Crazy scales!

cp005e
cp005e Posts: 1,495 Member
edited September 18 in Health and Weight Loss
So, a few years ago I bought a digital scale - one of the WeightWatchers ones with the body fat calculator. I figured WW is such a big brand that it ought to be reasonably accurate.

But it's totally crazy! It's sticky - it seems to "remember" the last weight it gave me and stick with that one for a while. But I can step on and off it over the course of a couple of minutes (or step further to the front or back of the scale) and get readings 2 full pounds apart. I've found that I have to keep it in the EXACT same place on the floor (I count three tiles over and three tiles up from the corner of the tub) in order to get anything even remotely consistent (it used to vary by 4-5 lbs!). Today I got 189.2, 191.2, and 191.0. My husband got 217.8 and 220.0. I can weigh myself, then use the toilet (even move my bowels!) and then it will show a gain. That's not physically possible. :tongue: I've tried all sorts of things, like stepping on and off quickly to let it recalibrate to 0, but it seems to have a mind of its own. What's the point of a digital scale if it varies by so much? (And, by the way, it has always been like this - it's not a new problem.)

Does anybody have a scale they're happy with? It generally gives me a range that seems accurate when trended over time, but it still is rather irritating.

Replies

  • cp005e
    cp005e Posts: 1,495 Member
    So, a few years ago I bought a digital scale - one of the WeightWatchers ones with the body fat calculator. I figured WW is such a big brand that it ought to be reasonably accurate.

    But it's totally crazy! It's sticky - it seems to "remember" the last weight it gave me and stick with that one for a while. But I can step on and off it over the course of a couple of minutes (or step further to the front or back of the scale) and get readings 2 full pounds apart. I've found that I have to keep it in the EXACT same place on the floor (I count three tiles over and three tiles up from the corner of the tub) in order to get anything even remotely consistent (it used to vary by 4-5 lbs!). Today I got 189.2, 191.2, and 191.0. My husband got 217.8 and 220.0. I can weigh myself, then use the toilet (even move my bowels!) and then it will show a gain. That's not physically possible. :tongue: I've tried all sorts of things, like stepping on and off quickly to let it recalibrate to 0, but it seems to have a mind of its own. What's the point of a digital scale if it varies by so much? (And, by the way, it has always been like this - it's not a new problem.)

    Does anybody have a scale they're happy with? It generally gives me a range that seems accurate when trended over time, but it still is rather irritating.
  • KCole
    KCole Posts: 7
    I have the same problem. I have to go on at least 4 times. It always reads the old weight about 3 times before popping to another. I can have a series of great days and hop on the scale excited and have a weight gain. Impossible, like you say. I guess it helps keep me from being hooked on what the scale says. So a Taylor scale is not what you want either.:ohwell:
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
    I have one that's perfect. It's about 72" long and has numbers on it about an inch apart.
    You use it by wrapping it around the part you want to know about and it tells you.
    Get this, it's right EVERY time. It never lies, it doesn't care about water weight, it doesn't
    have a margin for error, and I only paid $1.49 for it at the arts n crafts store.

    I know this is a little silly, but it's true. Measuring your body size is a much more accurate and consistant way of telling whether it is working. Does it require more patience? Oh yeah it does. But it doesn't feed into the lbs addiction we all have (you bet your butt I have it too). Plus, it doesn't stop working even when you get to your maintenance level. I still measure today even though I have been on maintenance for almost a month now.

    I'm not saying to chuck your scale. Maybe just use it as a guidline instead of a staple.

    There are scales out there that are pretty much exact, they are the tall standing scales that you move the weights at the top, like the ones you see at the doctor or the Gym.
    but they are very pricey. I linked an example.

    http://www.scalesgalore.com/d439.htm

    But remember, the body fluctuates a lot, so using a scale is never an exact measurement.:smile:
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
    I have one that's perfect. It's about 72" long and has numbers on it about an inch apart.
    You use it by wrapping it around the part you want to know about and it tells you.
    Get this, it's right EVERY time. It never lies, it doesn't care about water weight, it doesn't
    have a margin for error, and I only paid $1.49 for it at the arts n crafts store.

    I know this is a little silly, but it's true. Measuring your body size is a much more accurate and consistant way of telling whether it is working. Does it require more patience? Oh yeah it does. But it doesn't feed into the lbs addiction we all have (you bet your butt I have it too). Plus, it doesn't stop working even when you get to your maintenance level. I still measure today even though I have been on maintenance for almost a month now.

    I'm not saying to chuck your scale. Maybe just use it as a guidline instead of a staple.

    There are scales out there that are pretty much exact, they are the tall standing scales that you move the weights at the top, like the ones you see at the doctor or the Gym.
    but they are very pricey. I linked an example.


    http://www.scalesgalore.com/d439.htm

    But remember, the body fluctuates a lot, so using a scale is never an exact measurement.:smile:
    [/quote

    ]I'll go all the way. KILL your scale. I'm weight training now, so I'm measuring exclusively. (Because I"m gaining (EEK!) muscle weight.) I have a fancy scale, and I"m seriously considering replacing it with a plain old dial scale.:flowerforyou:
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
    what the. . .

