Tipping the Scale when over 300lbs
 

May I be frank here? Where do you 300lb+ ladies find a scale or place to weigh? I am finding all these helpful diet and exercise sites but they all want to track weight. Even the exercise sites want to track calories burned based on my weight.

I don't have a scale nor have I been able to find one that weighs over 300 pounds. I also have no doctor, health card or health insurance.

The last time I weighed I went to the baratric clinic with a friend for appointmentment (who lives 1400 miles away so this is not a regular option) I was 350lbs. Five years prior to that I was 370lbs.

:carrot: I will take the small wins as I was thrilled to have not crossed the 400 lb line :carrot:
(I don't think they had ever encountered someone "pre-op" shouting with joy at a 350 pound scale result)

Last summer I went to a free clinic in Detroit, but I was over the ltheirfor thier scale, so they just took my word for my weight. I do know my BP and my blood work were fine from this visit though.

In all fairness if I were in the position to invest over $50 in a scale it would need to be able to weigh 450-500lbs as this is the range I believe my husband to be in. I am not on this site to solve his issues as they are his alone, but it I were to invest "his money" in a scale, in all fairness I would want him to be able to use it.

Thank you for any suggestions.

If you don't mind going to an alternative location that won't offer as much privacy but perhaps a bit more anxiety when you weigh, you might look for places that have industrial scales. Shipping companies, veterinary clinics, airports.

Is there a specific reason, other than just curiousity, that you want to know that number?

Try livingxl.com for a scale.

I want to track exercise online, and all the good sites seem to want a weight to calculate calories burned.

i bought my scale off of walmart.com

Here's my advice to you...plug in your goal weight. It doesn't really matter. Any exercise you do will burn more calories. Unfortunately, the trackers are not at all accurate and we may have a tendency to see that calories-burned number and think we can eat that much more. I know I do. Always track conservatively.

I no longer factor calories burned and I pad my caloric intake numbers a bit. I use my current BMR for the upper limit of my caloric intake for the day. I shoot for my goal weight BMR. Once I started doing that, I started experiencing consistent weight loss. Albeit still a very slow rate because I've been at it for just over 50 lbs now.

Join us girls in the "who wants to get out of the 300s" thread. We're all quite motivated and everyone is very focused on the goal and encouraging.

If I could only have one weight loss tool, it would be my bathroom scale. If I could only have two, I would add in my kitchen food scale (well actually #2 would be 3FC and #3 would be a good food scale).

You don't need a scale to get started of course, but it is nice to have a starting weight (my hubby is a little annoyed that I know my highest weight and he doesn't), and of course to monitor progress. I usually weigh daily, and I'm more focused on days I weigh myself in the morning, than on days I forget. It's a little reminder every morning, that my goal for the day is to diet and exercise.

There are a couple lower-cost alternatives for scales.

1. Freecycle and/or thrift stores, garage sales... It's hard to judge the reliability and accuracy of second-hand scales (because one of the reasons the person may be getting rid of the scale is that it's no longer reliable, or they've exceeded it's maximum), but reliability is more important than accuracy. If the scale is off by a few pounds, that's not a big deal, but if it weighs you a different number every time you get on it, that's a big deal.

Old-fashioned balance scales are sometimes found second-hand, and they can be recalibrated. Even if they don't reach your weight, you can buy a counterweight (for under $20) that will increase the weighing capacity of the scale (there are at least two sizes. One that will add another 50 lbs to the scale's capacity, and one that will add another 100. This isn't a very practical solution for most people, because two scales, even cheapies are generally more expensive than one good scale.

2. Two scales. You put two scales side-by-side, with one foot on each. You add the two numbers. While this works in theory, for practicality's sake, you really need two people to weigh a person this way. It can be harder to get a stable reading by yourself, especially if you don't have the greatest balance (the numbers keep swaying on both scales because it can be tricky to stand still enough).

3. livingxl.com (as mentioned), amplestuff.com, OneStopPlus.com (the home tab and then the Plus Size Living tab).

