Tracking weight loss on multiple scales

SCoil123
SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I just wanted to throw this out there. Does anyone use multiple scales to track their weight? The scale at my doctors office almost always says I'm 2-4lb less than my home scale says. I'm not sure which number to trust.

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Pick one and follow it. Your home scale would be the one more apt to give you comparable results since you could always get on it naked first thing in the morning right after using the restroom and chances are you can't do that with your doctor's scale.
  • Mavrick_RN
    Mavrick_RN Posts: 439 Member
    Doesn't matter, just pick the easiest one and follow the trend.
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    Are doctors scales more accurate than home digital ones? It may seem petty but when you are 20lb from goal 4lb is a big difference.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    SCoil123 wrote: »
    Are doctors scales more accurate than home digital ones? It may seem petty but when you are 20lb from goal 4lb is a big difference.

    There's no way to know which is more accurate. It depends on the scales, how well calibrated they both are, etc. You also have to keep in mind whether or not you're weighing in under the exact same conditions on the two scales. Same time of day, amount of food & drink in your system, amount of clothing, shoes, etc. You don't have one true weight. Every scale is going to give you a slightly different number. Pick one to use consistently and consider the rest to be noise.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    So say you get to goal on your scale and don't feel like you're completely satisfied with what you see in the mirror. And then you go the surgery and weigh in even less. Is that suddenly going to change how you see yourself?

    Your goal weight will always be a range and should be as much about what you see in the mirror than some arbitrary number you picked when you decided to lose weight.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    You could also test your home scale by puttin g a known weight on it (I periodically put a dumbbell on mine to check the battery).
  • melissafawnw
    melissafawnw Posts: 67 Member
    edited May 2016
    VintageFeline wrote: »
    You could also test your home scale by puttin g a known weight on it (I periodically put a dumbbell on mine to check the battery).

    I do exactly this... Well not to check battery but to test accuracy.
  • 85Cardinals
    85Cardinals Posts: 733 Member
    edited May 2016
    You're not naked at the doctor's though. Oh you're less there. Something spiritual probably. We'll need further studies to figure this out.
  • Test_Ryder
    Test_Ryder Posts: 231 Member
    VintageFeline wrote: »
    You could also test your home scale by puttin g a known weight on it (I periodically put a dumbbell on mine to check the battery).

    That's a good idea tbf. And OP I use 2 different scales when recording a weigh in. This wasn't intentional. It just so happened I had more than one scale so why not put it to use. Also I don't log the reading until I see it 3 times. I'm militant like that.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    VintageFeline wrote: »
    You could also test your home scale by puttin g a known weight on it (I periodically put a dumbbell on mine to check the battery).

    Useful for consistency, but not for accuracy (unless you actually know the true weight of the dumbbell - even they can vary).

    As far as the OP, the actual number itself is less important than the trend over time. Say your scale shows 157 and you actually weigh 161 - a four pound error. Who cares? You don't walk around every day with a number projected over your head, so nobody else knows what you weigh at any given moment. What's important is that four weeks from now, that 157 has gone down to a lower number. Say four weeks from now it says 153....you've lost four pounds, your weight loss efforts are working. That's what really matters.
  • ShrinkinMel
    ShrinkinMel Posts: 982 Member
    Just mine really. I sure pay attention at the Dr's office their scale is usually MORE by up to 5 lbs for me. HMM I don't really track it too much though. I've also weighed a couple times on the scale in the ladies shower/bathroom at my gym. But I don't really keep a record of any but home for the sake of consistency I never input to MFP a weight from Dr or gym scales.
  • cayman07
    cayman07 Posts: 77 Member
    We have two scales and both read the same though one has two decimal points and one has just one so rounds up or down.

    For my targets use just one scale record from that and stick to it.
  • RosieRose7673
    RosieRose7673 Posts: 438 Member
    I actually kind of use two scales. They are roughly the same. I use my regular scale at home but there's also a fancy type scale at the gym. The gym scale is always roughly 2-3 lb heavier (likely due to morning coffee and water as well as gym gear I'm wearing). I started using the gym scale to get a bit of an idea how much water I've lost at the gym so I drink enough water after to rehydrate.

    I just go by my scale at home because it seems to roughly match the gym one.

    Just use the scale at home and go by that for sake of convenience (assuming your not at the doctor often). Try testing the batteries on your scale as well, like the prior posters suggested!
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    I took the suggestion to test my home scale using weights and reset it. After doing both of those things it is now putting me 2lbs above what the doctors says but I know its accurate within a lb so I'm just going to use that. Thanks everyone
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Pick one, stick with it. Neither will be more RELIABLE. Or if you really want to: buy 5 sets of different brand scales, measure yourself 3 times a day on each scale and average the results. Use this average figure as your daily measurement. Some people might say this overkill but..................... "whatever it takes".
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Pick one scale and stick to that one.

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