Looking for a reliable/accurate body weight scale.
Options
meunse01
Posts: 36 Member
Hello all,
Could anyone recommend a good/reliable/accurate body weight scale? I have tried two Taylor brand scales and they are both inaccurate. The stores here carry mostly Taylor. I'm now looking online. I can lose/gain 2-4 pounds in a few minutes/seconds, even after I follow company instructions. I am also hoping to avoid paying over $100. I see some on Amazon at those prices. Thanks in advance.
Could anyone recommend a good/reliable/accurate body weight scale? I have tried two Taylor brand scales and they are both inaccurate. The stores here carry mostly Taylor. I'm now looking online. I can lose/gain 2-4 pounds in a few minutes/seconds, even after I follow company instructions. I am also hoping to avoid paying over $100. I see some on Amazon at those prices. Thanks in advance.
1
Replies
-
I have had 2 weight watchers that have always been really accurate and lasted a long time1
-
You change weight all the time and will on any scales.
The way to get it as accurate as possible would be to keep the scale in the same place, weigh yourself naked in a morning after your first wee. Look at the over all trend as you will not always lose, it will be up some times down others.0 -
RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »You change weight all the time and will on any scales.
The way to get it as accurate as possible would be to keep the scale in the same place, weigh yourself naked in a morning after your first wee. Look at the over all trend as you will not always lose, it will be up some times down others.
I think the OP is talking about the weight changing when hopping off and back on the scale. My cheap Thinner scale does that. It also weighs a pound or two more than the scale I got from the VA's TeleMOVE program so I'm looking to replace it when I'm done with the program. I put in fresh batteries, which didn't help.1 -
I bought a physician's scale off of Amazon a year or two back, and I'll probably never buy a digital scale again. It cost around $150 at the time, but I feel like it was worth every penny.1
-
kshama2001 wrote: »RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »You change weight all the time and will on any scales.
The way to get it as accurate as possible would be to keep the scale in the same place, weigh yourself naked in a morning after your first wee. Look at the over all trend as you will not always lose, it will be up some times down others.
I think the OP is talking about the weight changing when hopping off and back on the scale. My cheap Thinner scale does that. It also weighs a pound or two more than the scale I got from the VA's TeleMOVE program so I'm looking to replace it when I'm done with the program. I put in fresh batteries, which didn't help.
Those fluctuations don't matter either if you weigh yourself regularly with the same scale....the noise will cancel over time and still give you a reliable trend.
You can get good data from a poor instrument just through regular measurement. Pretty much any scale will do.
Plus it's not so much what you weigh as how your weight is changing.2 -
All of the retail scales are inaccurate and inconsistent in their own ways. I have 2 identical Weight Watcher digital scales that I bought from Costco that NEVER give the same readings.
Just buy one of the cheaper ones - - around $20-30 max - - w/o all of the needless bells and whistles - - and just stick w/it (as noted, different scales will read differently) and weigh yourself at the same time of day and under the same conditions (eg., naked in the morning after going to the toilet and b4 eating or drinking anything) which will minimize variability. That's the best you can do.0 -
I bought a physician's scale off of Amazon a year or two back, and I'll probably never buy a digital scale again. It cost around $150 at the time, but I feel like it was worth every penny.
I was thinking about doing this too until I read too many reviews of the doctor office type balance beam scales that complained about inconsistent readings and other problems (similar to the complaints made about digital bathroom scales). Guess, nothing's perfect.0 -
I bought a physician's scale off of Amazon a year or two back, and I'll probably never buy a digital scale again. It cost around $150 at the time, but I feel like it was worth every penny.
I was thinking about doing this too until I read too many reviews of the doctor office type balance beam scales that complained about inconsistent readings and other problems (similar to the complaints made about digital bathroom scales). Guess, nothing's perfect.
I've had both, and I don't notice any inconsistencies. But, I also make sure it's balanced on zero. I can get on/off the scale multiple times and the readings are precise.0 -
Sure thing, here is a link: https://www.amazon.com/Healthometer-402KL-Physician-Scale-Height/dp/B0009MFUZY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
I bought mine 3 years ago, not 2 like I thought. I didn't realise it had been so long until I pulled up my order on Amazon.1 -
Why does it matter if the scale is inconsistant? Inconsistency would be random and in the form of +/- error, if you weigh yourself regularly that error would take the form of noise but the signal of your actual weight loss would stand out in the trend from that noise.
