Question:
Can scales fluctuate a lot?

Okay, I went to my PCP and her scale (the old style) said that I weighed 337 lbs., my home scale also says that I weigh around 337 lbs., however, I went to a dietician's office and the scale there said that I weighed 364 lbs., while my surgeons office said I weighed 356 lbs.. I am so confused! Both the dietician, and the surgeons office used a digital scale, I don't know which one to believe! Oh yeah, this was all within a few weeks of the others, and I know that I couldn't have fluctuated that much!    — [Anonymous] (posted on October 25, 2001)

October 25, 2001
Ooo, don't ya just hate that! I still have a phobia about weighing anyway, that would really do it for me. I would pick one scale and stick with it ... that way you can tell how much you're losing.
   — Betty Todd

October 26, 2001
No two scales are calibrated exactly. I have a very good digital that gives weights according to which room I'm in. I weight 3-4lbs. more in the bedroom than I do in the bathroom. Guess which room is my weigh-in room? (lol). My official weight is what my scale says...although my doctor's medical scale is usually lower by 5 pounds. It both scales are in good working order, there shouldn't be a difference of 20 pounds! If it were me and the surgeon's scale and the dietitian's scale were sooooooo off base....I'd carry my own scale in! No way is anyone telling me I weight 20lbs. more...not after all I've been through! (lol).
   — [Anonymous]