OMG My Home Scale is a Liar!

[Love2Travel816 24]

I bought an at home scale (cheaply) at Walmart. It’s showing about 19 pounds difference from what the doctor’s office shows. So, when I reported my weight to my doctor last week and then went in for my visit this morning, I’m 19 pounds heavier than the reported amount.

Needless to say, I need recommendations for a good scale to have at home.

[Sosewsue61 3,185]

Years ago I bought an old school physicians balance scale (Health O Meter) and threw out all those spring loaded scales. It consistently weighs 2#s lighter than my Dr.'s office scale. But I think there are better electronic ones these days

But consumer reports tested the fancy body fat ones and were not impressed, (Tanita is a brand that was recommended by weight watchers years ago.)

https://www.consumerreports.org/body-fat-scales/body-fat-scale-review/

Edited June 11, 2018 by Sosewsue61

[Matt Z 4,140]

2 hours ago, Love2Travel816 said:

I bought an at home scale (cheaply) at Walmart. It’s showing about 19 pounds difference from what the doctor’s office shows. So, when I reported my weight to my doctor last week and then went in for my visit this morning, I’m 19 pounds heavier than the reported amount.

Needless to say, I need recommendations for a good scale to have at home.

Ok, question. Where you wearing the exact same thing on each scale?
If you weight in nude on one, and then fully dressed with shoes on the other, you could have a approx 5 lbs swing, couple that with any liquids or food you've consumed between weigh ins... 19lbs is a lot, but you can get pretty close factoring in some things.
If you wore exactly the same thing on each scale, and didn't consume anything... then yes that's pretty wild of a swing.

If your home scale is digital, anytime you pick it up, you really need to "re-calibrate" it, it can take 3-5 consecutive weigh ins to get the scale back on point.

For suggestions, I'm found of my FitBit Aria scale. Mainly because it tracks body fat (I know someone is going to say that's not accurate, but for *TREND* tracking, it's effective) and the scale updates my FitBit dashboard with the weights and measurements for easy tracking. It's important to limit variables with weigh-ins, for me, I weigh in pretty much at the same time every morning, after doing the exact same things, and wearing the exact same thing (nothing, sorry for the grim visual). So, I know weight is going to be as accurate as possible. For the body fat %'s, I get that it might be less accurate, but that's where trend tracking comes in, I don't care really what number is showing, so long as it's lower than the day before and that trend continues. A decreasing trend means I'm losing body fat, no matter what the numbers actually are, hope this helps!

[bluehat 16]

Haha, I bought a $30 one from Wal-Mart, and it always tells me I'm about five pounds heavier than what the scale at the doctor's office says. I actually like it -- when I go to see my doctor, surprise, I'm a little less than I thought. It's nice. But, yeah, nude vs. leggings/t-shirt vs. jeans/sweater can make the scale read completely different numbers. I've also noticed that I weight about five pounds less in the morning than I do in the evening, even when I haven't had anything other than a few Protein Shakes during the day. Bodies are weird.

Still, 19 pounds is a big difference -- maybe it's faulty? Try taking it back and getting a new one. You can try it out in the store before taking it home to see if it works better.

[Love2Travel816 24]

1 hour ago, bluehat said:

Haha, I bought a $30 one from Wal-Mart, and it always tells me I'm about five pounds heavier than what the scale at the doctor's office says. I actually like it -- when I go to see my doctor, surprise, I'm a little less than I thought. It's nice. But, yeah, nude vs. leggings/t-shirt vs. jeans/sweater can make the scale read completely different numbers. I've also noticed that I weight about five pounds less in the morning than I do in the evening, even when I haven't had anything other than a few Protein Shakes during the day. Bodies are weird.

Still, 19 pounds is a big difference -- maybe it's faulty? Try taking it back and getting a new one. You can try it out in the store before taking it home to see if it works better.

Definitely. It's a $7 scale so I think it's just crappy, to be honest. When I 'bear down' on it, it's within just a few pounds of what my doctor's office is measuring me at. I just hate that it's so off. I think I'm going to wait until after my surgery and then invest in a really nice scale. OR just weigh myself at the gym so I don't obsess over it.

[TakingABreak 2,733]

On ‎06‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 11:56 AM, Love2Travel816 said:

I bought an at home scale (cheaply) at Walmart. It’s showing about 19 pounds difference from what the doctor’s office shows. So, when I reported my weight to my doctor last week and then went in for my visit this morning, I’m 19 pounds heavier than the reported amount.

Needless to say, I need recommendations for a good scale to have at home.

My scale is a crock of crap too! Most of the time its only 4lbs off. But I went to the doctor yesterday to discover it was 9lbs off.... I've known for a long time I needed to get a new one, because, some days I step on it and it says I only way 59lbs. LOL. And then the next day its back to being 4lbs off. Crazy, SMH.

I actually just posted about this not too long ago and got some awesome recommendations! I ended up settling on this one...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FHELB56/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A26IMHULYH7PHY

[Ylime 453]

I have a scale I love: Yunmai Smart Scale

But I really want this one, because it's so pretty: Digital Bathroom Scale

I don't use all the body measurement features all that much and I rarely sync my smart scale up to my phone since I use other apps to track both food and weight. Plus - This is an important lesson to learn - If you are the type of person that likes to take pictures of your scale for social media purposes (or this board), note that the smart scale I posted above is REALLY shiny. And if you're a person that likes to take pictures of your scale while standing on it naked, your nakedness will be reflected in the shiny scale and thus on your social media page. (Not that I have any experience with that or anything)

[Sleeved36 356]

I have the Taylor 7506 chrome and glass digital scale. I did some research and it was the best reviewed cheap scale by professionals and people online.

Get it lots of places, all under $20. It lines up with my doctor's scale.

That, a $2 tape measure and you should be all set.

[Travelher 915]

On 6/14/2018 at 4:51 PM, Love2Travel816 said:

Definitely. It's a $7 scale so I think it's just crappy, to be honest. When I 'bear down' on it, it's within just a few pounds of what my doctor's office is measuring me at. I just hate that it's so off. I think I'm going to wait until after my surgery and then invest in a really nice scale. OR just weigh myself at the gym so I don't obsess over it.

where is your scale? it needs to be on a level floor. I find the floor makes all the difference. never on carpet, if on tile, make sure the pads are all on the same tile (if a large tile) or on level tiles (not the grout lines).

best time to weigh yourself is first thing in the morning after you pee. weight will fluctuate wildly during the day.

[gully90 214]

On 06/14/2018 at 16:15, AshAsh1 said:

My scale is a crock of crap too! Most of the time its only 4lbs off. But I went to the doctor yesterday to discover it was 9lbs off.... I've known for a long time I needed to get a new one, because, some days I step on it and it says I only way 59lbs. LOL. And then the next day its back to being 4lbs off. Crazy, SMH.

I actually just posted about this not too long ago and got some awesome recommendations! I ended up settling on this one...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FHELB56/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A26IMHULYH7PHY

https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/415779-scale-recommendations/

I have this one and it is spot on

[MIZ60 1,291]

I have this one right here that I bought at Bed Bath and Beyond about a year and a half ago. I had a coupon and I think is was about $32. This past week I weighed myself dressed with shoes on right before I went to my doctors appointment and then When I got there the weight there was 0.2 pounds less than the scale at home so I feel comfortable it is accurate.