Scale errors- weight changes after a few minutes

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cherdan
cherdan Posts: 162 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
After many years of fearing the scale, I finally have become comfortable with weighing myself. I used my friends' electronic scale a few minutes ago. You have to step on the upper right corner til it flashes 888, then becomes 0, and then you step on it to get your weight. It gave me the same weight my doctor gave me last week, which I know is accurate, as I use this site diligently every day and have been aiming to maintain. A few minutes later, I stepped on it again and it jumped up 3.5 lbs. Then it gave me an 'Error' message. I stepped on a few more times, same 3.5 lb increase. It may sound minor, but this really bothers me!! I would be really devastated if I've gained. I'm not used to scales, so I'm wondering if anyone else has these issues? Is the first number always the accurate one? Thanks

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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    i go on the scales 3 times and take an average. however, if the number is bouncing around that much maybe you need to get a new battery?
  • cherdan
    cherdan Posts: 162 Member
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    Ah! Why did this never occur to me? lol
  • Jayra
    Jayra Posts: 10 Member
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    also different scales will weigh differently. My old scales were a few kilos higher then my new ones. So keep that in mind when comparing to doctors ones.

    Also make sure the floor is level. Sometimes that can cause the scales to give different results each time you step on it.
  • MaggieP86
    MaggieP86 Posts: 43
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    My scale told me I gained 10 pounds in a 12 hour period, then dropped it the next day. Probably the same thing :)
  • cherdan
    cherdan Posts: 162 Member
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    Also make sure the floor is level. Sometimes that can cause the scales to give different results each time you step on it.

    Yeah, good point.. I noticed the weight increase occurred when I moved the scale a bit down. All carpet. Maybe next time I'll try it on the kitchen floor, so it's leveled.
  • romajr86
    romajr86 Posts: 5
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    I have to say sometimes I hate digital scales! The one I have at home tends to bounce around between a difference of .2 - .8 of a lb.. And its even more annoying if it looks like you went down a digit but then next time it bounces up to the next pound up.

    I usually do a best of 3 (or if necessary a best of 5 weigh-ins) lol. I take the higher number too, this way next time I weigh in if i get a consistent low number than im even happier!
  • Richard170
    Richard170 Posts: 37
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    I have an old mechanical scale and I weight myself several times to get a feel for the range of values. Normally, this is 2 or 3 pounds. It is not at all sensitive so the "feedback" from the scale can be misleading at times. I have ordered a new digital scale from Amazon that should arrive today. I think it likely that it will also give a range of values but I expect the range to be narrow in comparison to my old scale. If it is no more than half a pound, I will be happy.
  • cherdan
    cherdan Posts: 162 Member
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    I take the higher number too, this way next time I weigh in if i get a consistent low number than im even happier!

    Good attitude! :D

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