Do you trust your scale?

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marzahl68
marzahl68 Posts: 201
in Health and Weight Loss
This week Tuesday morning the scaled showed 195, Wednesday morning it showed 200. Today is Friday and it showed 197. There's no way I gained 5 pounds from Tuesday to Wednesday and lost 3 pounds from Wednesday to Friday.
I have a regular scale, nothing digital. I don't know what to believe now.
Question: what's the most accurate way to weight yourself?
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Replies

  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member
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    I pick a time of day and stick to it. I usually do first thing when I wake up. after hitting the bathroom if I need to. before breakfast, coffee, anything.
  • desmcarthur
    desmcarthur Posts: 2
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    My scales do that too. Are they digital because they can't be trusted. Use a tape measure. That's what counts.
  • Tisha247
    Tisha247 Posts: 849 Member
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    Oh yes my scales swing and it drives me crazy! I try not to focus on the amount/figure although I do record my weight once a week. I can tell I've lost weight through my clothes mainly, I don't trust the scales.
  • TMcBooty
    TMcBooty Posts: 780 Member
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    I pick a time of day and stick to it. I usually do first thing when I wake up. after hitting the bathroom if I need to. before breakfast, coffee, anything.

    ditto.
  • Tisha247
    Tisha247 Posts: 849 Member
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    My scales do that too. Are they digital because they can't be trusted. Use a tape measure. That's what counts.

    Mine are digital and your right they are deceptive.
  • russelljclarke
    russelljclarke Posts: 836 Member
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    No, I don't trust it, that's why I have two, and old one I've had for years and a new Salter digital. There's only a pound or so between them.
  • Amo_Angelus
    Amo_Angelus Posts: 604 Member
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    Using a doctors scale or gym scales.

    Home scales are not accurate at all, there's a reaon they cost less than a hundred and the ones at the gym cost over a hundred.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    Yep, believe it. My weight will fluctuate as much as 5 lbs from morning to night and night to morning. I weigh the same time each day, and I only record my weight once a week.
  • TMcBooty
    TMcBooty Posts: 780 Member
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    I have a digital scale and my weight is the same every MORNING except maybe 1lb fluctuation here and there.
  • pamsdish
    pamsdish Posts: 30 Member
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    I have digital as I find them more accurate ,the analogue (dial) type I found fluctuated too much, varying with where they were on the floor, also over time they seemed to lose accuracy. My husband was weighed at hospital on Monday and seemed to think that my scales weigh a kilo light ,I agree with this as I was weighed at my hospital visit ( different hospital ) and was slightly heavier than at home but I was wearing different clothes,
  • bethdris
    bethdris Posts: 1,090 Member
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    I like my Weight Watcher's digital scale. Most people's weight varies day by day. I know mine varies anywhere from 1-4 pounds a day.
  • BobinNC66
    BobinNC66 Posts: 192 Member
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    Time of day is really important, you can fluctuate 3 to 5 lbs from early morning weigh in to an after dinner weigh in. I work at a school and we have in our Trainer's room a "Legal for Trade" scale. If you can find something like that, either at a gym, doctor's office or where you work, you are as accurate as you can get. We are doing something to a Biggest Looser challenge and we all have to do our weigh-ins on that particular scale once a month for official weigh ins and I going to use it today for my first weekly weigh in and see if I have made any progress! Scale at home shows I have but like you guys, not trusting it!
  • melanie3103
    melanie3103 Posts: 246 Member
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    Those analogue ones move when you lean forward to see the weight - it's hard to weigh yourself on them, as it swings.

    I like my digital weigh watchers scales. They were about £40 I think, but this was some time ago.
  • mlbroad1
    mlbroad1 Posts: 14
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    my digital scale is right with my doctors so i do trust it bad thing it wont go lower hehe
  • ivansmomma
    ivansmomma Posts: 500
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    I have a Tanita digital and it is very accurate. It does not vary much from the doctor's scale, as my WW scale did. I agree with the statements posted that you have to weigh at the same time of day, before eating, drinking and after the bathroom. I haven't lost much at all, but am losing inches, so don't worry much about the number on the scale. Good luck!
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
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    My digital ones weigh heavier than the body fat scales and wii fit adds another 4lb on top of the digital ones, but I can keep track of my numbers on wii fit and the graph so I just select -4lb for clothes so its same as my digital ones which I think are more accurate than the body fat scales.

    I feel overweight so more liikely to believe I'm 11st 10 than 10st 10! I think the body fat ones maybe just don't include the water as it shows it as seperate percentage.. but I'm not sure?

    If my water percentage is really high there's over 5lb difference between the scales.. if water is low there's only a few pounds difference between them so.. can't think what else it could be?
  • Lozzy_82
    Lozzy_82 Posts: 324 Member
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    I suppose I trust my scales to be more or less accurate. I check them regularly by weighing my hand weights and they are always bang on with those.

    As others have said, your weight will fluctuate throughout the day. Yesterday I was 5lbs heavier in the evening than in the morning.
  • mrsgolfie
    mrsgolfie Posts: 42 Member
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    I pick a time of day and stick to it. I usually do first thing when I wake up. after hitting the bathroom if I need to. before breakfast, coffee, anything.

    ditto.

    I also weigh myself in my birthday suit and pick a day and try to weigh only once a week!
  • marzahl68
    marzahl68 Posts: 201
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    Weight myself same time every morning with no clothes on. First few weeks it went down, then 5 pounds up, 3 pounds down etc. Now I don't know what to do with the weigh in on this site.....Seeing that ticker move towards the right was my biggest inspiration.
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
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    Non-digital scales are difficult to trust. The temperature and humidity can affect the springs day to day. You always want to make sure that the spring is loose (tap a few times) and then looking as straight as you can at it, set the dial to zero before you step on. Then try to stay as still as possible to take the reading.

    But my digital scale is great, I can step on and off of it multiple times and get the exact same reading and when I do weight checks on it (and my kitchen scale) both always show accurate to the test weight.

    That said, weight can vary hugely day to day. Just for the last two weeks I've been experimenting with weighing myself daily (each morning, immediately after waking up and using the restroom in only undies) and my weight swings back and forth constantly. Am yes, including five pound variances day over day. It's just the nature of our bodies, they never hold a static weight constantly, it's impossible. But I would still recommend getting a digital scale for better peace of mind.

    (though, be prepared for a possible real weight shift. When I made the transition I "gained" six pounds. I stepped on my old one to check my weight, then on the digital and the digital was six pounds higher. But I kept the old for months and would do random spot checks, and I was always six pounds higher on the digital. So I finally just went back and adjusts my start weight and all weigh-ins up by six pounds and chucked the old scale)

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