Am I messing up my scale results?

LatoyasTime
LatoyasTime Posts: 18 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have an eatsmart scale. I weigh in every Monday and while my weight is definitely trending downward since I started my journey, when I weigh myself the results are not consistent. Like for example when I stepped on this morning I got a reading of 332. I then stepped off then back on and got 332 again. I stepped off and then back on again and got 329. I waited a few minutes and stepped on again and got 331. This has been happening for the past few weeks and I’m wondering if it’s bc I move my scale when I’m about to weigh myself. My bathroom is very small so I can only keep my scale in a corner against a wall. When I’m ready to weigh I have to move it away from the wall to properly step on. Is moving it messing with its accuracy? Because I keep seeing that you’re supposed to keep it in one spot and not move it

Replies

  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    I have an EatSmart scale, and I had to prop it against the wall in my last apartment. Try recalibrating as described in this video:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73GGzANxKvk

    Make sure you put the scale in the same exact spot each time. If you have tiles on the floor, position the scale feet so none of them are directly on the joints between tiles. If you are on a rug, find a place where you're not since results won't be reliable on a soft surface. I had to put mine at a 45 degree angle so each foot was centered on a tile.

    I bought an EatSmart because based on reviews, it's more consistent and reliable than some of the other inexpensive scales out there. I've found it to be consistent - provided you keep it calibrated.
  • margbarco
    margbarco Posts: 128 Member
    Put a tiny piece of electrical or duct tape on the floor to mark the spot where your scale should go. It’ll be in the same spot each time!
  • New_Heavens_Earth
    New_Heavens_Earth Posts: 610 Member
    I have a glass Conair scale and get the same issue. The first weight is usually 3 lbs higher than the following 2. I use the 2 identical weights.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    Am I the only person who only weighs once? I also have a small bathroom and have to move my scale to use it, but I just use it once unless the number seems really off. At the end of the day, I am really just looking for a trend (up, down or same). The actual number isn't that important when it is plus or minus a couple pounds.
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
    My scales (Fitbit Aria) stay in the exact same spot (I know which bathroom tile each foot sits on in case it moves LOL) and it can give varying results. I know for sure that it will read higher if I am leaning forward than backward and I know that it will read higher if I have more weight distributed on my right foot than my left. Standing with my weight on the ball of my right foot can give a very different result to standing with my weight on my left heel. So I try to keep as neutral a posture as possible.

    In fact every set of scales I've owned from top shelf to bargain basement has had some degree of wiggle room in the results it displays. I just weigh once. Log what the screen says and move on trusting that scale fluctuations like water, waste and other fluctuations that effect my reported weight will be smoothed out in the trend data.
  • phoebe112476
    phoebe112476 Posts: 269 Member
    No advice, but I just wanted to say my scale does this too and it drives my number loving analytical self CRAZY!! I totally get it.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Congrats on your downward trend line! You have to calibrate your scale after moving it. Step on it lightly with one foot and wait for it to show 0.00. Then you can weigh yourself accurately. I get an aberration once in awhile, but not often. Sometimes the way you step on a scale or where precisely you stand on it can affect it.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    No household digital scale is accurate to closer than one or two percent. It's an inescapable result of the way they are made. Most hide the deficiency by having a memory which reads the same as the most recent reading if it's close and within a certain time period, but all home scales will weigh within a range, not an exact number. The ones with a memory can be tricked into giving a new reading by picking up a heavy object, weighing yourself, then setting it down and weighing again. This is one among many reasons not to obsess about a small change in scale weight. Your weight will trend down within a range, not as a precise number.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    rheddmobile wrote: »
    No household digital scale is accurate to closer than one or two percent. It's an inescapable result of the way they are made. Most hide the deficiency by having a memory which reads the same as the most recent reading if it's close and within a certain time period, but all home scales will weigh within a range, not an exact number. The ones with a memory can be tricked into giving a new reading by picking up a heavy object, weighing yourself, then setting it down and weighing again. This is one among many reasons not to obsess about a small change in scale weight. Your weight will trend down within a range, not as a precise number.

    I did this with my last scale but found it easier to just step on it with one foot, get a reading and then step on it normally. Didn't have a heavy object nearby so this does the same thing.
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    I have had the same issue and found unexpectedly a clump of dust stuck to the feet. Wiping them clean seems to help. Generally I weigh once and live with it unless it's unexpectedly different than usual. If you are trending down it's a good thing although I understand the frustration of not knowing how much.
  • patrickaa5
    patrickaa5 Posts: 70 Member
    My stupid scale figures I weigh about a pound heavier if I step on with my right foot first. So, I fixed that by always stepping with my left foot. Easy way to lose a pound.

    Just this morning, I weighed myself 4 times within about 2 minutes and weighed different each time. Up to 2 lbs different! I'm getting a new scale. One that only goes down.

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