Hi chicks -- I need some advice. I posted earlier that I was going to buy a new scale as my digital one read that I was more than 330 pounds when the gym scale says 317. So I bought one and it said 330, so in true denial, I returned it. I bought a more expensive scale -- I weighed on it in the store while it was still in its packaging which included a cellophane wrap across the top. This scale read 315 so I bought it and brought it home. When I took it out of the package and set it up, it reads 330. I want to cry. I've always gone by my gym scale but does this mean that I really am fatter than I thought? My mom's digital scale at her house reads within a pound of the gym scale but that still makes the scale debate 3-2 NOT in my favour.

So my question is, should I just suck it up and change my stats to 330 and go by home scale. Should I go by my gym scale and stay at 317? Should I adjust my home scale back 13 pounds so they are the same? This has SO bummed me out I really feel the need to pull up my boot straps right now and follow Phase 1 100% for a minimum of 14 consecutive days. Not 3 here, 2 here another day there (which is obviously the point of SBD). What do you think? I really want to be less than 300 by my birthday, hence the mini goal. I suppose in nearly 2 months I could be down 30 pounds but I'm not going to hold my breath for too long either.

I'm heading to bed but I'll check your responses when I'm up this afternoon.

TIA
Kristin

Hugs, Kristin! Do you have something that you know the weight of - maybe a 5 pound bag of flour or something like that which you could use to verify the scale? I know different scales have different minimums. Or you could weigh on your home scale and then stop by your doctor's and weigh there. Just make sure you are wearing the same clothes/shoes for a true comparison.

If it does turn out that you weigh heavier than the scale at the gym then I know this is hard to deal with. But I think what you really need to look at is how you are progressing. Every pound that you lose is a step toward a healthier you. You may need to reassess your short term goal but you will get there if you follow the program faithfully. And remember we are here to support you!

Oh, Kristin. I know just how you feel, sweetie. But Barb is right... the numbers don't matter. It's all about the loss.
If you need a weight loss buddy for two weeks on Phase I, I'll be right there with you.
I know you can stick it out, hon.

Kristen,

Easy girl, don't freak just yet. Calm yourself and go on Phase 1 strictly for 14 days. Then check your scale. I do not recommend weighing yourself during those days. Give yourself a break from the scale and work on getting healthy and feeling good. Health for me has a lot to do with what I call a person's "glow". I can be wearing my worst outfit, but if I'm feeling good that day Bryon can't say enough about how good I look. Work on getting your glow back. Feel good about who you are now, the person inside that's trying to improve. Don't get depressed, or at least don't let it get the best of you.....it will make Phase 1 feel like a punishment.

Go to your doctors office and weighed there. That would probably be your most accurate source, unless you know someone at the post office and can use the package size one there. I know that, for a long time, I was weighing on the scale at the gym and thought that I was 15 pounds lighter than I actually was. I discovered in the end that their scale was not accurate and they couldn't get it fixed.

I agree that you should weigh something else on your scale. Do you have any handweights? They work great for this purpose. That's what we did - used a 3 pound handweight (or use 2 one punders, etc). Our digital scale was off by 1/2 pound, so that's not too bad. I'd say that you should really go by whichever scale you will use the most - if you'll weight most often at home then go by that one. If you think you'll weight yourself at the gym, or docs office, or mom's house, then use one of those. But be consistant in which one you use or you'll never truly know what's going on! To me it's more a matter of how much I lose anyhow, rather than how much I actually weigh.

Kristin: I know exactly what you are going through. I did the same thing about two weeks ago. The gym scales and my scales at home were way off (about 15 lbs.) which put me at what I thought was my starting weight.

You know what though you have still lost weight, you are still doing something healthy for yourself, and you may have to reset your mini goal but I think doing Phase I for the entire 14 days is a huge step in the right direction for you. And don't forget we will all be here for you encouraging you along the way.

Hope you had a restful sleep today.

My gym has 2 digital scales, which are what I use. I have a health-o-meter at home, but it isn't digital. The health-o-meter always weighs 5 lbs more than the scale at the gym. What you weigh is what you weigh but you can change that! As others have said, concentrate on your loss if you can't get an accurate reading. The best way is to go with a consistent scale. If the scale at your gym is wrong and then they fix it and one day it starts saying you weigh 13 lbs more than you were weighing, I think that would be more devastating than sticking with the scale that you bought and you control.

Also be sure when you weigh at home, you are weighing on a flat surface, no carpeting. Also take your measurements to measure your loss.

You can do it, hang in there.

I had dreams that I put to many crying smilies in my message that shorted peoples computers and you were all mad at me. *sigh* Thanks for the support. I've decided to go with the at home scale and maybe it will turn out the more weight on it, the higher the margin of error and when I'm 250 lbs, I'll be that on most scales.

To make myself feel better though, I'm putting my sw as 330 and my current weight as 326 which is what it was when I woke up. Not enough sleep but I'm having chicken capri for breakfast now and then will go grocery shopping to get stuff to make to take to work for supper.

Thanks for the support guys. I feel like such a sucky whiner but it really does help me, so thank you.

Kristin

I think the bathroom scales you buy for home are inaccurate once you get over about 160 pounds. The scales at my doctors office weight me in at the same weight as the scales at my gym so I measure my weight at the gym once a week and adjust my bathroom scales to match. That way I can track my weight at home. Don't worry too much about your start weight. Just as long as the pounds and inches are dropping off that is all that matters.