Weight Scales

I have problem that every weight scale I get on gives me a different weight.  I know this seems trivial but I don't think so.  I carefully track my weight on one regular non-digital scale at home.  I have tested the weight against several items of a known weight and I can calibrate the scale.  In addition, I have two digital scales, one also measures body fat & muscle %, etc.  Here is the dilemma, at home on my scale I weigh around 183 without clothes. Yesterday at the doctor I weighed 194 with shorts, polo shirt and sneakers. My fancy digital scale that requires that my feet be damp before measuring, also shows me 8 pounds heavier.  This is frustrating... anyone else having this kind of fun....

When you use your digital scale at home do you weigh yourself at the same time of the day as your non-digital scale?  Time of day matters.  For me, the doctor scale is always at least 5 pounds more than my digital scale at home.  Also different places on the bathroom floor may make the scale fluctuate a couple pounds so I have to make sure that I place the scale in the same spot every day and weigh myself at least 3 times because the first number is always wrong.

You aren't the only one with this pesky problem lol.  Trust me.

Oh yeah, I have the weighing thing down to a science. All three scales are centered on a tile floor and all three are used at once... I know it is a universal problem, I just wish there was a truly accurate one scale.....

Well if you find it please let us know! 

Short answer :  they are all accurate

Long answer :  There are several factors that are taken into consideration when we weigh ourselves as to what our body truly weighs.  The most accurate time to weigh yourself is in the morning, after your first pee, before your shower, before you consume anything, naked.  This weight has nothing in your bladder, no extra weight for clothes, no extra weight in your belly from liquids, and no water on the body or hair (can add ounces).  If you religiously weigh yourself this way you then monitor the changes you have from day to day with this number alone.  When you then weigh on a different scale at home and you find a change it is due to the scale being calibrated differently, being on a different surface, and having different internal parts.  When you then weigh at the doctor's office and find it is different that is due to you wearing clothes, consumed food and liquid, and possibly having a full bladder.  Your cells may have also absorbed extra water throughout the day.  If you weigh yourself multiple times throughout the day on the same scale you will see that your weight goes up.  this is due to us consuming food and liquid, and our cells absorbing it all.  

There is nothing to worry about.  what you need to do is realize that your doctor is looking at their scale and the changes you achieve.  They do not care what your at home scale number is.  So we must do the same with our at home scale.  Only look at those numbers and utilize it for the changes we achieve.  As for the ones that check fat percentages, those are woefully inaccurate and should not be relied on.  The best way to judge fat percentage is to use a hand held caliper, or go to a university and do a buoyancy test.

I go through the scale battle everyday! I weigh several times until I get the same reading three times. I also move it around the floor because I can lose or gain two pounds just by getting off and getting back on. I do this in the kitchen because that floor is harder than the linoleum I have in the bathroom, which is more consistent.  I bought two scales, and they both do this. I have it down to a science now, lol! Yes, I do weigh everyday because it helps me see what changes are happening in real time. 

This is perfeclty normal so stop torturing yourself!  Use one scale and track your loss from that one only.  Your doctor's scale is calibrated differently and will ALWAYS weigh you more because you're typically fully hydrated and have clothes on.  There's 5 lbs. right there.  

If you let yourself get frustrated over the ever-fluctuating numbers on 4 different scales, you're going to be in for a long, hard journey.  The scale is the worst indicator of your success.  Look to measurement, fit of clothes and whether or not you're staying on your food plan every day.  Those are the REAL indicators of success 

I would take your home scale where you weigh first thing in the morning without clothes.  Weigh on that same scale and note any trends on it, not the other scales.  There are too many variables with the other scales.  

The scale will drive you crazy.  Sure, the scale is an indicator of how you're doing but the real indicators of successes are how your life has changed and improved since having surgery.  Check out your clothes, body measurements, blood pressure and pulse, medications you stopped or decreased, and your lab results.  

As a former scale hopper (on/off too often), I feel much better not using the scale so much and giving it so much importance.