Lets say on a given day your scale was off by 4 pounds either too high or too low. As long as you continue to weigh yourself regularly on that scale over time you will still be able to tell with high accuracy when you have lost 5 pounds because your weight measures will go from X +/- 4 to (X-5) +/-4
There is no need for an "accurate" scale...weight is arbitrary anyways, it is the change that is important and even a hugely "innacurate" scale can still be used to accurately measure weight change over time.0 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Why does it matter if the scale is inconsistant? Inconsistency would be random and in the form of +/- error, if you weigh yourself regularly that error would take the form of noise but the signal of your actual weight loss would stand out in the trend from that noise.
Lets say on a given day your scale was off by 4 pounds either too high or too low. As long as you continue to weigh yourself regularly on that scale over time you will still be able to tell with high accuracy when you have lost 5 pounds because your weight measures will go from X +/- 4 to (X-5) +/-4
There is no need for an "accurate" scale...weight is arbitrary anyways, it is the change that is important and even a hugely "innacurate" scale can still be used to accurately measure weight change over time.
That's your opinion, though I feel that precision matters more than accuracy when it comes to scales.
I understand how signal and noise works. But I still prefer to have a scale that gives me precise measurements, where I'm not filtering out noise from the number moving around every time I step on it.0 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Why does it matter if the scale is inconsistant? Inconsistency would be random and in the form of +/- error, if you weigh yourself regularly that error would take the form of noise but the signal of your actual weight loss would stand out in the trend from that noise.
Lets say on a given day your scale was off by 4 pounds either too high or too low. As long as you continue to weigh yourself regularly on that scale over time you will still be able to tell with high accuracy when you have lost 5 pounds because your weight measures will go from X +/- 4 to (X-5) +/-4
There is no need for an "accurate" scale...weight is arbitrary anyways, it is the change that is important and even a hugely "innacurate" scale can still be used to accurately measure weight change over time.
That's your opinion, though I feel that precision matters more than accuracy when it comes to scales.
I understand how signal and noise works. But I still prefer to have a scale that gives me precise measurements, where I'm not filtering out noise from the number moving around every time I step on it.
It really isn't an opinion, its math.
If you have something that has a +/- range of error that error is inconsequential to the measurement of a trend over time. Weight loss is a trend over time.
If you measure your weight one week on a scale daily that is off by +/- 4 pounds and you measure 167, 171,175, 172, 169, 168 and then you measure yourself 2 months later over the course of a week daily and you measure 163, 165, 168, 162, 170, 167 then you can tell that you have lost 5 pounds just as well as if the scale was perfectly "accurate" scale that measured you at 171 the first time and 166 2 months later. Weight is arbitrary anyways, it is just a number. Scales can be off but the amount they are off is washed out in the use of repeated measurement over time, it that doesn't matter that they are "off" because when they are off they are off in both directions (+/-) and consistent measurement will wash out that noise same as with the use of any instrument.
What does it even mean to talk about your "true" weight? The number isn't that meaningful in and of itself...it is the trendline that has meaning, not the scalar values. That trendline will be the same whether it is a 5 dollar thrift store scale or a 250 dollar "precision" scale.
If your scale has high error you can just use a moving average to smooth out the error easily at zero cost and minimal effort.
This is easy to test in the real world so it doesn't have to be a matter of opinon. Get yourself a 5 dollar scale, get yourself a dumbell with removable plates of known weight. Measure that dumbell 10 times then strip off 5 pounds of weight and measure it another 10 times. The average change will be 5 pounds. An "accurate" scale won't do it any better and its not like you have to measure yourself daily 10 times its the multiple measurements over the course of time once per day that will wash out that error in the same way.
