Can you trust your bathroom scales?

RousseRonde · 06-29-2007, 04:11 PM

Hello, I have been watching my weight since 1st June and according to my records I was 101.4 kg when I started and today I am... Well I'm not sure....
I stepped on my electronic scales and first it showed 97.8. That would be 400g more than last week. Let the scale reset, moved it to another spot on the bathroom tiles (it's not an uneven floor) and tried again, I got 97.5.
Tried another 2 times and then got 97.0 both times.

However, last week my Dr weighed me on his mechanical scales (the sort where you slide the weights along, really old style if you ask me) and I was 103 kg!!

Which was a difference of 4-5 kg with what my scales come up with!!

OK you seasoned weight warriors, how do you know which scales to trust? Getting weighed once a week in the same clothes isn't an option, so I've been doing Friday mornings in the buff, before brekky but after the loo.

Any tips? I think my scales' batteries are quite recent, and it hasn't shown any error messages.

metalgoddess · 06-29-2007, 04:16 PM

Your weight varies based on several things. I wouldn't be concerned when you scaled varied from 97.5 to 97.8. Thats not much. As for when you went ot the Dr's, it depends on time of day. Best time to weigh yourself is when you first get out of bed. Once you drink and eat of course your weight is gonna change. Where I work out I get weighed in after work so its higher then it is in the morning when I wake up. I go by my scale to determine my weight.

crazy helen · 06-29-2007, 04:59 PM

I know with my scales that if I move them to certain places in my bathroom I weigh less, and now I always make sure I put them in the same place, and weigh at the same time. My weight goes up and down alot, depending on what I've been drinking etc. I don't have anywhere I go to weigh in but if I did I'd always go by their result, but you have to find what's best for you.

ANOther · 06-29-2007, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazy helen

I know with my scales that if I move them to certain places in my bathroom I weigh less, and now I always make sure I put them in the same place, and weigh at the same time.

I second that. One time I took my scale (digital) out in the kitchen and weighed in there, then a few minutes later (still hadn't eaten) just for the heck of it I took it to the spot where I usually weigh-in (in another bedroom) and it registered half a pound more. Also, I started another thread a couple of weeks ago saying how I'd had a 2 lb difference (downward!) between my home weigh-in one morning and a weigh-in at the doctor's office the following afternoon.

Robin41 · 06-29-2007, 07:50 PM

OK, I'm not from the U.K. but I read every thread about scales. I just spent $150 U.S. on a new scale from Tanita. If it changes weights for no reason like my old cheap one then I'm going to be pretty upset.

My cheap one can range two pounds one minute to the next and frankly, I don't need the aggravation.

Lyria · 06-29-2007, 08:58 PM

I have a Tanita scale as well - digital with a body fat and water percentage function. I've found it to be pretty accuracte (once I got all the settings correct!)

Lately it's been a little depressing though! My weight has gone up a half a kilo BUT my body fat percentage has dropped...I guess thats the main thing eh?

With being weighed at the doctors I am assuming you were fully clothed and possibly had shoes on? When you weighed yourself were you clothed as well?

You'd be surprised at the difference what you're wearing will make to the scales

Amarantha2 · 06-29-2007, 09:23 PM

My scale is very consistent with my weight changes. It is a WW digital with a stabilizing feature. You stand on it until the icon shows it's stable. I never move it and I weigh myself at the same exact approximate time of day every Sunday. I have been told by a number of people whose opinion I value that weighing at approximately 9 a.m., even if you've eaten breakfast and been up for awhile, is the most accurate time of day for most people who have normal sleep schedules, so that's pretty much when I do it.

If you are getting on and off a digital (or any) scale and moving it around within a short period of time, it's bound to show a different result. The first weight a scale shows after moving to a new location should be disregarded.

No scale is 100 percent accurate, it's just a tool to give you an idea of how you're doing, so it's best to weigh yourself at the same time, with the same clothes and under exactly the same condition all the time and the up or down numbers will be pretty accurate over time.

denialisnthappiness · 06-30-2007, 02:27 PM

I just make sure that i try to keep all thigs consistent- same time of day, exactly the same spot and before food etc. My digital scale is pretty good. I can get on and weigh one amount then for consistency I'll sometimes get back on and re-weigh immediately. It's almost always the same and if not it's within 100g eitherway

NightengaleShane · 06-30-2007, 03:59 PM

My scale is cheap, but I can adjust it to make sure it is accurate. I make sure of this by weighing my 5, 10, 20, and 50 pound weights on it.

I'm clumsy and trip over my scale a lot, causing me to set it off balance... but adjusting is easy.

kn1ghtbabe · 07-01-2007, 12:50 PM

I purchased some new scales this year. They are made by weightwatchers and are digital. They were expensive but I have found them trustworthy. I always ensure they are used in the same spot. Most of the floors in my house are uneven but these scales have tilting feet so that they compensate for uneven floors. I can weight myself move them weight myself again and still be the same weight. So although costly I think they were well worth it.
Hoping to see the pounds come off a bit now. Got a free exercise bike yesterday. Not done any exercise over the weekend as went our Friday night and had to walk home so my ankle is all puffed up. Am currently hobbling about.

SlimmingWorldChick · 08-01-2007, 05:50 PM

OT: That is a very pretty picture Lyria.

tomandkara · 08-02-2007, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lyria

I have a Tanita scale as well - digital with a body fat and water percentage function. I've found it to be pretty accuracte (once I got all the settings correct!)

I'm not from the UK (although I did live in London for about half a year back in 1997, does that count?) but I had to ask...how does a scale calculate your body fat and water percentage?

Kara

tomandkara · 08-02-2007, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NightengaleShane

My scale is cheap, but I can adjust it to make sure it is accurate. I make sure of this by weighing my 5, 10, 20, and 50 pound weights on it.

I'm clumsy and trip over my scale a lot, causing me to set it off balance... but adjusting is easy.

I trip over my scale all the time, too! Maybe it's mad at me for bumping into it so much and that's why it seems to be off so often... Great idea weighing your weights!

Kara

JustSharing83 · 08-02-2007, 03:18 AM

I trust my Conair Weight Watchers scales. They were $25 at Wal-Mart. The same day I got them, my mom had gone to the doctor... She tried out my scales and they showed the same weight as the doctor's scales.

I love that I can get off then back on and see the same number down to the tenth! Never had scales before that didn't vary by 10 pounds when I got right back on!

I didn't realize I was in the UK forum, lol, it's late. Hope ya don't mind my post!

mandalinn82 · 08-02-2007, 12:08 PM

Scales calculate % bodyfat and % water by shooting a very small electrical current through your feet when you stand on the scale (you don't feel it). Based on how quickly the electrical signal goes through your body and hits the scale again, the scale calculates the composition of your body tissue (based on the different speeds at which different tissues transmit electric current). It is definitely not 100%, though...it depends how hydrated you are, if your feet are damp, and lots of other factors...I haven't found a consistent way to measure it so that I get a semi-accurate result, yet.