by metric i take it you mean a mechanical one that you step on the and needle moves around? i'd always take the mechanical ones as the distance the needle moves is a true consequence of teh pressure put on it. where as digital ones have to run through a chip and calculations and all sorts of thins, depending ont eh logic chips used it could vary significantly.

althought you need to be aware with mechanical scales the heavier you are over time the less accurate the scales are, if for example your pushing the scales to their limit i.e 19st on normal scales the springs inside get loaded beyond their limit and slowly stretch giving inaccurate readings

I think your digital needs a new battery. Go weigh at the doctors, go right home and weigh on your mechanical. Adjust the wheel so your weight is the same as it was at the doctor's. This should maintain a reasonable accuracy for at least 10% more weight loss, then readjust. Ta-da!

Is your scale sitting on carpeting or a solid surface?

i always have mine sitting on a hard surface so the scale doesnt move. Also try tracing over your feet so each time you get on you stand in the same exact spot. Hope it helps

168 is way out compared to the other three you weights you gave, if you were weighing something other than yourself and got one weight way out like that you'd disregard it, so there's no reason to go for that weight just because it's yourself you're weighing

I think Kofarq's suggestion of using a doctor's scale is a really good idea. At least it'll be so less scary now that you're so slim compared to someone like me You could try going to the well woman clinic at your surgery if they still do something like that.

I hope you find an answer that makes you happy, and makes you believe in yourself and how good you look (I saw your thread with the photos in it, you look brilliant).

Re the carpet thing, I've always found scales much more consistent on a hard surface rather than carpet, stick to weighing on a hard surface if you can, imho.

loopy sweety... i always weigh in my kitchen (only hard floor) carpet SERIOUSLY distorts the reading as correct pressure isnt applied. one minute my wii fit tells me one thing, the next its another,

if you can afford it invest in some good scales.

mine were £39.99 from argos... theyre homedic ones and the most accurate ive ever had. i can give you catalogue number if u like hun x

I always weigh on a hard surface also. I just got a new digital w/ bmi caculator(about $40 US). My old scale was giving me different readings just by bending over to move the little markers. It would also change from stepping on and off(up to 10 lbs. difference). I try to be sure to stand in pretty much to same position with my feet in the same spot. My new scale gives me the same reading squatting or standing, leaning forward or back and when I get on and off. My ex visited last week and really liked it too. Hopefully, you can get your money back on the ones you got. It would be worth the extra $$$ just to maintain your sanity. I know my old one was making me nuts.

I'm of the opinion that all scales will generally give different readings. One suggestion would be to weigh a bag of sugar on the scales and check the accuracy as it's a known weight?

I got a £40 or so expensive one that does your body fat % etc - turned out to be just as rubbish as the cheapo Ikea mechanical ones I had before. In fact I could get 6 different readings, on 6 different parts of the same (hard) floor in the same minute. Those readings might differ by 5 or 6lb.

So then I chucked the scales. They can be a real diet killer. Measurements are a more accurate way of keeping track. Scales are weighing how much water you drink, what you ate last, water retention at various stages of your cycle, retention affected by what you ate (or didn't), etc etc... They're not measuring very much that's useful. According to scales, after over a year's hard dieting and going down from a large size 22 to a small 12, I was still nearly 10lb overweight according to BMI - with a 26" waist, and at five foot six?

Also think these things are psychologically damaging - that if you weight more than say once a week, the temptation creeps up to weigh more and before you know it, is daily - which is not healthy, because you're picking up minor fluctuations then acting on them, maybe risking more drastic dieting and really wrecking your metabolism longterm.

So mine are forgotten about, now. I know I need to lose weight if my clothes get tight. And I'd never buy a size bigger now or go up a size (like I used to) but work hard to get back down to something healthy. Without scales.