Scale

sass1115
sass1115 Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Is there a scale on the market that is known to be accurate, i am getting over a 10 pd difference from my home scale then doctors office?

Replies

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,944 Member
    10 pounds is not a lot. Do you get on the scale at your doctor a different time of the day than at home? Do you wear different clothes? Shoes?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,312 Member
    Yeah, close to that for me.

    At home, I weigh first thing in the AM in my birthday suit, after the bathroom before eating. Then I eat/drink, dress up in a bunch of clothes (and shoes), and go get weighed at the doctor. Bound to differ.

    My home scale will claim my weight is up/down several pounds within a day, just from the bathroom/eating/drinking stuff. (An apple or cup-worth of water weighs the same in my stomach as in my hand, and the reason isn't calories/body fat.)

    If your home scale is giving you pretty consistent answers if you step off and back on, and reasonable fluctuations (zero to several pounds) when weighing from one day to the next under consistent conditions, it should be a fine guide. If you lose around 10 pounds on your home scale, you should lose around 10 pounds on the doctor's scale (dressed the same, same point in your eating day) . . . it's just that the specific number reading is different from home to doctor. No big deal. Ten pounds down is ten pounds down, y'know?

    What we care about is fat loss over time, right? As long as your home scale gives you reasonably consistent readings, it will be fine as a guide to your progress. It'll never match your doctor's scale, I'd say - kinda can't.

    Best wishes!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    sass1115 wrote: »
    Is there a scale on the market that is known to be accurate, i am getting over a 10 pd difference from my home scale then doctors office?

    It's likely more the conditions than the scale. When I weigh in at home, it's first thing in the morning after I've used the restroom and I don't have any clothes on. When I go to the Dr. I have all of my clothes on, including shoes, and if it's an afternoon appointment I've also had breakfast and lunch as well as fluids and possibly snacks and all of that has mass and thus weight that will show up on a scale.

    If you want to test the accuracy of your scale, use an object with a known weight (ie 5Lb dumbbell or whatever) and put it on the scale.
  • brea781
    brea781 Posts: 1 Member
    Read this last night, but this morning I wondered if you had considered carrying your scale along with you to the Dr. and hop on yours after being weighed on theirs? Just a thought:)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    At the doctor's office, I weigh with shoes off and in light clothing (because I run hot) and am always a good 5 pounds heavier than what I weighed at home.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,746 Member
    My husband will weigh himself at home immediately before or after his doctor's appointment wearing the same clothes as he wears on the doctor's scale. No food or drink in between. That lets him know whether our home scale is accurate.

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