Ugh ... new scale

RedheadHen · August 2011

Okay ... I just got a new scale since the old one was giving out fluctuating weights. Like pounds either way and huge gains during a day. :sick: I do weigh myself daily, but only record once a week. Today I was 4 pounds heavier than yesterday. :noway: Um ... I don't think so. My husband said this morning that it's been giving him strange weights for a few days now. He has weighed the same weight since he was in high school. (Yes, we hate him for that fact!! LOL!) He also tends to fluctuate about 5 lbs a month not with in a few days which is what he hinted to what he was seeing on the scale. Oh ... and the old scale is about 10 yrs old. Does that matter?

SOooooo ... anyway, I have a new scale now. I still have my old scale too ... but I'm not trusting it, you know? So, I stand on my new scale and it says I weigh 4 lbs more than I did yesterday. :grumble: Did I just make an unwarranted purchase? I have the box and receipt and will hang on to them in case I do need to return it. I don't think I did, but I'm discouraged! My old scale and this one are both digital, but the old one has springs. Like the part you stand on moves and my kids also tend to stand on it. The new scale is digital, like I said, but it's glass and there are no springs.

Tomorrow is weigh in day -> of course! Should I just adjust my weights to reflect this change? Like after weigh-in tomorrow morning. I'm afraid that there will be a change since it seems that others have noticed a change when they get a new scale. Ugh. I just don't know what to do. :sick:

danckuntz · August 2011

I went on Criagslist last week and got a medical scale for $50 don't have to worry about fluctuations. Just had to make one adjustment in my weight when I switched over. .

KrissyChefBaby · August 2011

I had and old analog scale for years and when I started on MFP, I was having a hard time trusting it. I wanted a digital because they just seemed more accurate to me. When I received the scale, I was so thrown off when it told me I was 3.5 lbs heavier than the other scale said. Do what I did- Take the heavier weight and just work you butt off to get those lbs. Go by how you look and feel, not just by what the scale tells you. Stick to one scale though.

mike_littlerock · August 2011

I understand the frustration.. I had a tanita body fat scale and the thing seems to enjoy putting up random number for my wife and I. I wanted to end the frustration, and took at pick at amazon's ratings. the Top rated scale (certainly true at the time, not sure about now) was the EatSmart digital scale. We got the wide one, rated up to 400+lbs.

I can say that the numbers are VERY consistent and we are very happy with the purchase.

Qarol · August 2011

Daily fluctuations are normal. And annoying.

I used to have an analog scale. Then I got a digital one, and I was 5 lbs heavier. Turns out, my analog one, while showing a friendlier number, was not accurate. It was a bummer, but I'd rather know what I truly weigh.

cocolo89 · August 2011

hmm, the fact that you old scale is 10yrs old has me to believe that maybe your old scale was off, not the new one. I have a digital glass scale as well and it is very accurte. show's same weight as hospital. If you want, you can return it and try a different one. Weight Watcher scales are very accurate so i would recommend one of those

) i have the one the shows boy fat%, bone mass, BMI, and water %. it's up to you. take care, i hope you figure it out

wearystar · August 2011

this may sound odd, but it could be your floor. i'm having this issue at my new apartment- the linoleum floor in the bathroom in bubbly and uneven, so if i used my scale in there depending on which "ups and downs" the four corners are positioned on i will get weights from 5 pounds under to 3 pounds over my accurate weight... i have to take the scale into the kitchen, where everything is level to get a correct measurement. i'm assuming the same thing could happen on uneven tiles, as you put your weight on the scale shifts and read improperly.

wickedcricket · August 2011

curious, I had an older type 'dial' scale and it weighed me heavier than the digital. I weighed on my friend's digital & liked that so much I got me one!
I'd think it would be easy to calibrate one - just put one of your 2 or 3 lb weights on the scale & see what it says- if it doesn't agree, it's off

LauraMarie37 · August 2011

You didn't gain four pounds of fats (or even organs and muscle) since yesterday. So the only thing it can be is water weight. Did you have a lot of sodium yesterday? Were you out in the sun yesterday? Did a humid front move in overnight (and your house isn't centrally air-conditioned)? All of these contribute to water retention. You may also need to "pass" some extra pounds. And of course, if you weighed yourself any time other than right when you woke up, you are weighing some of the undigested food you recently ate.

