Discriminating Scales

[Hauergirl 15]

I am in the pre-op stage and doing all the pre-op testing. In the last few days I have been to my doctor's office and have had a sleep study.

According to the scales at the Dr, it is 7lbs less than my scale at home.

Went to the sleep lab (3 days after Dr appt. ) and their scale was 21lbs MORE than my Dr' s!!!

The tech actually giggled and said "well Ya scales don't always read the same" but wow!!! Really ??? 21 lbs difference in 3 days? I expect differences of around 5 lbs give or take....

I know scales need to be calibrated regularly, but it really goes to show me and others that the number on the scale does not truly make a difference, when there is such a discrepancy between the professional scales.

I'm going to focus focus focus on all the other non-scale ways that show my progress and victories!

Thanks for letting me have a little rant today.

I'm one more step closer to my surgery!

[Sophie74656 1,572]

yeah every scale shows different. Pick one scale and use that as your main one. I have one in my living room that I use to track myself. I don't care what the ones anywhere else say

(though it feels so good to finally be able to actually use the regular doctor's scale)

[reree6898 1,164]

Yes!!! It's so frustrating because the one at my dr shows 6 lbs heavier then my one that I use everyday at home. I made the decision to track only using my scale so that it's the same scale in the same place and I'm weighed at the same time everyday.

[AvaFern 3,516]

It really sounds like there is a major problem with one of those scales- you shouldn't fluctuate 21 pounds. Different scales read differently, but not that much! As an example, I weigh every morning on three scales. One is the scale I got when I had surgery 2 years ago and I have weighed on it every single day since then, one is an older Tanita that I've had for 10 years and it does fun little measurements outside of weight, and one is an Aria Fit that syncs to MyFitnessPal. The Tanita and the scale I bought before surgery are almost always within 0.2 points of each other and the Aria is almost always 1.2-1.4 pounds more. At the doctor's office, since I'm not weighing without clothing on like I do at home, I usually weigh 2-3 pounds more. I tend to weigh myself at other people's houses on their scales, on the gym scale, on the scale at the grocery store, and sometimes on the one at the BP stand in the pharmacy...they never vary by more than 5 pounds in any direction even with clothing on, so a 21 pound difference is very much a problem with one scale.

[WLSResources/ClothingExch 3,443]

You can designate two scales, each for a specific purpose:

One for accuracy; that's the number you accept as your weight.

The other for consistency; that's simply seeing the number changing.

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

I weigh every morning on three scales

@@AvaFern

i hope you know i really do love you

but i busted a gut reading one part of your response

3 different scales

are you kidding me LOL

the initial scale you weighed on with surgery is great -go with that one

the second scale with cute funny little measurement - go with that one

the third scale that works with MFP - go with that one

eeeny, meeeny, mynee, mo

which scale will i use for my toe?? LOL

i would go with the first scale (that's me)

you started on that scale - stick with it

i'm really not laughing at you

but i'm laughing at you/with you!!! giving you a big smile

took an extra silly pill instead of my vitamins!!!

good luck kiddo

you must be doing something right since you are at GOAL

down 111 lbs!!!!

keep up your good work

i know you will!!

still friends

kathy

[animallover1247 249]

Yep, I am having the same issue. I go see my PCP on Friday and I'm going to tell the nurses they need to use the same scale every time they weigh me because they have been using different ones AND especially since it is being recorded for bariatric surgery. It's never been 21 lbs off though

Edited November 18, 2015 by animallover1247

[Cervidae 2,389]

I bought a super accurate/heavy duty scale for exactly this reason. I'm the kind of person who likes keeping records and seeing the way things change on a daily basis. My scale hasn't even fluctuated more than .2 pounds let alone 21 pounds. That's crazy!

Here's the link if anyone is interested. I took a bit of a chance wasting $40 precious dollars on it (I'm a college student) but I am really happy I did because it's a super good and accurate scale. http://www.amazon.com/My-Weigh-XL-550-Talking-Bathroom/dp/B0014ZQH84/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447832155&sr=8-1&keywords=550+pound+scale

[AvaFern 3,516]

@@proudgrammy

Haha, yes three scales! I write the weight down for each of them every morning. Usually they're pretty consistent with a gain or a loss, however sometimes one scale will show a big gain of a pound or two and the other two don't. If I see that the other scales aren't showing a big difference, the weight on one scale doesn't bug me as much. Of course on the days all three go up, then I know I better get a run in and watch what I eat until they go back to normal.

[Recycled 2,182]

Calibration accuracy of scales are all suspect. If you want to be sure, here is a simple way to calibrate your home scale. Just use Water. It weighs exactly 8 lbs per gallon. Either use a gallon jug or a five gallon bucket and fill it with Water, measuring the water accurately with a measuring gauge. I then use my kitchen scale to weigh the empty container and subtract that amount of water from the total, making the filled one gallon container weigh exactly 8 lbs. (or a five gallon one weigh 40) Place the water filled container on your scale and read it. It the scale is adjustable, reset it to the amount of the water exactly. If it is not adjustable, note the difference in water from the reading.

(My scale was off by 10 lbs at my weight of 190.)

Ok,,,,, maybe it doesn't sound simple written out, but it is...... It simply establishes the calibration based on a real known weight and not mechanical inaccuracies in the scale.

[Recycled 2,182]

Addendum to all that BS I wrote above...... I don't bother with my scales anymore anyway.......

I go by how my clothes fit.

[4MRB4PHOTO 3,899]

Go with the scale you weigh the least on.

[enjoythetime 1,457]

Oh the scale, they really should drop the "e" so that it's an official 4-letter word!!!! The scale derails and gets more people in trouble then it's worth!!!! I'm just as guilty as anyone else, I weigh myself every morning and I hate that started that routine because it wasn't something I started until AFTER I lost all of my weight. While I was losing I would only weight once a month at my dr.'s appointments and now for some reason I just can't stop. It's the OCD in me I guess so if I weigh more I'm upset if I weigh less then that puts something in my mind that says you can now eat such and such because you're down x amount. It's strictly a mind game. I agree with @@Recycled we should only judge our loss, maintenance, gains by how our clothes fit, they never lie:-)

[James Marusek 5,244]

I had a problem with scales too. I would step on it in the morning and then again a few minutes later and get two entirely different set of numbers. Sometimes the numbers would vary by several pounds. Couldn't believe the numbers, so I literally threw the scale out and began looking for something a little more consistent.

I found a scale that gave readings in increments of 0.2 pounds and was repeatable. It was a Beurer Model Number BF66. I bought it at Bed, Bath and Beyond. [it has an upper weight limit of 330 pounds.] I have used it for 3 years now and am happy with it.

Your weight can vary by as much as 5 pounds during the day. I weigh myself naked first thing in the morning. This is generally my lowest weight. Adding clothes, watch, wallet, shoes can add around 4 pounds. [That is why the scales in the doctor's office can add a few pounds to my weight.] When I eat, I can add some more. The main thing I am looking for is consistency and accuracy.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I agree that letting the numbers on the scale dictate your life is crazy. Weighing multiple times a day, on multiple scales, is not healthy.

I would recommend that early in the process only weigh at you doctor's office appointments (with your surgeon's office being the number to track). If you happen to weigh on another scale that is wildly different (as happened with your sleep doctor), just ignore it.

Life is too short!