    I tried to quote banks, but the blue box gobbled up my comment and I can't fix it.

    Mine starts with "I'll go all the way. . ." and ends with :flowerforyou:

    Banks, being a sensitive yet manly man, doesn't give away flowers.
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
    You crawled all up in my post. I feel a little violated.:flowerforyou:

    Ha! see, I am in touch with my femi...fema....girly side!
  • bla115
    bla115 Posts: 206
    So, a few years ago I bought a digital scale - one of the WeightWatchers ones with the body fat calculator. I figured WW is such a big brand that it ought to be reasonably accurate.

    But it's totally crazy! It's sticky - it seems to "remember" the last weight it gave me and stick with that one for a while. But I can step on and off it over the course of a couple of minutes (or step further to the front or back of the scale) and get readings 2 full pounds apart. I've found that I have to keep it in the EXACT same place on the floor (I count three tiles over and three tiles up from the corner of the tub) in order to get anything even remotely consistent (it used to vary by 4-5 lbs!). Today I got 189.2, 191.2, and 191.0. My husband got 217.8 and 220.0. I can weigh myself, then use the toilet (even move my bowels!) and then it will show a gain. That's not physically possible. :tongue: I've tried all sorts of things, like stepping on and off quickly to let it recalibrate to 0, but it seems to have a mind of its own. What's the point of a digital scale if it varies by so much? (And, by the way, it has always been like this - it's not a new problem.)

    Does anybody have a scale they're happy with? It generally gives me a range that seems accurate when trended over time, but it still is rather irritating.


    My scale does the same things. And sometimes mine even will show exactly 10 pounds LOWER than the actual weight! What a cruel joke! :sad: Anyway, what works for me is that I take a 10 pound weight from my weight bench and weigh it on the scale. That way I know how off the reading is and somehow this seems to reset the scale to the right measurement. Hope this helps!
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
    You crawled all up in my post. I feel a little violated.:flowerforyou:

    Ha! see, I am in touch with my femi...fema....girly side!

    naaah, perhaps Mike has put in a "great minds think alike" feature into the quote button.:wink:

    I kid, I kid. . .
  • Erica92627
    Erica92627 Posts: 576
    There might be a reset button on it . Mine did that and i just hit reset it it seems to be working fine.. unless it is lying to me too. :laugh:
  • cp005e
    cp005e Posts: 1,495 Member
    Anyway, what works for me is that I take a 10 pound weight from my weight bench and weigh it on the scale. That way I know how off the reading is and somehow this seems to reset the scale to the right measurement. Hope this helps!

    Thanks for the tip! I will see if that helps.

    banks - I do measurements also, but they definitely change a lot more slowly for me. I lost 2 inches off my waist right at the beginning, and since then, MAYBE another 1/2 inch. I've been checking measurements every 2 weeks but am considering dropping it to every 4 weeks, just so I can be sure it's not "operator error" if I lose a 1/4 inch here or there. I like to step on the scale every day just to see how things are going - I don't expect it to go down every day, so I only weigh in "officially" once a week. But if it's not going down for a few weeks and I haven't changed anything, then I want to know so I can consider changing up my routine to get past the plateau.

    But! I am going on vacation in a few weeks and will be gone for over 2 weeks to places that don't have gyms or scales or anything - so it'll be a good break from the scale. I am very curious to see how I will do while I am gone! :happy:
  • TamTastic
    TamTastic Posts: 19,224 Member
    My scale is like that too. I usually weigh like 10 times and average it out or see which number comes up the most. Often it will read my weight from last week (like you said) and then after a couple of tries, it will give me the 2 lb loss I was expecting! lol Really strange. One time, I put my pajama top back on and stepped on the scale again and the weight went lower!!! Kind of funny.

    I need to get a tape measure.
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
    Dang it, all this scale talk made me get on mine.

    and. . .I'm down a pound. . .go figure.:flowerforyou:
  • cp005e
    cp005e Posts: 1,495 Member
    Well, this should be good for a laugh - and then I'm just going to stop worrying about it.

    This morning:

    190.8 (first 2 readings)
    189.6 (next 7 readings)
    191.0
    189.8 (next 10 readings, then I decided to try the body fat calculator)
    190.4 (next 10 readings)

    I give up. :laugh: :laugh:
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
    Do you think that, like in the terminator movies, this is the "rise of the machines", and they're just trying to make us crazy so that they can take over.

    (sorry. . .I'm a geek):tongue:
  • cp005e
    cp005e Posts: 1,495 Member
    Do you think that, like in the terminator movies, this is the "rise of the machines", and they're just trying to make us crazy so that they can take over.

    (sorry. . .I'm a geek):tongue:

    LOL! :laugh: You may be on to something there... we have to fight back!

    (I'm a geek, too! :wink: )
  • alaskagal
    alaskagal Posts: 326
    I have the Taylor scale too. I seem to recall reading something about dampening the bottom of your feet for a more accurate reading. (Just moist not soppy wet.) I seem to get more consistent results with the numbers when I remember to do this. Anyone else recall this or is this just my imagination?
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