The FastDay Forum

Hi everyone

anyone else ever have a problem with their scales giving them 2 different weights within minutes of each reading?

Checked this morning first thing and was down 100gramms , checked 5 minutes later, after brushing teeth, but no food, no drink and I am up by 300gramms.

I have re-checked since then and it looks like I am up 300gramms from last week but why was the first reading lower?

Any ideas?

OH had the same and is ready to throw in the towel.

Most scales won't be 100% accurate. I just get on-off the scales a couple of times and take the lowest number. It is unlikely that you will lose the same amount of weight every week/month. Initially most of us lose more weight as we start the program and then the losses level off.

If you search around the forum a bit you will find posts by those who log their weight daily using apps such as Libra (and others) you will see on their records that weight will often go down in "steps" and then level off for a bit before they then start losing weight again.

There are also a lot of posts on the forum about TDEE and why am I not losing weight even though I am being good?

hths.

Thanks

But my point really was why the scales show a difference within minutes and which reading is correct.

[janeg]

Yep, my scales do it too- digital battery ones.
Only discovered when I had been doing 4:3 faithfully and really couldn't believe that after a month I had put on weight. Jumped on again and it read more than a kilo lower. Did it another couple of times and it stayed at the lower number. Phew!
I suppose the scales are just a tool and you get to know their little ways and work with them. Fatdog is having the same problems- see' the low carb veg' thread.
PS my tape measuer is much nicer to me

Sometimes it depends on the surface they are on. Carpet is not good or an unlevel floor.

Yes mine are dodgy too. I put them on floorboards, get on whilst holding onto furniture ...with my tongue hanging out (only kidding ;>), then gently let go of furniture - if I leap onto them, all hell breaks loose! I could weigh 5kg higher or lower! (only kidding again)really needs proper doc scales, but I'll stick to my furniture method for now. Oh did I mention I weigh after fast day, in the morning, after loo visit - do you think I'm paranoid or obsessed? Really? LOL

Mine don't seem too bad but I always leave them in exactly the same place in the bathroom! They seem quite accurate - or perhaps that's wishful thinking!

Scales are rubbish. I can get 3 different readings, one after another. I have decided to only weigh on the first Monday of the month. I know I am loosing weight, because my clothes are loose. It is depressing when the scales say I'm putting on weight. So I won't use them on a weekly basis, let alone daily. I don't want to get so obsessed about an inaccurate measurement.

Just because a scale shows your weight to within 100 g doesn't mean it is ACCURATE to within 100g!

You can look up your scale by make and model and most likely AT ITS BEST it may be rated +/- 100 or 200g, and that is assuming you are standing perfectly still and perfectly centered on the scale. My scale is rated to +/- 0.2lbs) but if I lean towards the back at all I can drop my weight by almost a full pound.

The point is, you can't get too hung up by a few hundred grams -- a cup of water is 227g so a gain/loss of that amount isn't meaningful since we retain and lose water for all sorts of reasons all the time. What matters is long-term, consistent change. For that matter, it's not even your weight but your body composition that counts. You would be much better served tracking your body measurements weekly -- they don't lie.

Hang in there!

I really lost my temper with my scales about 2 months ago, so hubby bought an all singing, all dance set of scales that you can program with each others weights etc. It also measures body fat and bone density.
Well everyone in the family got it working, even my son who was at a BMI of 48. All i could get was the weight. Then I found out the the fat etc won't work if you have a body fat level of over 50%. I was more than 50% fat!!!!!

So there I was standing on a set of scales with a widgit in my hands, naked and trying to squat so my thighs didn't touch, I nearly threw them away. But now, I have lot enough weight so the body fat is below 50% and they are working. But so are the old ones up in the bathroom, they have competition now so don't dare misbehave.

I think when you don't adjust the scale at proper place you get different results for your measurement. So you must need a flat surface with proper adjustment to get accurate results from your scale.