As for not "worrying" about filtering out the noise that pretends like you have some sort of "True" weight. You don't, your body is going to fluctate weight by a good 5 pounds on its own throughout the day and depending on the time of month or how much water you happen to be retaining. The only way to see your weight loss through that noise is repeated measurement anyway and that same repeated measurement will just as easily wipe out any error present in the scale itself with zero added effort.
This idea that you are a specific weight and you just need an accurate scale to see what that weight is is not panned out by reality.1 -
My weight tracked over time using a 5 dollar scale from target. Used a moving average and included one standard deviation of error in the plot:
The slope gave my weight loss per day and the R^2 shows you how reliable even a $5 scale is over time. If I had instead bought a $200 scale I would I have ended up with a different result? No, the trend would have been the same and the only thing I would have lost extra would be $195. Perhaps my weight on a given day would be 158 instead of 160 and the 158 was more "accurate" whatever that means but does that actually matter? Not really.
OP get yourself a cheap scale and just measure your weight regularly and plot the change over time, no need to spend a lot of money.1 -
Detecto brand is suppose to be the most accurate.0
-
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Why does it matter if the scale is inconsistant? Inconsistency would be random and in the form of +/- error, if you weigh yourself regularly that error would take the form of noise but the signal of your actual weight loss would stand out in the trend from that noise.
Lets say on a given day your scale was off by 4 pounds either too high or too low. As long as you continue to weigh yourself regularly on that scale over time you will still be able to tell with high accuracy when you have lost 5 pounds because your weight measures will go from X +/- 4 to (X-5) +/-4
There is no need for an "accurate" scale...weight is arbitrary anyways, it is the change that is important and even a hugely "innacurate" scale can still be used to accurately measure weight change over time.
That's your opinion, though I feel that precision matters more than accuracy when it comes to scales.
I understand how signal and noise works. But I still prefer to have a scale that gives me precise measurements, where I'm not filtering out noise from the number moving around every time I step on it.
It really isn't an opinion, its math.
If you have something that has a +/- range of error that error is inconsequential to the measurement of a trend over time. Weight loss is a trend over time.
If you measure your weight one week on a scale daily that is off by +/- 4 pounds and you measure 167, 171,175, 172, 169, 168 and then you measure yourself 2 months later over the course of a week daily and you measure 163, 165, 168, 162, 170, 167 then you can tell that you have lost 5 pounds just as well as if the scale was perfectly "accurate" scale that measured you at 171 the first time and 166 2 months later. Weight is arbitrary anyways, it is just a number. Scales can be off but the amount they are off is washed out in the use of repeated measurement over time, it that doesn't matter that they are "off" because when they are off they are off in both directions (+/-) and consistent measurement will wash out that noise same as with the use of any instrument.
What does it even mean to talk about your "true" weight? The number isn't that meaningful in and of itself...it is the trendline that has meaning, not the scalar values. That trendline will be the same whether it is a 5 dollar thrift store scale or a 250 dollar "precision" scale.
If your scale has high error you can just use a moving average to smooth out the error easily at zero cost and minimal effort.
This is easy to test in the real world so it doesn't have to be a matter of opinon. Get yourself a 5 dollar scale, get yourself a dumbell with removable plates of known weight. Measure that dumbell 10 times then strip off 5 pounds of weight and measure it another 10 times. The average change will be 5 pounds. An "accurate" scale won't do it any better and its not like you have to measure yourself daily 10 times its the multiple measurements over the course of time once per day that will wash out that error in the same way.
As for not "worrying" about filtering out the noise that pretends like you have some sort of "True" weight. You don't, your body is going to fluctate weight by a good 5 pounds on its own throughout the day and depending on the time of month or how much water you happen to be retaining. The only way to see your weight loss through that noise is repeated measurement anyway and that same repeated measurement will just as easily wipe out any error present in the scale itself with zero added effort.
This idea that you are a specific weight and you just need an accurate scale to see what that weight is is not panned out by reality.
You can keep repeating yourself over and over all you want, I stand by what I said. Having a precise scale matters to me.
If I normally weigh 128 and step on the scale and it says 142, so I get off and try again and it says 136, try again and it says 133? That's a problem. Plotting the numbers to cancel noise isn't going to do me a lot of good when the scale can't give precise numbers. I don't care whether the numbers were supposed to be up or down, they're too far apart from each other to do any good.
