Digital Scale Vs Analog Scale!!!!

My digital was actually more accurate than my analog. I switched to a Fitbit Aria and LOVE IT.

I hit my 10 days of logging goal (about 40 days ago) and used some Christmas money to get my awesome new scale. I got the Eat Smart Precision Get Fit Digital Body Fat Scale from Amazon. It was about $50. I got a cheap pair of body fat calipers to have a second opinion. I am excited that the scale can calculate so much more than weight such as body fat%, muscle, bone mass, etc. It can track 8 people up to 400lbs (I think). I love it! I have a doctor appointment on Tuesday and will be able to compare it to the doctor's scale. After that, I'll just know whether it's on or if I need to +/- any weight to be accurate. Just tracking on the same machine with the same circumstances has at least been telling with how I am fluctuating which is the main point. I know this was a little spendy for a household scale, but I am very happy with it.

Dtto as everyone else. I was 3 pounds heavier on the digital and it HURT to have to go in and change my stats, but I did it. I also spent the next two weeks stressing until that extra 3 pounds came off.

I have a digital scale and fortunately for me it's very accurate since I get the same numbers with my PCP. Also, my weight can fluctuate up to 4 pounds within the month, thanks to monthly hormonal changes. I'm assuming you are a female. For accuracy wait until after ovulation and your TOM to weigh yourself.

I have always used a digital. Have had the same one for about 6 years now. Bought it from Aldi for about $15. I only use the "weight" function and not the "composition" function. I know the compostion function is probably WAY off...

There was a time about a month ago that I thought it was broken. My weight kept going down when it really should have been staying the same or even going up. My Mom figured it was the battery. I got new batteries. Same weight. Even had my BF get on it. His weight was "reasonable" for him. I fully expected it to weight him the same as me, even though I am 40lbs lighter...LOL Nope. Just not eating enough to maintain.

I use the digital scale at my gym. I find it easier than messing with the other type. So far it's been spot on with my doctors office digital scale. But I think the most important thing is that you find one scale that you like and stick with it.

I believe that your relative weight is more important than your absolute weight, so no matter what your initial weight is on a particular scale, continue to use that scale and focus on the trend.

I use a digital scale that Bluetooths to a phone app and I weigh myself almost every day first thing in the morning. This takes the administration out of having to manually document my weight and is one less thing to concern myself with.

Do they even still make analog scales?!?!

The main thing about weighing is to use the same scale every time. So you can't compare today's digital weight with yesterday's analog weight. Nor this afternoon's weight at the doctor with this morning's weight at home.

After you establish a new starting point for your weight on the new scales, then you can make realistic comparisons in the weeks and months ahead.

PAV8888 wrote: »

I agree with the spirit of what you're trying to achieve but there are a couple of nits that I have to bring to your attention.

There is a problem comparing measurements at two different locations in that you are not weighing in at your doctor's office at the same time and wearing the same clothes you were at home.

Plus did you eat, drink, or eliminate anything between your home and your doctor's office? Sweat? Exhale and use energy driving and walking? etc.

If you weigh before going to the doctor's office and don't strip or pile on clothing in the car, what you're wearing isn't a problem. I don't usually stop along the road while I'm going to the doctors to relieve myself, or eat a meal while I'm driving. The amount of mass lost to sweat, exhalation, and walking a few steps is negligible.

Bottom line: if you weigh before the visit and the doctor's scale shows 2.5 lbs more than your scale, you can safely assume you can add 2.5 lbs to the weight on your scale to get more or less the "real" weight you'd see at the doctor's - which is an approximation anyway, because most of us do not weigh ourselves naked at the doctor's.

I haven't personally done this sort of check against the doctor's scale, because it really doesn't matter to me how accurate the numbers are at home - it's only the relative change and the end point that are significant for most of us.

The second issue is that unfortunately modern scales lie. They know that people want to be "re-assured" that they got an "accurate" (or as you correctly identify "consistent") number from their scale. So they employ fake consistency.

In other words the scales are programmed to show the same result REGARDLESS of what they actually detect UNLESS the weight changes by more than a certain amount.

The recalibration threshold for the scale I use is I think half a pound. But as the user manual points out, you can force a recalibration to override this if you choose. People are welcome to weigh themselves carrying certain objects if they wish, or weigh themselves four times a day, but as my musician dad used to say, my scale is "close enough for jazz".

I only record weights if they go down, because it's the positive reinforcement of logging a lower weight that's motivating for me. In my opinion some people in this forum spend way too much time agonizing over numbers reported by an imperfect instrument, and over whether they should log that breath mint or the calories in their multivitamins.

And really these are all single measurements and what matters is the TREND over a six to eight weeks, not any individual measurement and not the day to day variations.

(personally I engage my scale's calibration routine every time so as to get a "fresh" perspective and then log the info to a trending weight web site or app such as trendweight.com, libra or happy scale)

All I want or need to see is that the needle's going down in the right direction over time. Once I get to my maintenance range, I can worry more about the exact numbers but until then, it doesn't really matter - the only real reasons for anyone to weight themselves while losing or gaining rate are to make sure they're still on the right track, and as a behavioral reinforcement - and in my opinion people should weigh themselves at a frequency that's positively reinforcing rather than negatively reinforcing (if someone's worrying about day to day fluctuations, they should try not weighing themselves every day).

I find the highest quality and accuracy digital scales from ScalesGalore.com