What’s with the scales?

iris8achavez03
iris8achavez03 Posts: 1 Member
edited June 2019 in Chit-Chat
I started using this app 28 days ago, I only checked my weight the day I started then my goal was to check it one time per month. How ever I went to the doctor and they checked, turns out I was only one pound less. I couldn’t believe that because I can tell I loss more than that. Following morning I checked on my scale at home and I am actually 10 lbs less. How is this possible? Can anyone explain it to me?

Replies

  • ericaflores019
    ericaflores019 Posts: 1 Member
    Wow! This same thing happened to me but my scales said I lost 7lb and the doctor's scales said I gained 5lbs
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,744 Member
    They're two different scales and you're being weighed at different times with probably different clothes on (or clothes on period) and maybe you've eaten when weighed at the doctor's office and not when you were at home so you're also weighing undigested food...
  • Cowsfan1
    Cowsfan1 Posts: 7,937 Member
    Lots of variables - I usually weigh once a week - at the same time same clothes - for consistency
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited June 2019
    This content has been removed.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    This is why it's helpful to weigh yourself every morning, and use a trending app.
  • ultra_violets
    ultra_violets Posts: 202 Member
    ericaflores019 wrote: »
    Wow! This same thing happened to me but my scales said I lost 7lb and the doctor's scales said I gained 5lbs

    You know, that bothered me for years and I finally realized why. When I weigh at home, I weigh first thing in the morning, with no clothes on, after going to the bathroom and before eating or drinking. When I'm at the doctor, it's usually afternoon, I'm fully dressed including my shoes and have food in my stomach. That would easily account for 5 lb. I've gotten to the point where I refuse to be weighed at the doctor's office, because that number represents nothing. It's not accurate. I just tell the nurse what I weighed that morning at home and they're usually fine with it.
  • wendsg
    wendsg Posts: 759 Member
    I personally wouldn't go so far as to refuse to be weighed at the doctor's office, but I would accept it as normal variations based on clothing, food and liquid intake and buildup of... biological matter, to keep it clean. :)

    Also, other variations can play in. Is your home scale on an uneven surface? Tiles in the bathroom slightly off-set? Anything soft under its feet? All this can disrupt a true reading.

    If you're curious about the accuracy of your scale vs. the one at the office, why not do a weigh in on your scale right after getting home? Just no using the bathroom or changing clothes before you do. :p
  • Verdenal
    Verdenal Posts: 625 Member
    I weigh myself naked after using the bathroom in the morning. In the doctor's office, I'm usually weighed with my street shoes and clothes on. Even so, there isn't usually more than a difference of tenths of a pound. Check the accuracy of your scale. Also, once a month is not frequent enough to weigh yourself while trying to lose weight. The longest interval should be weekly, that gives you a chance to make corrections if your plan isn't working. When I'm seriously trying to lose weight I weigh myself every day.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    ultra_violets wrote: »
    ericaflores019 wrote: »
    Wow! This same thing happened to me but my scales said I lost 7lb and the doctor's scales said I gained 5lbs

    You know, that bothered me for years and I finally realized why. When I weigh at home, I weigh first thing in the morning, with no clothes on, after going to the bathroom and before eating or drinking. When I'm at the doctor, it's usually afternoon, I'm fully dressed including my shoes and have food in my stomach. That would easily account for 5 lb. I've gotten to the point where I refuse to be weighed at the doctor's office, because that number represents nothing. It's not accurate. I just tell the nurse what I weighed that morning at home and they're usually fine with it.

    I tell them what the scale said that morning, which is easy to find in the app. They just take my number and put it in my records.
  • paulmasson40
    paulmasson40 Posts: 8 Member
    And then there's the plateau issue...blah!!!!
  • Reckoner67
    Reckoner67 Posts: 3,344 Member
    I thought this thread was gonna be about mermaids
  • kegillum
    kegillum Posts: 58 Member
    Weigh yourself daily and get a weekly average. Your weight will fluctuate and if you happen to weigh yourself on days when you're heavier, you'll think you're not making progress. I weigh in daily and keep track of it in a spreadsheet that averages the daily weigh ins for each week. Also use the *same* scale when recording those measurements. Don't get too hung up on the number yet, just look to start a downward trend.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    When I weigh myself at home, I wear the same items each time and know the weight of them to be 2.8 lb. I subtract 2.8 lb from my home scale weight and log the result.

    When I step on the scale at the Dr's office, it is usually 8 lb more than my adjusted home weight.

    It's a different time of day, different meals intervening, and different clothes and gear.

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