My scales are erratic, I get different readings within minutes

nooboots
nooboots Posts: 480 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This is very annoying. We had some fairly standard analogue scales which were fairly consistent (at least I think so) but I couldnt see them very well and had to get my partner on his hands and knees to read it properly, even though they had a big scale on it.

So I bought some digital scales. These are by Salter so a well known brand. We had digital scales before but I got rid of them because within minutes I could be different by a stone or so which was ridiculous.

These are now doing the same after a few days. They are on a flat vinyl floor in the bathroom. I notice that if I move them around I get different readings. This is quite disconcerting to me.

Is it the floor? How do I know what reading is right?

Replies

  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    These ones say you dont need to do the zeroing thing (Ive had that sort before though)

    Well I moved them around to check they were consistent. It shouldnt have different readings in different places.
  • sefajane1
    sefajane1 Posts: 322 Member
    Check the batteries, sometimes if they're running down they can give differing readings. Also, weigh yourself in the same spot each time.
  • samuelgina91
    samuelgina91 Posts: 158 Member
    Justin_7272 wrote: »
    Diatonic12 wrote: »
    buy some medical balance beam scales with the counter weights.

    That's intense!

    Just pick a scale, a spot, a time of day, and stick to the same clothing, and you should be good to go.

    Good advice. Weight fluctuates with hydration, and what you are consuming or passing. If you are getting multiple readings in the same spot, and they differ by a pound or two then take the average of three readings.

    Scales are going to be inconsistent. So pull out a flexible tape measure and measure your waist and hips and record the information, and use that as a benchmark to check your progress against.
  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    samuelgina91 wrote: »
    Justin_7272 wrote: »
    Diatonic12 wrote: »
    buy some medical balance beam scales with the counter weights.

    That's intense!

    Just pick a scale, a spot, a time of day, and stick to the same clothing, and you should be good to go.

    Good advice. Weight fluctuates with hydration, and what you are consuming or passing. If you are getting multiple readings in the same spot, and they differ by a pound or two then take the average of three readings.

    Scales are going to be inconsistent. So pull out a flexible tape measure and measure your waist and hips and record the information, and use that as a benchmark to check your progress against.

    Thanks, to be honest I have tried the measuring tape thing before and not found it very accurate as I have a tendency to not be sure how tight or loose I had it or exactly where I had it last time and if I do my own waist there is a lot in the way if you see what I mean so I cant do it easily myself. Ive also found, using a bracelet that I never take off, that my wrists at least swell up and down according to water weight, so I know that this measurement (on my wrist) wouldnt be accurate to demonstrate weight loss at all so perhaps it wouldnt be either on my waist?
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    Consider home scale readings as entertainment value like looking up the value of your home according to Zillow.

    Here's a good example from my recent readings, all on same day: 7:14 am 174.9 lbs. and 12.8 percent BF, 9:22 pm 178.2 lbs. and 8.5 percent BF.

    What do I think is my truth? 18%.
  • RunsWithDogsWI
    RunsWithDogsWI Posts: 31 Member
    The way measuring with a tape would be accurate is to choose the same time of day (right away in the morning is best, in my opinion), just like you do with a scale. Right away in the morning, you've probably just relieved yourself and haven't yet begun to consume food or beverages for the day, so in my opinion that's the closest you'll get to measuring the true base state of your body each day. You should be able to figure out where to hold the tape based on anatomical landmarks like wrist bones (for wrist) or navel (for waist). Just hold it so it's firmly in contact with your skin but not cutting in to your skin.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Diatonic12 wrote: »
    Understood and appreciated. When you can, buy some medical balance beam scales with the counter weights.

    For your home? That seems a bit excessive, not to mention expensive and unwieldy.

    A properly used digital scale--one that has fresh batteries and is used on the same surface every time, which OP was not doing--works just fine. Weight loss is not about one measurement; it's about a downward trend over time. Even if a scale is consistently off by a pound or two, as long as the error is consistent, it will accurately reflect the downward trend. Putting the scale on the same surface every time is necessary to ensure consistency.

    Pick a spot that will be your scale's home. Put it there and leave it there.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    nooboots wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    nooboots wrote: »
    How do I know what reading is right?

    Pick one. That's the right one.

    Ha, the best answer.

    thanks everyone, yes I had them under the sink you see so I had to pull them out to use them.

    However I have now moved them to the bedroom where I wont need to move them and that has a laminate floor which is a bit more hard and flat I think.

    Its not the battery as they are brand new.

    Did you put the batteries in yourself, or did it come with batteries installed? If it came with them, did it have a strip of plastic between the battery and scale contact points that you had to remove? If not, there's no way of knowing how long the batteries were in the scales, and even if it's off, the batteries are still aging.
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
    edited June 2019
    I had this issue in my bathroom as the vinyl was quite padded. I solved it by getting a floor tile and putting the scale on that now it is on a solid base it gives consistent readings. I also check the scale every now and again by putting 2x5kg dumbells on them. So far so good.

