What to do about different weight on a new scale.

Well my scale died and went out and bought a new one. The problem is this one has me weighing 9 lbs more not sure if it is the new scale or Thanksgiving dinner. In any event should I take the new weight and enter it on the day I weigh in. Is it possible my old scale (which) is digital too could be that far off or is it the sodium and carbs from that one meal that could cause a jump in my weight?

Replies

  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
    You’ll really only be able to tell over the next week or so, I think!

    Personally, I’d enter the new weight and see what transpires! I weigh daily and enter my weight every day, which records all the annoying fluctuations (and probably irritates those on my friends list as I appear to lose the same 2-3lbs over and over again!) 😂
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    maxiem7 wrote: »
    Well my scale died and went out and bought a new one. The problem is this one has me weighing 9 lbs more not sure if it is the new scale or Thanksgiving dinner. In any event should I take the new weight and enter it on the day I weigh in. Is it possible my old scale (which) is digital too could be that far off or is it the sodium and carbs from that one meal that could cause a jump in my weight?

    I jumped close to 9 pounds but my weight is already back down 3 of them. Did you have alcohol? That usually delays how long it takes for my water to come back down.

    It is normal for there to be a variance between an old scale and a new one but 9 pounds could be a variance plus some remaining festive eating.

    Whether or not you enter it is completely up to you. It may come back down a little in a few more days. If you find this is really bothering you, you could try a different scale and return the one you just purchased.
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,816 Member
    maxiem7 wrote: »
    Well my scale died and went out and bought a new one. The problem is this one has me weighing 9 lbs more not sure if it is the new scale or Thanksgiving dinner. In any event should I take the new weight and enter it on the day I weigh in. Is it possible my old scale (which) is digital too could be that far off or is it the sodium and carbs from that one meal that could cause a jump in my weight?

    In a few days you will have a better idea of if it is your new scale or Thanksgiving dinner. Have patience and give it time. You should see your weight start to drop pretty quickly if it was Thanksgiving dinner.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    get on the scale, make note of the weight, get on the scale with known weight (like 5lb bag of flour), make note of the weight...at least then you will know if your new scale is accurate or not...
  • gemiller87
    gemiller87 Posts: 137 Member
    Put something of known weight on the scale and see how it reads.
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    Well, that was an inconvenient time for a scale to die. Sorry that happened to you.

    When my new scale weighed me 2.5 lbs heavier, I went back and changed all my former weights based on the new scale. It wasn't a huge amount of data points and I wanted consistent records of weight lost.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    All of the above LOL :#
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
    Scales are only really useful for tracking relative changes in weight rather than absolute values so you can't really relate the readings from one scale with another (at least not reliably)

    IF Scale A shows 200lbs and Scale B shows 202lbs and you achieve a 2lb loss during the week the scales will show 198 and 200 respectively. It's the difference between readings not between scales that matters.
  • Wallelf56
    Wallelf56 Posts: 13 Member
    Split the difference and go from there.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,393 Member
    edited December 2019
    @lorrpb I’m wondering why someone flagged you?? 😐 it’s not like your reply was offensive or anything.

    But she did the evil LOL :lol: !!!
  • tauntonmom
    tauntonmom Posts: 139 Member
    Hopefully there's an accurate scale at a gym or doctor's office you can use to validate the accuracy of your new scale?
    In my case, the new scale was accurate, but weighed me about 6 lbs heavier than the old scale, which still worked. I had months of losing logged from the old scale, and it was the continuing trend that mattered to me, more than the actual weight. I kept going with the numbers from the old scale, until I hit the original goal I had set. Then I kept logging the same weight, until I was about a pound away from the original goal on the new scale. That period looks like a long plateau on my progress chart. Then I started logging the accurate weights from the new scale. I think I could lose maybe another 10 lbs, so I set a new goal targeting a half pound a week loss.