Should I throw my scales in the trash?

Shelley459087 · February 2017

This morning I weighed myself (upon waking, going to the bathroom and stripping down) and I'd put on a pound. I had a doctors appointment this morning and she weighed me, after my breakfast and with clothes on and I weighed 4 pounds lighter according to her scales. Should I throw my cheap kmart scales in the trash and buy a better one? I feel like the doctor would have better and more accurate scales than mine

chinkel62 · February 2017

I have the same problem with my scale. I get different #'s at different times,and I don't know what to do!!!!

Shelley459087 · February 2017

I weighed myself 4 times within 2 minutes and it gave me 3 different readings

now I'm not sure what my correct starting weight would have been

CafeRacer808 · February 2017

All scales are different and inaccurate to a degree. Even the scales in two different doctor's offices aren't going to give you the same number. That's why it's important to always weigh yourself with the same scale under the same conditions (same time of day, same clothes, naked, etc). Consistency is key.

It's also worth pointing out that actual number on the scale doesn't matter. What matters is how that number changes over time. So long as your current scale is consistent from one weigh in to the next, keep it and don't even pay attention to what your doctor's scale says.

ETA: But if you test your scale - either by weighing things you know the weight of, like a gallon of water, a 10 lb dumbbell etc, or by weighing yourself several times in a row - and it's off, then buy a new one.

wanzik · February 2017

I had a few cheap Walmart scales. I could step on them 3,4,5 times and never get the same reading twice. I was annoyed by that. So I splurged and got an Omron Body comp scale. It cost me about $130 but I think it's worth it. I can step on it as many times as I want and get the same exact reading every time. I do the full body comp every Saturday morning. I think it's a great scale.

It looks like they are a lot cheaper now.
https://omronhealthcare.com/products/body-composition-monitor-scale-seven-indicators-hbf514c/

Shelley459087 · February 2017

Thank you for your responses! think I will splurge on a good set of scales.

I know I shouldn't worry too much about what the reading is but I find it extremely discouraging to wake up and find after I've worked hard for the whole week to find I've gained weight (when that may not be the case).

CafeRacer808 · February 2017

Shelley459087 wrote: »

Thank you for your responses! think I will splurge on a good set of scales.

I know I shouldn't worry too much about what the reading is but I find it extremely discouraging to wake up and find after I've worked hard for the whole week to find I've gained weight.

Your intense exercise is likely causing your muscles to retain water for recovery and repair. Changing scales won't change that.

If you do decide to buy a new smart scale that measures body fat %, disregard those readings. All body fat scales use bioelectric impedance to measure BF%, which is highly inaccurate. I've disabled that feature on my scale.

Violet_Flux · February 2017

Electronic scales tend to have two variables - precision, and accuracy. The display might show you precision down to 10ths of a pound, but the accuracy is the rate by which the scale can fluctuate from reading to reading.

I had a fancy weight-watchers type scale that was rated up to 400 lbs and had all the bells and whistles (fat, water, bone mass, etc) but it was giving me the same sorts of problems. I'd have a 'perfect' week, and find out I was up 2 lbs?! And I could get on and off it 5 times in a row and have 5 different readings. Not 1 or 2 ounces different, but 2 or 3 pounds different.

That's when I started researching it, and discovered that the scale was only 'accurate' to within a pound, when you were weighing under 100 pounds. Over 100 pounds, the accuracy was +/- a percent or so. This means, at the high range (which I was) it could vary by up to 8lbs (plus or minus 4lbs) every time I got on it. Honestly, that was useless and I stopped weighing myself.

What I ended up buying, and still use to this day, is an 'industrial' scale I got when it was on sale at Staples. Its precision (what the display shows) is only 0.5 lbs, but its accuracy is +/- one pound, right up to 400 lbs. So if I get on and off a bunch of times, I've never seen it vary by more than 1lb.

Of course, your mileage may vary, but this was a huge deal for me. If I couldn't trust the accuracy of my scale, what was the point in using it?

rollerjog · February 2017

i had the same problem with a digital scale, so i put it in the trash and got this http://www.detecto.com/cs_product/weigh-beam-eye-level/ its a very nice scale ebay and amazon have them new for around 140.00 and up some offer free shipping too

Shelley459087 · February 2017

I had no idea a scale could be so inaccurate!! Thanks for the tips everyone, I feel like a good scale will be a wise investment. I thought I was going mad with the weight fluctuations on my cheap scale!

JohnnyPenso · February 2017

Shelley459087 wrote: »

I had no idea a scale could be so inaccurate!! Thanks for the tips everyone, I feel like a good scale will be a wise investment. I thought I was going mad with the weight fluctuations on my cheap scale!

