I just got my Tanita HD scale today that I ordered and man-o-day....it is all bad. I generally don't weigh myself at night, but curiosity got the better of me and I stepped on it. I weighed in January, per the doctor's scale, 294 but this scale is showing me up to 305! I am on my third week of dieting! I'm wondering if the scale could be wrong (maybe the surface wasn't flat) or if the doctor's scale was wrong or if I really gained a whole bunch of weight since January and have maybe lost a few pounds the last two weeks.
That number was just not what I expected at all....
Lakegirl, I try not to weigh myself if I've eaten or drank anything, at all! You are a brave one to do it at the end of the day. You know, is your docs scale one of those regular mechanical (non-digital) types? You never know when the last time they got theirs calibrated. If I were in your shoes, I'd do one of things: 1) Take the drs. scale weight as the "real" weight or 2) Take the new Tanita scale weight as your starting point and use that from here on out. Either way, you'd need to weigh yourself on the same scale, preferably at the same time of day to see what kind of progress you're making. I know my Homedics digital scale at home weighs me 3 lbs higher than the Tanita at WW (part of why I LOVE WW so much! ).
Anyway, you're making an effort to eat healthier and move more, and that is a good thing. Hang in there.
As hard as it may be, I would trust your new scale. However, I would weigh tomorrow morning and take that as your official "start" weight. I would not go by the doctors, as I don't think you go there often enough to depend on that #. And besides that, it is always higher (for me anyway) because you are clothed and chances are you ate and drank before you went there. Weigh first thing tomorrow morning, naked after you pee and that is your official weigh in.
Old Chinese proverb - a man with 2 watches never knows what time it is.
I have a Tanita scale as well. I use it to track my trends. I have a scale that is my official weigh in scale and it never changes. I make sure I weigh at the same time and have had about the same amount of fluids before I weigh to keep it consistent. It took me a long time to understand that the scale is just a tool. The numbers only matter to see your trends. Weight can fluctuate by a number of pounds per day. What counts is your trend over time.
This JUST happened to me, I got a new scale and it said.. 20 POUNDS higher!!!! I almost died, but once I got over it, I've realized it's a starting number. Take measurements as well as weighing, which I find is a great way to keep track of how I am doing.
I'm thinking of giving myself one day a week to obsess and complain about my weight, my thought behind this is that you don't lose weight by hating your body and constantly thinking about it. I'm not sure if it's going to work yet.. heh..
I also agree to weigh yourself in the morning naked, after peeing. My bra and tank top weigh 1.6 pounds, heh...
I have a new one too and I weighed myself twice, once in the morning and then at night and got different numbers. So I decided that I was going to weigh myself 3 times and average it. This is done once a week after I get home from TOPS. I come within a lb or two from TOPS scales.
It is tempting to weigh in every day but if I put the scale in an unseen place, I tend to forget about it since I am not used to having it. My husband bought it for himself but was too heavy to get on it. He's about 350 lbs. and the limit is 300. Anyway, just average it if you want.
The number on the scale isn't really what matters... I agree that you need to weigh in the mornings before breakfast, naked, with an empty bladder to get your lowest weight of the day.
Whether or not this scale is ever on par with the one at the doctor's office, both scales should still show the same weight loss over time, no matter what weight it says you started at.
I think the weight lost is more important than the weight it says.
Thanks for the encouragement. I got on it this morning and it said 304.8, so either I lost almost a pound overnight or that is my starting weight. It's just depressing to think that I let myself get to that weight. I could always rationalize to myself that I was under 300lbs, but it just goes to show the things we will tell ourselves to avoid the work of taking weight back off. Needless to say, if I had kept gaining, my rationalization would have changed to "Well, at least I'm under 400lbs" etc...you get the picture.
So today, I start with water, which I have been putting off because I don't like it much. I'm also thinking of joining Curves because I like the idea of a full workout in thirty minutes because with two young (6 and 10) boys, I am always crunched for time.
Water gets easier once you make it a habit. If it really bugs you, try some of the flavored ones or add some lime or lemon. I used to struggle to drink 3 or 4 glasses and now I'm pouring in about a gallon a day. And just think of all the extra steps I get in, running to the bathroom all day long! Keep your chin up and you'll be back in the 200's in no time!
I was using a spring scale, bought a Tanita and went up, I think it was 12 lbs. I felt like crying. I'm one of the morning, naked, post-bathroom weighers too, heh heh. Hey, in the end it's the numbers going down that counts (but I understand that scale shock, believe me!)
Totally depressing
Lakegirl, I try not to weigh myself if I've eaten or drank anything, at all! You are a brave one to do it at the end of the day. You know, is your docs scale one of those regular mechanical (non-digital) types? You never know when the last time they got theirs calibrated. If I were in your shoes, I'd do one of things: 1) Take the drs. scale weight as the "real" weight or 2) Take the new Tanita scale weight as your starting point and use that from here on out. Either way, you'd need to weigh yourself on the same scale, preferably at the same time of day to see what kind of progress you're making. I know my Homedics digital scale at home weighs me 3 lbs higher than the Tanita at WW (part of why I LOVE WW so much! 
). 
thats the way to go! My jeans alone add about 3 pounds to me.. *ive checked* lol..
or that is my starting weight. It's just depressing to think that I let myself get to that weight. I could always rationalize to myself that I was under 300lbs, but it just goes to show the things we will tell ourselves to avoid the work of taking weight back off. Needless to say, if I had kept gaining, my rationalization would have changed to "Well, at least I'm under 400lbs" etc...you get the picture. 
And just think of all the extra steps I get in, running to the bathroom all day long! Keep your chin up and you'll be back in the 200's in no time!
