Scales, can they be trusted???
 

The last couple weeks I have been ready to throw my scale out the window, it hasn’t been moving! I did start taking my measurements and it looks like I have lost an inch and a half off my waist in the last few weeks (I hope I am measuring correctly/accurately). So I am not sure what to believe about my weight.

There are two schools of thought on this:

The scale doesn’t lie: I have heard this from trainers and dieters. You can’t gain muscle fast enough to offset fat loss. If the scale isn’t moving you and you have fat to lose then you are doing something wrong.

Don’t believe your scale: I have also read many posts where people are losing inches when the scale has stayed the same so they must be losing fat and gaining muscle.

What do you believe?

Inch measurement is far more accurate than the scale.

Well, I think the scale is probably pretty accurate in that muscle does weigh more than fat. So if you're building muscle...I guess I fall intothe second school of thought huh? :)

But seriously, scales can ge a little off. When I worked in a research lab where a gram is a large amount of weight (so the scales are very precise), we had to get them recalibrated all the time. I also know that we've had some scales go "bad" in the past where they would just not be accurate anymore. So it's possible that the scale has broken I suppose...

Thanks ladies! Let me clarify that I believe that my scale is telling me my actual weight. I am wondering if it is a good tool to measure my success. Should I change up my plan because the scale isn't moving or trust my measurements?

OOOhhhh, haha. (*Lightbulb goes off over head). Yeah, um I'd go with the measurements....

I also believe that measuring is 'better'

HOWEVER! I like the scale more ;) With the scale, you get instant feedback and can usually see if you're on track or not. With the tape measure, if you measure every day--or every week--it hardly fluctuates. You really have to do it once a month or once every few months. But the scale you can hop on weekly and instantly see if you're on the right track.

If you said I HAD to get rid of one or the other, I'd choose to keep the scale even though I do believe that the tape measure is a more accurate method. :)

The SAME scales does not lie, assuming it is not malfunctioning from low battery or some other electronic issue. If the same scale says x number of pounds and doesn't change it is true. You might be losing inches on your waist but gaining muscule, water, or the fat may be moving to other locations.

^^^^totally agree I use the scale for accountability as I only see fluctuations when Im not eating right and not exercising. Your body takes time when you start introducing new things to it and it might take a couple of wks before you see the scale move in the right direction due to muscle gain/inflammation and water weight.

I think you have to go by both, if the scale isn't moving but the inches are, that s good, if the scale is moving an the inches aren't thats good too, if neither is moving, then re-evaluation is good.

Weight loss is such a fluid thing, good luck with your journey

I trust both. I weigh daily to see how much I've gained/loss. It helps me to stop a small gain from turning into a big gain. But I also measure bi-weekly. If the scale doesn't move for a few days, I just wait to see how the measurements compare to my previous ones.

i'm from the first school of thought. If you are dieting and exercising, and a woman, its really unlikely you are losing fat and gaining muscle at the exact same rate so they cancel out and the scale doesnt move. You arent necessarily "doing something wrong", you just need to do something different