I have a Starfrit Balance digital scale at home, bought it a couple of years ago and it's the only scale I've ever owned. It's super accurate. Gives the same reading over and over, no crazy fluctuations day to day, and agrees with the gym scale every time. I've tested it against known quantities and it's dead accurate. I don't believe I paid more then $CDN30 for it, probably at Wallymart. I could have tracked my recent weight loss in 0.2 lb increments if I wanted to. Highly recommend it.

cgvet37 · February 2017

I can weigh myself at home, the gym, the Dr, and get different numbers. Choose a scale and stick with it.

lorrpb · February 2017

You gain & lose weight yhroughout the day. It's perfectly normal! The weight is water, fluid, food, waste, etc, not fat. Every scale is a little different too. Weigh yourself once at a consistent time, then be done with it. . If you have to go to the doctor, don't sweat it. Of course you'll weigh more with clothes on & after eating and drinking, right?

PAV8888 · February 2017

To everyone who is so happy about the fake consistency of electronic scales note that for exactly the perceptual reasons you all describe most modern scales are preset by the factory to NOT give you a new reading until a certain difference (varies by manufacturer and model) is detected)

You can test this.

Weight a measuring cup with maybe an oz of water (don't go more than 0.2lbs (3.2oz total weight) for the first test).

Get in the scale holding it.

If you lose 0.2lbs overnight your scale should show it, right?

So put the cup down and weigh yourself again. Oh look. The same. I.e. fake consistency.

Now fill it up with 2 cups of water and weigh yourself.... more, right? Now put it down and weigh yourself. Less. But is it the same as that previous weigh in without water?

Aha. Your scale is lying (most do). The Fitbit aria I use does too after the third consecutive weigh in unless you do a battery pull and recalibration.

However, all of them, over time, and using a trending weight app or web site will give us an adequate picture of what is happening with our weight!

jennybearlv · February 2017

Have you changed the batteries lately and checked for stuff stuck to the feet? If that doesn't help I would say new scale time. If you want to splurge, the wifi ones are neat. I have a Fitbit Aria that automatically updates my weight with Fitbit, Trendweight, MFP, Garmin, and anything else I might be linked to. I find it especially helpful to link to Trendweight and weigh under the same conditions daily: first thing in AM, after bathroom, without clothes. Then I can look at what the trend is doing instead of getting annoyed at every random loss and gain over the week.

Tacklewasher · February 2017

What @pav8888 said.

I'm on scale #4 now. #1 didn't go past 300 and I did. #2 was a Starfrit scale that cost me under $10 Cdn at Rona but would need a new battery every second week (I weigh daily). #3 was a Weight Watcher by Conair and I would put one foot on it to force it to reset the weight, then weigh myself or I'd get the same with within ~ 3/4 of a pound. Was in Staples buying a keyboard last weekend and found a Withings scale on their clearance table. Still $130 Cdn, but it will show a .1lb difference in reading (yesterday to today for example) and connects to their app which, like @jennybearlv said, updates everything else.

Bottom line, pick one that gives a consistent rate, don't worry if it is accurate, just make sure the trend goes down.

CattOfTheGarage · February 2017

OP, please don't be horrified if you get a new scale and find your weight still fluctuates. It's perfectly normal for this to happen. My weight fluctuates by up to 3lb day to day for random reasons, and if I do heavy exercise it can be up even more than that. It is just a fact of life.

A 4lb error between two sets of scales is also completely normal and does not mean either is faulty. Scales need calibrated regularly to stay accurate, and home scales can't be calibrated so they wander over time. Doctors' scales are regularly calibrated but they also see a lot of use, so they wander too. I'm afraid it's just how life is. If your scales are old, I would still replace them, but don't expect it to result in no more weight fluctuation or in perfect agreement with the doctor's scales.

animatorswearbras · February 2017

I picked up a glass, Salter digital bathroom scale for around the £20 mark, it seems fairly accurate but if I go to a friends house (and sneak a peak on their scales) or the doctors I'm always a couple of pounds different. If yours are all over the place with measurements within minutes I'd get some new ones. I don't know if mine are totally accurate but I can map my progress well enough on them and the reading for losses and gains (when I'm bloated, hormonal or retaining water with DOMS) seem to match (or not be too far out) what I was expecting progress wise.

Edit: Actually my scales are pretty accurate thinking about it, since I use them to measure my luggage for flights too and its usually bob on. So definite recommendation here for salter bathroom scales.

StealthHealth · February 2017

I used to work in an analytical laboratory.

The scales we used (anayltical balances) cost from £6000 upwards. We had them in a special low air flow room, on granite slabs mounted on shock absorbing material. We had them serviced monthly (accuracy, precision and linearity), calibrated weekly, and check measured before each use.

It was/is generally accepted that there is a small amount of inaccuracy in the readings.

Bathroom scales? spend big money and you're still getting a piece of crap, but taking what @Tacklewasher said above Trend > Absolute value - even the cheap ones are probably fit for purpose and it's more likely that the ones in your doctors are worse than your home ones (because they are probably mistreated, moved, dropped, kicked more than your at home).

icemom011 · February 2017

This /\ /\ . Op, just look for the trend. Accept that your weight will fluctuate throughput the day, day to day, etc. That's normal. Just watch how it trends, hopefully down, so everything is going the way it should.

jamszy · February 2017

Every morning, my wife and I calibrate our scale using the same kettlebell sitting in the bathroom. Takes the guesswork out of wondering if your scale isn't accurate.

Should I throw my scales in the trash?

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