I feel like you should only make a change to your ticker (either up or down) when you've seen a number three times. Otherwise it's just normal fluctuations.

As for returning your new scale, I vote no. It's always good to have a second opinion.

pappycanoli · August 2011

I have a medical scale also and a digital scale. I find both give me the same total at any time. I also see lots of swings in my weight gains and loss. It is very depressing at times.
I read an article a few years ago and it stated that you should weigh yourself everyday at as close to the same time and same clothing as possible. take the 7 days weight, add them together and divide by 7. This will give you a truer weight. I also wonder often how i can go up and down 3 to 4 pounds day after day. Is it fluid? is it food choices? I really don't know. I do know that on Thursdays i stress for my weigh in morning and am more focused on Tuesday and WEdnesday before on what i eat.
Also, as you exercise, you gain muscle which is heavier so inches is another good measureing stick which you can also track here. I haven't gained but constantly loose inches each week so that is a positive for me.

Hang in there and please never give up. This is our health we are working for.

Have a great day.

Heatherbelle_87 · August 2011

Ok note I did not read all of the comments

BUT

Where is your scale located? is it on tile? carpet? a completly flat floor? If there are ANY variations in the flooring level that can cause different weight, analog or digital scales

WBoulay · August 2011

Just like many comments, I had an analog scale for many years. I knew how to make it vary by shifting my weight and I could get it to take off up to 10 lbs from what I knew I probably weighed. After a few days logging I decided that I want my scale to just give it to me straight. It "hurt "to be 5 lbs heavier, but now with my new digital scale I know it matches all the scales at the doctors/hospital/gym.

kent4j · August 2011

This could be my post! I have/had a very old scale and bought a new one a few weeks ago. There was a 4 lb difference from my old scale, and of course not in the right direction. I tried for 2 weeks to keep plugging along hoping I would lose enough to get down to what my stats said. It was disouraging though not "really" losing any weight that I could log. Last week I upped my weight to coincide with my new scale. It was tough to do but I need the encouragement of seeing a loss ( even if it's small) and I figured it was a once and done thing.

RedheadHen · August 2011

Thanks everyone. Yes, I weigh myself the same time every morning - before eating and after peeing! :blushing: My floor is pretty level (nothing is 100% level!!) and I don't use the scale on carpet. I have checked my weight in different spots on my bathroom floor before to know that I get the same reading anywhere in there.

Well ... this new scale is a Health O Meter Weight & Body Fat Monitoring digital scale. My old scale is also a Health O Meter digital scale, but with out all the bells and whistles. It was accurate like back in January. I verified my weight with the doctor's scale and they were the same then. But I think it's been used and abused since then. My starting weight on here is only from a month ago, so for me to up all my weights by a few pounds is not the end of the world. The new scale has nice reviews on Amazon and since I had only a handful of models to choose from at my local Wal*Mart, I picked it up. I really don't want to order one and pay shipping since I can find one that I like at a local store, you know?

I guess I will see what my weight is in the morning. If it's higher .. well then I guess I will adjust my weights. I don't really want to screw over my team with my scale changes. I am in a challenge and we have weekly weigh ins and we get points for Lbs lost per team.

Thanks again!

KSfitgal · August 2011

@RedheadHen - I completely understand about the scale. I had a nice one and then the digital numbers were all broken up on the screen so I couldn't read them. I bought another one (cheap) and the batteries wore out in a couple weeks so I took it back. I bought a nicer one and I weigh about 3 - 4 pounds heavier than I do on the old one. I weigh on both and when the old one finally completely gives out on me I will go with the new weight. In the mean time I keep track of what the new scale says and as long as the weight loss/gain matches up to the old then I will keep the old scale weight number because it is 3.5 lbs lighter. You could just keep track for a couple days and see what the difference is or skip recording your weight officially until the number matches up to the scale. I personally would just subtract the difference.

dlaplume2 · August 2011

I had the same issue when I went from dial to digital. I had a 5lb gain. What I did was I weighed myself on my old scale and my new scale at the same time. (There was a 5lb difference) I then took the difference and added that to my start weight and went by the current weight on my new scale. It increased my start weight and my current weight, but did not take away any progress. I was still at a 12lb loss at the time.

Hope that helps and doesn't confuse you.

gpadden · August 2011

How did u change your start weight?

Ugh ... new scale

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