1.2 lbs in 30 minutes - scale gone wonky?

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zoe894
zoe894 Posts: 17 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My scale weighed me at 157.2 at 6 am with my pj's on, and 158.5 at 6:30 am with the same clothes. I didn't eat or drink anything in that half hour. Is this a sign my scale is on the fritz? I've been upset because it has been telling me I'm gaining all week even though I've increased my exercise and have been staying within my calorie goal.

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  • Tubbs216
    Tubbs216 Posts: 6,597 Member
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    Time for new batteries?
  • awesomejdad
    awesomejdad Posts: 493 Member
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    Why in the world would you weigh yourself that frequently? Weigh yourself one time and then put the thing away! Don't get back on the stupid thing in a half an hour. You will make yourself go crazy.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
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    Could be time for new batteries.

    But keep in mind that increasing exercise CAN mean you start retaining water, which in turn masks fat loss.

    Weigh one time per day - don't bother hopping back on.

    ~Lyssa
  • zoe894
    zoe894 Posts: 17 Member
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    I didn't believe the first number (it was so exciting!) so I decided to make sure it was accurate. I normally only weigh once a day, but I may need to go back to once a week because the increases are driving me nuts.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,089 Member
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    Sometimes my scale goes weird. It's no big deal. It's likely that you need to change batteries.
    Also, our weight fluctuates throughout the day for many reasons. It's normal. Don't get hung up on weighing yourself constantly.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
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    Time for new batteries and/or a new scale. In 30 minutes barring intake or exhaust there should be a negligible difference. Daily weigher and recorder here. Big fan of EatSmart Scales if you need a recommendation.
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
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    A lot of digital scales measure the load on the four corner sensors and calculate the resulting weight based on that. If the calibration is off, or if you're standing on the scale in a way that puts a lot of load on one corner, it can throw the calculation off. Most of these scales have a calibration routine (usually activate the scale and step off so that it reads zero until it turns off again).

    And as people have said already, low batteries can be a factor.
  • mwebster01
    mwebster01 Posts: 111 Member
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    zoe894 wrote: »
    My scale weighed me at 157.2 at 6 am with my pj's on, and 158.5 at 6:30 am with the same clothes. I didn't eat or drink anything in that half hour. Is this a sign my scale is on the fritz? I've been upset because it has been telling me I'm gaining all week even though I've increased my exercise and have been staying within my calorie goal.
    its water retention.our bodies fluctuate when were making changes to it.weight Lois's is not linear,it peaks and valleys.
    but you should check your scale to make sure its accurate.you can weight something that weighs five pounds like a bag of rice,then weight it an hour later to see if the same thing happens.
  • pollypocket1021
    pollypocket1021 Posts: 533 Member
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    My scale will give me a 30lb range over the course of 2 minutes when the batteries need to be changed. Try that first.
  • Narcissora
    Narcissora Posts: 197 Member
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    I had a similar problem, and I discovered that if I moved my scale to a different part of the bathroom floor, I would get a completely different reading because my bathroom floor tiling is ever so slightly wonky. I have to make sure it is in the exact same spot. Maybe that's what is going on with yours too?
  • JSC145
    JSC145 Posts: 79 Member
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    My digital scale does that all the time. I would get on it and come off, zero it and get right back on and would change 5 pounds. It didn't matter new battery or old.

    I finally just got an old school scale with the springs in it. I found it much more stable....

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