scale question

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glutenliz
glutenliz Posts: 17 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
it seems like everyday, I have a new question, I'm sorry. I was lying in bed wondering what causes the differences in scales. I weigh on this old style scale like you'd find in a doctors office because you can see it is zeroed out before you step on. I have a digital scale that I rarely use because it always shows 5 pounds lighter than the other scale, I have big doubts as to how valid that is. Why the difference?

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  • svetlana_vs
    svetlana_vs Posts: 54
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    It does not really matter. Stick to one type of scales and care only about the difference - i.e. what you lose... 5 pounds in the end result will not make or break it, you can always decide by how you look and feel if you want to go a bit more down.
  • sweetsarahj
    sweetsarahj Posts: 701 Member
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    I've found that there is a difference in all the scales I try. Even the ones at the doctor's office are not accurate- the ones with the weights that move back and forth- because how old are they, and have they EVER been calibrated? I think the *most* accurate reading someone could get would be from a brand new old school scale with a needle. Or bascially an expensive digital scale. "You get what you pay for." But at the end of the day, as long as you're using the same scale each time, it *should* tell you if you are losing.
  • martinh78
    martinh78 Posts: 601
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    There are all sorts of variations in scales due to materials, the way they measure, quality, calibration, cost, temperature etc.

    One of the reasons very accurate scales (and digital) need zeroing each time is because of temperature. Your cheap bathroom scales probably don't move from zero each day unless you have large variations in temperature of course.

    As said, stick to the same scales for you weigh-ins and just make sure that they are zero.
  • martinh78
    martinh78 Posts: 601
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    Just to add, I have bought a new scale today, very fancy, with water, bmi, fat and muscle measurements as well.

    Anyway, I've reset my starting weight on here as it was 91kgs on my old scale (cheap, basic bath scales) and these new ones say 88.4kgs.

    I guess I should be happy with my weight loss ;o)

    I experimented a few times with the new scale and have to say I think that they are very accurate, repeatable, and don't change when you move around.

    (Not advertising but Salter 9147, £25 from Asda)

    I'll be happier watching my body fat and muscle change as I work out, and eventually, after I lost my fat weight I hope to go on a muscle building programme.

    This scale will help me track my progress for sure, rather than guessing.

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