Stupid scales!

Elizabeth_C34
Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
edited September 28 in Health and Weight Loss
So, I hit 188 today according to my home scale, and I feel awesome for it! Finally below 190! (started at 210 on my home scale)

That was, until I went to the grocery store and stepped on the scale in the lobby... 201.... WHAT?!!!! 201????

Talk about feeling dejected..

How can they be so different? Which do I believe?

Replies

  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    Scales are all going to be different. Public scales, including those in the doctor's office, are stepped on by countless people repeatedly without ever being calibrated.

    Always weigh yourself on the same scale at the same time of day wearing the same thing, etc. to keep all variables the same and reduce the margin or error.
  • Heatherbelle_87
    Heatherbelle_87 Posts: 1,078 Member
    Were you wearing different clothes? Shoes? Had you eaten? and what type of scale was it? depending on how long they have been at the store it may no longer be calibrated properly (especially for excessively used ones in public places) Also, is it one by a company designing weight loss products?
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    Were you wearing different clothes? Shoes? Had you eaten? and what type of scale was it? depending on how long they have been at the store it may no longer be calibrated properly (especially for excessively used ones in public places) Also, is it one by a company designing weight loss products?

    I weighed myself as soon as I got home and it said 190 (the 188 reading was this morning before breakfast).
  • carpar1
    carpar1 Posts: 211 Member
    Were you holding your purse? I did this before, almost had a heart attack and realized I was holding my purse.
  • vetty41
    vetty41 Posts: 17 Member
    I agree with using the same scale every time. Then you will see it move up, or down, which is all that matters. The scale at my gym always weighs me 5 lbs heavier than my home scale, so I try to stay off of it. ha!
  • TranquilityBreeze
    TranquilityBreeze Posts: 36 Member
    There's your answer. :) You weighed yourself before breakfast. If I weigh myself after I have eaten, I will gain a pound or 2. This is why it is suggested to weigh yourself first thing in the morning. Our bodies can fluctuate day to day, hour to hour.

    Congrats on your weight loss!
  • Ballybabe1
    Ballybabe1 Posts: 57
    Go with the home scales, thats the one you started on. If you weighed yourself on the dept store one at the beginning you would probably have had a different start weigh and whichever one was used you probably still lost the same weight. Dont switch, you have achieved this great loss, dont let a scales knock it for you, celebrate, well done u.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    Scales are all going to be different. Public scales, including those in the doctor's office, are stepped on by countless people repeatedly without ever being calibrated.

    Always weigh yourself on the same scale at the same time of day wearing the same thing, etc. to keep all variables the same and reduce the margin or error.

    I always weigh on my home scale and only every other day at the most (always in the morning when I first wake up).

    I think the 22lbs I've lost is legit since I've been monitoring it on the same scale, but to see that 201 number was really upsetting. Maybe I started a lot higher than I thought I was...
  • rharris86dc
    rharris86dc Posts: 635 Member
    Stick with your home scale, and don't focus so much on what the number actually "is," but more so the number between where you started and where you are at.

    I had my first weigh in on a fancy digital scale in the office at my gym, but since then have been using the crappy Dr. office type scale in the locker room. They both say different numbers (by about 3 pounds), but the important this is that on either one, I have still lost almost 40 pounds, and am well on my way to getting healthy.

    I also prefer "weighing" myself with my clothes, lol. The bigger the get, the more I know I'm doing a good job!

    Congrats on your progress so far!!!
  • celizabet
    celizabet Posts: 48 Member
    Don't fret! Like everyone said before, the scales in public places are not always calibrated and weight fluctuates throughout the day. The important part is you've been losing weight!! Congrats!! Stay faithful to one scale and it'll make life easier :) LOL
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    Thanks everyone!

    I think I was just really upset because I worked so hard to get under 200 then under 190. Every 10lbs is a mini goal for me.

    I'll never cheat on my home scale again!
  • tladame
    tladame Posts: 465 Member
    I wonder about this too. My scale has always been off by about 3-4 pounds, so I don't really know my exact weight. If I weigh myself on another scale, how do I know THAT scale is accurate?? I just wish I knew how far off my scale is.
  • Hodar
    Hodar Posts: 338 Member
    A quart of water weighs about 2 lbs. So, if you had a can of Dt. Coke and a couple glasses of water - plus your clothes, plus breakfast - it can easily add 2 lbs to you.

    I always weigh myself second thing in the morning, before I hop in the shower; and again when I finish showering. This is well before I have had anything to drink; and I feel like I'm weighing the least I will all day.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    A quart of water weighs about 2 lbs. So, if you had a can of Dt. Coke and a couple glasses of water - plus your clothes, plus breakfast - it can easily add 2 lbs to you.

    I always weigh myself second thing in the morning, before I hop in the shower; and again when I finish showering. This is well before I have had anything to drink; and I feel like I'm weighing the least I will all day.

    I know, but the 12 lb difference in the scales was really disturbing. 2lbs I could've been fine with , but 12 is a lot.
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