My old scale didn't work. I thought the batteries were dead so I got new batteries. that wasn't it. SO I went to Wal-Mart and bought a brand new scale.
So my question is:
When I go to the gym, they have 2 scales. One is the older type with the needle or whatever it is called. The other is electronic.
Those 2 scales both read me as the same weight.
BUT
my scale at home, which is brand new, reads me at about 3 lbs less.

I put a 10 lb weight on my scale at home, and it read exactly 10 lbs. I put a 10 lb weight on the one electronic scale at the gym, and it read 10 lbs.

I know I am not supposed to weigh myself every day, but I do. And I weigh myself every time I go to the gym.
Same clothes and shoes, within the same hour, doesn't matter scales are still 3 lbs off.

Obviously I choose to believe the lesser scale, even tho it is 2 against 1.
WHY are they different? And which one is right?

O well.
Just wanted to share.

The flooring can cause a difference. If a scale is on softer flooring you may appear to weigh less, than on a scale that is more solid. Of course I would go with the lower one too.

They way you stand on the scale, if your toes are hanging off, you could appear to weigh less.

These are just my ideas.

And although the 10 pound weight was a good idea to attempt to calibrate it, the amount the scales are different can vary throughout the measurement range of the scales. The difference isn't constant, but you have no way of knowing how the difference changes with different weights.

Personally, I would just stick to weighing at home if that is where your "official" weight is determined.

I also weigh a lot because I find it interesting to see how many pounds (yes, POUNDS!) of water I sweat out in the mornings, and I find it fascinating that I lose 2-3 pounds overnight...

Hi,
Two things. First is that I bought a non-electric scale about 6 six years ago. It was always 8 or 10 pounds off my doctors' office (all the various folks in different buildings around two cities connected to same corporation).

I took it back to the store where the lady weigher herself, checked all the other store scales and convinced me I was ten pounds lighter. I thought for sure they had a scam going (I'm a budding consiracy theorist) to make doctors' office scale heavier so they could prescribe larger medicine doses for medical billing.

Anyway, I lived for years thinking I was ten pounds lighter and "on my way to losing more". I finally realized that the scale was broken.

I weighed in on the nurses' scale at my office this past January and faced reality. I didn't weigh again until May when I'd lost 25 pounds (woo hoo!). I didn't weight again for a month, then started weighing every 20th of the month.

I bought an electronic scale at Target for $39 called a Taylor body fat scale. It's awesome and gives me my weight, body fat, bone mass, lean muscle mass, and body water percentage. I love it. There were some buyer warnings on it so keep your receipt if you buy one. Also, it does require "moist feet" for best readings. I've done with both moistened and bone dry. Seemed okay. However, I'm keeping my receipt.

I have a taylor scale too, and it's the one that I gauge my weight-loss by. My mother has a WW scale that usually reads me as a pound or so heavier than mine does.

I'd suggest pick one and stick with it. You can drive yourself crazy to no end with different scales.

And don't forget that although you did a 10 lb test, any small errors will be magnified with the more weight you use -- for example, suppose one scale has a -0.1 lb error for every 10 lbs. And another has a +0.1 lb error for every 10 lbs. At 10 lbs, the scale will each read 10 lbs. But at 100 lbs, one scale will read 99 lbs and the other 101 lbs. And at 200 lbs, one scale will read 198 lbs and the other 202 lbs -- a 4 lb difference between the two. Errors are magnified, and a 10 lb test may not tell the real story...

So, either pick ONE because your weight is relative (are you gaining or losing relative to the start number whatEVER that is) OR just pick one weight and adjust accordingly when you use the other scale...

Kira