empty handed.

    As to your question the only thing that comes to mind is the old fashioned scales in doctors' offices, where you slide the bars to balance the weight.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    enzamatic wrote: »
    I get that (what would be the point) - I just am 1)only now buying a scale and prefer one that's not just masking the raw data for me, one that I can really see what the precision is and 2)curious why rather than dealing with customers complaining if the scale weight changes by just showing them their weight - they don't just update the display while you're on it. Then if they jump up/down they can see it change, so they don't keep questioning whether the scale's messed up when it changes on stepping on/off.

    you won't find a digital scale that outputs "raw" data. The number would change too fast. Even your kitchen scale uses a moving average or delayed polling to smooth things out some. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to read the display.

    Just get a good scale, like a tanita, that zeroes every time it takes a measurement. That will give you more accuracy so you can maybe weigh a t-shirt! :-p

    If you want one that changes, just save time and buy an analog spring scale.
  • enzamatic
    enzamatic Posts: 12 Member
    :P about the t-shirt lol. I realize this is all silly obsession - just trying to understand how kitchen and bathroom scales differ. What you just said - about one that zeroes every time & doesn't try to remember previous readings? Is what I'm at least hoping for. So the Tanita one is like that?
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    most of the higher end ones do. What you are looking for is one that you hit a button, it tells you to wait a sec, then tells you to step on. The "wait a sec" is the scale zeroing out before you step on.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    I've got a Salter which zeroes every time...I still have to step on a number of times before I get 3 readings the same then take that one
  • radimage
    radimage Posts: 99
    You can set the Withings scale to 'force to zero'. I love mine. It seems very accurate.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited November 2014
    My scale does exactly the same thing and it drives me nuts! I live in Tucson, AZ, so when I run it's usually warm and dry. I lose a lot of water on a run so I always weigh myself when I first wake up and then again after my morning run so I know how much water I need to replace. Unless I do the little "dance" of getting on and off the scale as you described it'll show I weigh the same even though I've lost more than a pound of water and weighing something small and then weighing myself again proves it.

    I'm not so concerned about a scale that dynamically shows the current weight but I would love to know if anyone has found a scale that doesn't do the fake "accuracy" thing from weigh in to weigh in.

    ETA: Mine does zero out every time you use it (there's a waiting period before it'll calculate your weight) and it weighs in .2 increments.
  • SLHysell
    SLHysell Posts: 247 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Because people don't continuously update and you can't pour a certain quantity of someone

    Seriously now, what on earth would be the point?

    The point was explained by the OP. She wants a scale that behaves like an analog scale only with a digital readout. That isn't a crazy request. She uses an example of weighing her dog that clearly explains one reason such a thing might be useful.
  • ntnunk
    ntnunk Posts: 936 Member
    I just replaced my FitBit Aria, which behaved rather like you describe, with a Withings WS-50 Smart Body Analyzer. I haven't tested it extensively for this kind of behavior but the day I was setting it up, getting it connected to Wifi, etc. I was on and off it 5 or 6 times. It does not appear to "remember" your last weight like the Fitbit scale did/does. It gave me slightly different readings every time. Not drastically different, generally a couple of 10ths one way or the other, but enough so that I know it's actually re-weighing me and not just regurgitating the previous weigh-in.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    My aria scale shows me different weights with multiple measurements. Usually takes me 3-5 measurements before I get the same number twice.
  • ntnunk
    ntnunk Posts: 936 Member
    GauchoMark wrote: »
    My aria scale shows me different weights with multiple measurements. Usually takes me 3-5 measurements before I get the same number twice.
    Not to hijack the thread, but interesting. I could weigh myself, get dressed, weigh myself again and get the exact same number with the Aria. Maybe they changed that with a different firmware version? Mine is several years old.

