two scales say different weights - what one is right?

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  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    edited October 2019
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    PAV8888 wrote: »
    I hate doing this to the person who just spent a lot of time back changing data.

    And the reality is that there is no guarantee as to which scale is more correct, so you may well have done the right thing.

    But I much prefer an honest scale that changes the value to show what it actually detects, as opposed to the vast majority of scales out there that exhibit fake (or if you want to be more charitable, programmed) consistency.

    Grab yourself a small cup of coffee that you weigh, with the cup, first at 100g and then at 150g to verify (and then at much higher weights to see what the limits are)

    Weight yourself without and with the cup. If no difference (100g should be at least 0.2lbs in the decimal section; 150g 0.3lbs) then you know that you're dealing with fake consistency.

    Solution is to weigh holding a known object, and the next time without, alternating. I used to have a 4lb water bottle that I would periodically reverify and replenish using my kitchen scale. Now I have a scale where a quick battery pull re-initializes it before I weigh myself :lol:

    And to build on this -- also remember percentages and scales. If something weighs heavier than you expect, that difference isn't an actual solid number.

    I was heartbroken when I found that my new scale was weighing me 5 pounds heavier. Especially when I got a weight plate, and while it was heavier, it wasn't five pounds heavier. But on my analog scale -- which I could calibrate -- it was the exact weight of the plate. Then I realized days later that OH, the difference was *identical* to what the *percent* difference was of my weight.

    So now I know that it's just about 3.75 percent off. And I subtract that when I enter the weight.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    My food scale and bathroom scale both weighed my 10 pound dumbbell as 10 pounds, 1 oz.

    (My bathroom scale would not weigh just the dumbbell - I had to weigh myself with and without it, and subtract.)
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
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    PAV8888 wrote: »
    I hate doing this to the person who just spent a lot of time back changing data.

    And the reality is that there is no guarantee as to which scale is more correct, so you may well have done the right thing.

    But I much prefer an honest scale that changes the value to show what it actually detects, as opposed to the vast majority of scales out there that exhibit fake (or if you want to be more charitable, programmed) consistency.

    Grab yourself a small cup of coffee that you weigh, with the cup, first at 100g and then at 150g to verify (and then at much higher weights to see what the limits are)

    Weight yourself without and with the cup. If no difference (100g should be at least 0.2lbs in the decimal section; 150g 0.3lbs) then you know that you're dealing with fake consistency.

    Solution is to weigh holding a known object, and the next time without, alternating. I used to have a 4lb water bottle that I would periodically reverify and replenish using my kitchen scale. Now I have a scale where a quick battery pull re-initializes it before I weigh myself :lol:

    I specifically purchased a scale that doesn't do fake consistency. So, I can take off a piece of clothing and the scale gives a lower weight. That was an important feature for me.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,603 Member
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    boldknee wrote: »
    I specifically purchased a scale that doesn't do fake consistency. So, I can take off a piece of clothing and the scale gives a lower weight. That was an important feature for me.

    Glad to hear this! And even if it were to increase my weight by 2.4lbs, I would love to have one :smile: Which one did you get/which ones did you discover? It seems to be a fairly difficult feature to confirm before buying!
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
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    PAV8888 wrote: »
    boldknee wrote: »
    I specifically purchased a scale that doesn't do fake consistency. So, I can take off a piece of clothing and the scale gives a lower weight. That was an important feature for me.

    Glad to hear this! And even if it were to increase my weight by 2.4lbs, I would love to have one :smile: Which one did you get/which ones did you discover? It seems to be a fairly difficult feature to confirm before buying!

    Tanita HD351. It was recommended by someone here on MFP. I had some mad money to spend; got the scale and a Breville fresh & furious blender. Really happy with both.
  • ouacupiper
    ouacupiper Posts: 2 Member
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    Put both scales in the same places and weight yourself and see. But even if one of them is off by 5 pounds, focus on one. Use one scale and track your weight loss by what that one scale says 🤔
    My scale was off by one kilo (around 2 pounds) whenever I placed it in another part of my room, so there's that.
  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,593 Member
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    trulyhealy wrote: »
    the scale i’ve been using for a month and a half is a scale i can only get to once a week and isn’t the most practical because at the start i didn’t have my own scale.

    i then bought my own and one day in the morning i weight myself on each one after another.

    for backgrounf info my start weight was about 11 stone 11 pounds (165 pounds)

    one morning i weight myself on each scale one after another and the scale i’ve been using all along said my weight was 11 stone 6 pounds but the new scale said i was 11 stone 11.

    what one is right? what if i’m bigger than i thought? using my own scale would be easier but i don’t know if it’s right. it’s a £15 weight watchers scale.

    It’s not unusual for different scales to have different readings as has already been discussed. As for what to do or how to track, that’s a personal choice. If I were in your situation I’d likely use the original scale for tracking your weekly weigh ins on your MFP log since it’s the scale you started with and you’ve stated you have access to it once weekly. I’d use your personal scale that’s more convenient for accountability weigh ins (ie daily entries into happy scale or other weight trending app).
  • wmweeza
    wmweeza Posts: 319 Member
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    I had a similar issue. The scale at home said one weight while the scale at my docs said another. I asked my doctor about that and which scale I should use, since my home scale was showing the correct DIFFERENCE in weights weigh in to weigh in she said just to use my home scale as my weight. They have since evened out and I have no idea why ( about .5 pound difference)
  • ecjim
    ecjim Posts: 1,001 Member
    edited October 2019
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    the scale with the lightest weight is correct

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