Which scale to believe?

[TooneyNinosMom 50]

Hi everyone. I'm wondering which scale I should trust. I was in the dr.'s office the other day due to a sinus infection. The digital scale there said I was 122kilograms which equals 268.96 lbs. The scale at home said I was three pounds lighter at 265, this is not a digital scale. Now the digital scale at work is telling me 272.00. Which is accurate? Who do I trust? LOL

Have any of you had the same experience with an old fashion scale and digitals scales being so off? TIA

[jess9395 5,449]

It doesn't matter as long as you use the same one consistently. So use the one at home.

The absolute weight isn't as important as the loss/gain.

That said, the one at the doctors office is probably calibrated more frequently and thus more accurate. That's what leads to the best accuracy not digital versus analog.

[Chris_FL 16]

Also, when you weigh yourself at home, you're typically wearing less clothing. At least in my case.

[RickM 1,747]

Unless you have access to a scale that is used for trade which is calibrated periodically, like in the shipping department if you have one at work, it's anybody's guess.

First thing is to correct for clothes - my PCP's scale consistently reads 5 lb high relative to home, which is consistent with wearing about 5 lb of clothes and shoes, otherwise the two track very closely, and I can tell the nurse what the scale will read before I get on it based upon what I weighed that morning naked.

Digital or analog doesn't make much difference if the scale isn't calibrated (which most home or office scales aren't.) I had one doc's triple beam balance scale - the type with the weights that you move back and forth - theoretically the most "accurate" type, which was off by about 25lb from the rest of the scales in my world. This was after he moved his office to the other end of the building, so obviously the movers dropped it or otherwise damaged it in the move.

If you need to depend upon one scale for qualifying for surgery, for instance, then go with that one as your "standard" and correct you home one to match (either directly or in your mind.) Otherwise, go with the one you use most often; the main thing in that case is repeatability. Hopefully, all of the different scales that you may use at different times will be consistent with each other; if not, discount the less reliable one.

[TooneyNinosMom 50]

2 hours ago, RickM said:

Unless you have access to a scale that is used for trade which is calibrated periodically, like in the shipping department if you have one at work, it's anybody's guess.

First thing is to correct for clothes - my PCP's scale consistently reads 5 lb high relative to home, which is consistent with wearing about 5 lb of clothes and shoes, otherwise the two track very closely, and I can tell the nurse what the scale will read before I get on it based upon what I weighed that morning naked.

Digital or analog doesn't make much difference if the scale isn't calibrated (which most home or office scales aren't.) I had one doc's triple beam balance scale - the type with the weights that you move back and forth - theoretically the most "accurate" type, which was off by about 25lb from the rest of the scales in my world. This was after he moved his office to the other end of the building, so obviously the movers dropped it or otherwise damaged it in the move.

If you need to depend upon one scale for qualifying for surgery, for instance, then go with that one as your "standard" and correct you home one to match (either directly or in your mind.) Otherwise, go with the one you use most often; the main thing in that case is repeatability. Hopefully, all of the different scales that you may use at different times will be consistent with each other; if not, discount the less reliable one.

Thank you! Makes so much sense when you explain it as you did. I'll keep using the one at home for accuracy, it seemed to nearly match up with the one at first care.

[JeffN 106]

I weigh myself in the morning first thing right out of bed after going the bathroom, that seems to give the best consistent results for me.

[Danny Paul 761]

I use my scale at home. I weighed myself in the morning on the day of my surgery. That's what I use as my base weight. When I weigh myself I try to do it at the same time with the same shorts I did the original weigh in. Don't know if this is logical but it seems to work for me.

[SalOdyssey 441]

I go by 1 scale and 1 scale only, and that's my home scale. I don't care what any other scale says, because I don't use them regularly.