That's where scale precision matters. I've experienced the "numbers jumping all over the place" to the point where I couldn't get a decent trend, because saying that the random jumps were going to be the same everyday is laughable.
So I bought a scale that's precise. I don't worry so much about it's accuracy, because water fluctuations and a myriad of other things change my weight each day, but I do want to know that it's giving me precise measurements.0 -
Your statement that the concept that scale error will evaporate over time in the trend is laughable is exactly the same as saying the idea that weight fluctuations due to variations in water retention that naturally occur in your body will evaporate over time in a trend is laughable. It isn't laughable, it's true. Presumably you are using scale weight to measure fat loss and that fat loss is obscured by variations in the same way be it from water retention or scale inaccuracy and in the same way neither matter if you continue your measurements over time. What do you not agree with....explain with math.
It doesn't matter if it measured 2 pounds "too much" one day and 5 pounds "too little" the next due to my scale or due to water retention from sodium intake....over the timescale of actual weightloss for every plus 2 there will be a minus two and for every minus five there will be a plus 5 and that noise will cancel. If that isnt the case you'd have to explain why there would be a specific bias in the error rather than just noise and good luck doing that. The exact same is true for bodyweight fluctuations due to water retention or do you not believe that either.
Instrument calibration is inconsequential to timecourses, any laboratory science course will show you that.
Also I never claimed to be saying anything about what YOU "need" I was advising the OP based on the fact (yes fact not opinion) that regular measurement over time will yield the same result on a 5 dollar scale as on a 200 scale.
How would my trend line look different if I had your scale instead of the one from Target? Would I become healthier? Would I "know" my weightloss in a way that was somehow more accurate? No...I wouldn't.
If you have disposible income and it makes you feel better to have an expensive scale and that feeling better helps you stay on track then by all means get one....but don't delude yourself into thinking you are somehow more accurately tracking your weightloss compared to someone with a cheap scale because you arent...not in reality. But you are right, to you as an individual what goes on in your head is more important than reality (not even being facetious I do believe that) but the math does not support your belief that your scale is somehow going to track your weightloss over time compared to any other.0 -
RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »You change weight all the time and will on any scales.
The way to get it as accurate as possible would be to keep the scale in the same place, weigh yourself naked in a morning after your first wee. Look at the over all trend as you will not always lose, it will be up some times down others.
I've done all that.
0 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »You change weight all the time and will on any scales.
The way to get it as accurate as possible would be to keep the scale in the same place, weigh yourself naked in a morning after your first wee. Look at the over all trend as you will not always lose, it will be up some times down others.
I think the OP is talking about the weight changing when hopping off and back on the scale. My cheap Thinner scale does that. It also weighs a pound or two more than the scale I got from the VA's TeleMOVE program so I'm looking to replace it when I'm done with the program. I put in fresh batteries, which didn't help.
Those fluctuations don't matter either if you weigh yourself regularly with the same scale....the noise will cancel over time and still give you a reliable trend.
You can get good data from a poor instrument just through regular measurement. Pretty much any scale will do.
Plus it's not so much what you weigh as how your weight is changing.
My nutritionist likes a weekly body weight measurement.0 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Why does it matter if the scale is inconsistant? Inconsistency would be random and in the form of +/- error, if you weigh yourself regularly that error would take the form of noise but the signal of your actual weight loss would stand out in the trend from that noise.
Lets say on a given day your scale was off by 4 pounds either too high or too low. As long as you continue to weigh yourself regularly on that scale over time you will still be able to tell with high accuracy when you have lost 5 pounds because your weight measures will go from X +/- 4 to (X-5) +/-4
There is no need for an "accurate" scale...weight is arbitrary anyways, it is the change that is important and even a hugely "innacurate" scale can still be used to accurately measure weight change over time.
My nutritionist wants a weekly body scale measurement. I also don't want to wasted my money. I asked the questions because I wanted some input. That's all. I understand how scales work and how body weight changes throughout the day. I already knew that.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 399 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 981 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions