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Difficult to accurately track progress as all scales are massively different



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I'm not wanting to weigh myself every day but I'm 2months after sleeve surgery now and I do need to weigh myself once a week/fortnight to track where I'm up to 1) to keep myself happy by seeing the loss which helps during those 'I miss dominoes' moments and 2) to make sure I pick up on any issues - ie reduction in weight loss etc quickly and keep on being strict.

However, the manual balance scales in the doctors weighed me over a stone heavier than the digital scales in the hospital did only 3 days later, and then a week later the digital scales in boots show me as a stone heavier than the consultant said too.

Basically the hospital scales seem to be weighing light.

Now it's only a number and actually, it's better just seeing your clothes get looser but it's not great that I can't get a consistent weight.

I looked into buying my own digital scales but got put off by the reviews saying how variable they were.

What do you guys all do in terms of weighing yourself?

I think going forward I'll use the ones in my local boots and hope they're properly calibrated. It's 50p a go but about once a fortnight, it's worth it or I literally have no clue.

My family think it's weird that I can't actually tell them how much weight I've lost...and do do I!

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I actually have this problem right now too, however it isn't too bad. My gym has a manual scale that generally gets it almost right.

My job has a machine that is about 4 lbs more every time from my scale at home (which weighs me 4 lbs less). I didn't know which to trust but I do think my home scale is off while my job scale is right. So right now my home scale says 219 but at work it said 223. Which goes down or up depending on Water and food intake.

But since its so close I don't worry about it too much.

Not much you can do about it really.

I'm learning to sort of step away from the scale because I've become quite obsessive about it. Instead of focusing on whats important...like how I feel and how I'm doing mentally.

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What works for me is to use my home digital scale that I purchased right before my surgery. The important thing is to weight yourself at the same time everyday. For me, I do it right when I get up in the am sans clothing.

Your weight fluctuates throughout the day so weighing at the same time is critical.

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I too weigh myself at approximately the same time every morning, before I've eaten or drank, in my underwear, after going to the bathroom. :-P That is my baseline and the only weight I count as accurate. I don't care if my doc's scales weigh me heavier or lighter, too many variables to know why there's a difference. It doesn't matter if my scales are not as accurate as my doc's. As long as I weigh at the same time, and under the same approximate conditions, I can get a fairly accurate measurement of whether I'm going up or down. I've used the same digital scale that I bought 4 years ago. It does the job. I got it off Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Eatsmart-Precision-Bathroom-Technology-440-Pounds/dp/B0032TNPOE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1430873520&sr=8-2&keywords=eat+smart+scale

$36.99 11,079 customer reviews

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What works for me is to use my home digital scale that I purchased right before my surgery. The important thing is to weight yourself at the same time everyday. For me, I do it right when I get up in the am sans clothing.


Your weight fluctuates throughout the day so weighing at the same time is critical.

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I just bought a new scale because my old one was giving me a different weight each time i stepped on it, one right after the other...sometimes as much as 5 lbs. So i bought a new one. .. this one has me 4 lbs heavier. So aggrevating. But it bluetooths to my phone and i like that.

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Just a suggestion, why not use a measuring tape along side the scale, so when the scale says scary things, the measurements might just back your weight loss. Also adds a little encouragement!!!

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I have my own scale and weigh on it regularly. Even if its not exactly the same as the doctor's you will know how much you have lost since you last stepped on your scale. Also, your weight can vary due to Constipation, hydration, and time of day. Don't let it stress you out.

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just weigh on the one at home. don't pay attention to the doctor's scales. my doctor told me to weigh naked on Saturday morning. and that is it.

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I only weigh once a month. I can monitor my progress better with a tape measure and my food log. If I am eating properly and exercising I lose. For the first 6mths I only got weighed at the doctor's. Now that I won't see the doctor again until September I weigh at home. I weigh the same time of day, in the same place every time. Weighing in different locations and different times of the day will always give you variable weights.

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Weigh whenever and wherever you want but only record from one set! Put that set ( if at home) in one place and don't move it!

By the way, as this is a U.S. board, explanation for readers - we Brits still talk in stones! This is the old imperial measure and is 14lbs. We only really use it for personal weight nowadays and officially ( as in hospitals,) we get weighed in kilograms. But everyone talks in stones!

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Me and the scale are not on good terms we never really get along so we bump inito each other one a month.

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I'm with @@Djmohr and @joatsaint. For tracking purposes, I use the weight on my home scale as my "official" weight; however, I do note on my calendar my weight when weighed at my surgeon's or PCP's office. I was instructed to weigh daily which I do, and since I know my weight fluctuates daily due to Water retention, it doesn't frustrate me.

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Soon the excitement of seeing the numbers going down and reveling in a new "lowest weight" number will diminish.

The scale will become a reference to monitor that you're not continuing to gain......Yes, I said gaining. As you weight loss slows, you may bounce up and down in weight over days or weeks. Don't panic.....just monitor it so you can keep it in check and stay on track to your goal. Once there the scale will settle your mind every few days that you can, fact control your weight and not re-gain.

And as far as the actual number........Your clothes will be a better gauge and a higher level of excitement than the scale. Seeing yourself fit in increasing smaller and smaller clothes will be exhilarating and speak for itself.

So, yes....the scale is necessary to some degree......but you only need to use the one you have at home, and disregard all others as immaterial. It only serves as a monitoring reference, and for that, you need to use the same one each time.. ;)

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I rely on my home digital scale exclusively. Yes, the doctor weighted me and it reflected the same progress, but my own records are what my scale says. It doesn't actually matter if it is perfectly accurate - but it does help to use the same scale in a consistent manner. Example, i only weigh first thing in the morning with no shoes/no heavy clothes. I record weight weekly..

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