    Which reminds me.......<rushes of to check scale>

    ETA: Still weighing correctly.
  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    nooboots wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    nooboots wrote: »
    How do I know what reading is right?

    Pick one. That's the right one.

    Ha, the best answer.

    thanks everyone, yes I had them under the sink you see so I had to pull them out to use them.

    However I have now moved them to the bedroom where I wont need to move them and that has a laminate floor which is a bit more hard and flat I think.

    Its not the battery as they are brand new.

    Did you put the batteries in yourself, or did it come with batteries installed? If it came with them, did it have a strip of plastic between the battery and scale contact points that you had to remove? If not, there's no way of knowing how long the batteries were in the scales, and even if it's off, the batteries are still aging.

    Yes all present and correct.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    I, too, have to pull my scale out to use it (there's no option to that). It's a tile floor, but moving it will vary the readout by as much as 1.5# If I set it on the same tile squares each time, and zero out before stepping on it, it's consistent enough.
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  • wmweeza
    wmweeza Posts: 319 Member
    I've gone through 3 scales until I found the right one. Every time I got on previous scales in gave a different reading, sometimes 10-15 pounds difference within 20 seconds of weighing myself....way off and very erratic.
    My case is a bit different in that I have Cerebral Palsy. Standard scales with a needle on a dial are affected by my shaking and would bounce around and wouldn't stay still...I had to guess what my exact weight was. I bought a digital scale, it would weigh me 10 different weights in 10 minutes times, many times with huge differences. One scale would just say "Error" on the readout every time I tried to use it. ( The instructions said that's because I wasn't standing still or straight...NO DUH, I can't!)
    The scale I use now is a WW scale (the new name of Weight Watchers). I either got it at Target or Costco for $20, and it works perfectly every time. I tested it too against my docs scale and mine has the same weight as hers.
    I agree with the previous advice given; Weigh yourself at the same time of day, same clothes etc. But maybe it is just your scale
  • Dreamwa1ker
    Dreamwa1ker Posts: 196 Member
    I can't leave my scale out right now because my toddler will pick it up and break it/get hurt (it's a Renpho, it's got glass in the top) so I have to hide it in a closet during the day. What I do instead is I have a designated tile in my bathroom which is exactly where I always place it - since the tiles are about 12"x12" the scale fits exactly on 1 tile. This seems to have given me very good consistency.
  • smal48
    smal48 Posts: 102 Member
    My digital salter scale was doing this too. I changed the battery (even if new this could be an issue) and make sure I zero it every time I use it (I have to put it away between uses as very cramped house and destructive toddler) and it’s fine now. I check it against my analogue scale (same issue as you - I can’t read the display easily, hence the digital scales) and it’s accurate again.
  • neversaynever_43
    neversaynever_43 Posts: 59 Member
    I step on and off 3 times. Sometimes they are the same. Sometimes each reading is different. I take the lowest reading.
  • sefajane1
    sefajane1 Posts: 322 Member
    Dreamwa1ker wrote: »
    I can't leave my scale out right now because my toddler will pick it up and break it/get hurt (it's a Renpho, it's got glass in the top) so I have to hide it in a closet during the day. What I do instead is I have a designated tile in my bathroom which is exactly where I always place it - since the tiles are about 12"x12" the scale fits exactly on 1 tile. This seems to have given me very good consistency.

    I do the same! My scale lives under the bathroom sink cupboard and comes out every morning to be placed in the centre of the same square floor tile 😊
  • sefajane1
    sefajane1 Posts: 322 Member
    neversaynever_43 wrote: »
    I step on and off 3 times. Sometimes they are the same. Sometimes each reading is different. I take the lowest reading.

    Same here, except I average out the 3 readings 👍
  • TheMrWobbly
    TheMrWobbly Posts: 2,541 Member
    Floors are unreliable, I move the scales, if the first two weights are the same all good, if not try third and average it.
  • 150poundsofme
    150poundsofme Posts: 523 Member
    My scale always does this too. This morning it said I was down 10 lbs. Would love to have been that weight but knew it wasn't right. Weighed again - down 10 lbs. Weighed again - up 10 lbs. and then weighed two more times. It is just what I have to do to get the correct weight. Annoying - sure. And for me, because the scale is such a problem for me mentally, I had my scale hidden from me for the month. Asked for it to come out of hiding and then I go and weigh myself 3 days short of 1 month and now I am back to being so obsessed about the number. I thought I was now ready to handle the scale but I am sorry to say I am not. So after Monday a.m. the scale will be hidden. (I guess I went off topic a bit, sorry)

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