I think I saw a thread about this a while back, but thought I'd try again. What kind of scale is the most reliable to get? I have a normal dial scale (I'm not sure what they are actually called) right now. It was a cheapy. When I went to do my last weigh in, I set the dial back to the zero, stepped on then off and realized that the needle didn't go back to zero. So, dialed it back to zero again and stepped on it again and got a different result. I repeated the procedure and got yet another result! I averaged the three to take as my official weigh in.

Are digital scales more reliable? Are there any other types of scales out there? Is there one brand that is known to be better quality?

I find that my digital scale is much more reliable than any other type of scale I've ever had. I've got a really nice glass weight watchers one that I adore.



I haven't got any sure-fire way of knowing whether it's EXACTLY accurate, but it's consistent, and that's good enough for me!

I used to have a dial scale and I was so happy when I first stepped on it... until my husband put one of his weights on it and we found out it was 9 pounds off. (I thought I'd magically lost a lot of weight real quick!) And it kept changing too.

I got fed up and got a digital one and I love it. I compared it to the weight I was on the doctor's scale within an hour of my appt. and it was the same. It's a Taylor lithium digital scale from Walmart. They have nicer ones but I was scared of spending too much on another inaccurate scale.

My digital scale has always been consistent if nothing else. It's a Tanita, I picked it up for about $40 at bed bath and beyond. It does body fat % too, but who knows how accurate that is...

This is what it looks like:

I have a dial scale that varies by about 20 pounds depending exactly how I stand on it and how I'm balancing my weight.

So I've drawn outlines of my feet so I stand in the same spot, and I keep track of changes from that number and not the actual number itself. I have to go into the health clinic on campus all the time (yay allergy shots), so I'll get an actual number from time to time when I have to hang out for half an hour afterwards.

I keep meaning to go buy a new one, but I've been slacking.

Whoa. Laziness? It seems like it would be lazier to get a new scale than all the effort you're putting in.

Ha! That's what the husband tells me, but my way makes sense in my brain.

Mostly, I just haven't put it on my to-do list. ;>

i'm so glad you posted this... your weigh-in's sound like mine... if i don't like what I see, I can move a half inch and change it, lol.

There's nothing more horrifying than stepping onto someone else's scale and being 5 lbs HEAVIER than on your own!

Therefore, I only trust my own scale. Now if I was on a different one and I weighed less, I would trust it completely!

I just bought myself a new scale from Wal-mart. It's supposed to measure BMI but I have figured that part out yet...

I was upset and happy all at the same time. We'll start with the happy part:

HAPPY: Because the scale I had been using at the gym said I was around 182 lbs. and the new one I just got said I was around 178lbs!!!

BAD NEWS: Every time I get on there the weight changes... What's up with that????

I have a similar Tanita model. I've been really happy with it. I think it may be .2 lbs off because it lists all my weights as x.2 but that's not a big deal to me.

I have a Taylor Lithium Electronic Scale I bought at Target for about $25. It's been very consistent. I can do the scale dance where I step on and off it multiple times, and it always gives me the same number. If I move around while I am on the scale and shift my weight too much, it will give me an error and make me start all over again.

Here's a pic of the scale I have.



I have heard that digital scales can be very fussy when it comes to carpet and uneven floors. Any change in the level can throw the numbers off. I keep mine in the same spot on the linoleum of my kitchen floor. It hasn't disappointed me yet.

Okay, so I checked out Shopko here and the weight watcher's scales were between 35-60 bucks. They were cheaper at Target and Walmart, but I HATE shopping at the Walmart here. I found a digital scale on ebay that reads the weight to .2 and I got it for less than $20 with the shipping. It is a DigiWeigh brand. I think it looks really cool. It is good to know that digital scales can be finicky about the floor level. We live in a really old house, and I'm not sure how level the floors really are!


Thanks for all your input and help!

Almost all the info I can find on digital scales warn owners about sloped floors. Apparently, a slight incline can throw them off by pounds. I even read bad things about putting them on carpet because the carpet compresses under your weight when you step on the scale, making the floor beneath the scale uneven. I keep mine under my kitchen counter, but when I take it out to weight myself, I also put it on the same tile on the floor. It's never given me a reading that isn't consistent, so I guess that's good.

I bought one from Sam's Club. I think it is discontinued. It is Health-o-Meter. It's pictured on the main site but I think this is the updated version.
http://www.healthometer.com/images/p...FM920-01_1.jpg
They make professional scales so I'm thinking it must be accurate