  • janiceclark08
    janiceclark08 Posts: 1,341 Member
    I have a scale like yours, it can be annoying. Mine is a weight watcher scale.It also weighs in the .2 increments. I have had this one about 8 years. I would like to try one that measures body fat too. Are they very accurate?
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    janiceclark08 wrote: »
    I have a scale like yours, it can be annoying. Mine is a weight watcher scale.It also weighs in the .2 increments. I have had this one about 8 years. I would like to try one that measures body fat too. Are they very accurate?
    My understanding is that most of them aren't that accurate. I know the Escali scale I have is not. At least I don't think my body fat percentage shouldn't change on an hour by hour basis.
  • janiceclark08
    janiceclark08 Posts: 1,341 Member
    I have no idea how much body fat I have , when yours changes does it change alot? I do agree it should not change hourly.
  • Christi102012
    Christi102012 Posts: 87 Member
    This is the scale I have. I don't do it really any more but I have weighed myself before using the toilet and then weighed myself after. It marks the difference even if I only peed.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    janiceclark08 wrote: »
    I have no idea how much body fat I have , when yours changes does it change alot? I do agree it should not change hourly.
    Not to hijack the thread but when I'm weighing myself before and after a run, as I mentioned earlier, and I drop one or two pounds of water through sweat, it will almost always shave a few tenths of a percentage off the body fat calculation. It also says my body fat is between 22% and 24% when I'm fairly certain it's over 30%. It's frankly gotten to the point that I don't even bother checking it anymore. I just check my weight.
  • stacyjh1979
    stacyjh1979 Posts: 188 Member
    janiceclark08 wrote: »
    I have a scale like yours, it can be annoying. Mine is a weight watcher scale.It also weighs in the .2 increments. I have had this one about 8 years. I would like to try one that measures body fat too. Are they very accurate?

    I recently got this scale which measures body fat. I believe it to be accurate but it does have "memory" of what your previous weight was. It can be used for up to 8 or 9 people so it detects who is getting on the scale based off of which user weight it is closest to when you step on (I'm the only one who currently uses it though) which therefore makes the memory feature necessary I guess. I actually like that it kind of gives me a weight and "sticks with it" because with my old scale if I got on and off 10 times I'd get 10 different numbers and then be confused/torn on which one was "correct" for me to use. With this one it won't change the number but I do believe it's accurate because if for instance I got on fully clothed and then without the weight would be different. You're not supposed to have to "zero" it out before you weigh but I do because I've found if I don't it will be off by as much as 4lbs. I don't know why that is but I basically put my foot on it until the number comes up and then take my foot off so it goes back down to zero (the numbers do change as you're getting on) and then get on. The number will lock in after a few seconds then it displays weight, body fat, water, muscle and bone percentages.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CZPWUV0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    Buy a balance beam scale and be done with it.
  • enzamatic
    enzamatic Posts: 12 Member
    Interestingly, it seems like people looking for something to display the weight of beer left in their keg are having the same struggle with digital scales - i/e/ having to remove/replace their keg to get a new reading. I'm thinking the biggest disadvantage with a scale that is taking constant readings is just that battery life will be hell unless you have an off switch, which you could forget to use. But that's easily remedied with an auto-timeout-off, similar to a kitchen scale.
  • enzamatic
    enzamatic Posts: 12 Member
    Ugh ok - I think this was my scale:
    http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/conair-thinner-glass-and-chrome-digital-scale/1013413312?mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_bath_&adpos=1o1&creative=39230270749&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=Cj0KEQiAsueiBRCT8YOM4PDElsYBEiQAaiI4IDcVsj8HgI_fGxyaIXsOfYXJBO8T4mJVMju9vbuEnEMaAirw8P8HAQ


    Note comments like this, they make me feel less crazy- ""Do Not Buy This Scale!! First, the scale is utterly unreliable. I can weigh myself five days in a row at different times each day (i.e. before breakfast, after a workout, after a huge meal, etc.), and it will give me the same weight, to the tenth, each time. That's impossible"

    So - sounds like any other scale but that, and the weight watchers one would be fine (note that both of those were made by Conair, so likely the same essentially). Interestingly my coworker has a cheapo digital scale he got at somewhere like Menards and it gives continuous readings (like - you can see it change as you lean). I love hearing going cheap would do the trick!

Categories