4. Weight Watchers or TOPS (you can find the nearest meating on tops.org). I'd recommend TOPS because it's much cheaper (less than 1/10 of Weight Watchers, and you usually get many opportunities to win or earn small amounts of money and prizes through various contests, and sometimes free monthly dues for weight loss and/or mainitaing weight loss). Most chapters have scales that reach at least 400 lbs. One group my husband and I went to together a few years ago, couldn't weigh my husband, but they had a balance scale, and we looked into buying the counterweight for the group. My husband ended up losing enough to weigh on their scale before we got around to it.

You may also be able to buy a scale through your TOPS chapter or the tops store (there's a store section of tops.org, but you have to be a member to order or even see it. It's mostly t-shirts and books and such, but the last time I looked I think they also had scales at a price reportedly lower than retail).

When I first started trying to lose weight I went to Walmart and bought 2 cheap scales I think they were like $8 each. It was hard and awkward and honestly not very accurate but it was very close to my actual weight. I would step one foot on each scale and hold as still as possible as my husband would add the two numbers together. It showed that I weighed around 490+. When I finally went to weight watchers I weighed 509.5 pounds so it was either off by that much or I had gained that much weight.

When I continued on my road to health and was actually losing weight I invested in a scale at Costco that went up to 400 pounds. I was more than 100 pounds away from being able to weigh on that scale but when I stood on it finally and it showed a number instead of ERR It was one of the happiest days of my life!!!!

Best of luck and best wishes to you hon. YOu can do it!

Blessings,
Annie

I bought mine at London Drugs they had different "strengths" At the time I weighed just over 400 lbs and had the same problem... I can't remember the name off the top of my head but I will check when I get home. It was approx $80 it is suppose to have other functions..multi user water content which don't seem to work on anyone...including the cat..but the weight part works fine!

LMAO! i can just see someone trying to weight the cat! LOLOL!

i found a good scale for DH at fred meyers that weighs up to 350 and it's been very reliable, giving me the same numbers each time i step on it

@ldwhb London Drugs is at least in the right country and they DO have one that weighs to 440 (although they are out west). We are in the process of moving AGAIN and I will look into calculating shipping when we find out where we are going to be. THANK YOU

@kaplods I am getting to the point that if I am doing "all this" I am feeling the need to see progress... and probably the best way to measure this "progress" is in a number on a scale.

:lol:
There are two ways to weigh a cat....

easiest...weigh yourself...pick up the cat...weigh yourself...deduct the difference

most time consuming and involves bending (which can be counted as exercise and calorie reducing) is to GET kitty to just stand still long enough for the number to register....during which time they assume (?correctly?) that you have lost your mind. After many attempts they do seem to resign themselves to just standing there for a few minutes..but only if you heap tons of praise on them and hold a forbidden kitty treat.....

London Drugs is only out here? who knew...but yes you could order online especially now that Canada Post is back to work!:dizzy:

When I started out weighing was difficult..but I did take measurements... and only redid them every month. Be sure to take "weird ones" your wrist...your neck...tops of your knees...I KNOW it sounds odd but it's amazing where weight disappears from first..your clothes feel the same but suddenly I need a new watch... any progress is welcome!

I even measured my tummy from "top to bottom" much like you would during a pregnancy...as well as..ummmm under belly-hips

and no...the cat didn't help...altho the tape measure was definitely an enticement *grin*

Canadian Tire had scales that went up to 400lbs, I bought one for myself over Christmas. So you could try there too if you have one within driving distance.

Our last kitty (who sadly passed away from a heart defect before we'd had her two years) was extremely easy to train to use the scale herself. She was dog-like in her love of praise, so it only took a few tries to get her to use the scale, mostly with just praise alone.

However, she loved the scale so much that when she heard me tap it to weigh myself (it's how you turn our digital scale on), she would come running like mad to hop on the scale and then wouldn't get off. She'd "lovey" the scale (rub her head against it possessively) and to weigh myself, I actually had to have hubby bribe her away with a treat. He'd have to shake the treat jar and call her name from the living room or I couldn't weigh myself. We had to put the scale away when we weren't using it, because she was so obsessed with the darn thing.

Our current kitty, wants no part of the scale. She's a fat girl, and I think she "knows" the scale is evil. Even weighing her by holding her is a chore, because she struggles so much it's hard to stand still enough to get an accurate reading. We suspect she was dropped, because she panics when anyone holds her while standing. She's not even that fond of lap-sitting. She'll sit with her front half in my lap, but she likes to have her back legs on the couch.