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weighing scales

arggggh! i might throw mine out of my bathroom window at this rate...:banghead:

does anyone else's bathroom weighing scales give off different readings? my weighing scales say i'm one weight then when i stand on them again i'm 3lbs heavier. it depends on where i weigh myself. sometimes i move my weighing scales into the kitchen as its a firmer floor but i have the same problem. are my scales broken? should i take the highest weight as being my weight?

its just doing my head in slightly because when i was at my friend's place the other week, i weighed myself on her scales and i was a few pounds heavier than mine say i am yet when i went home this weekend, i weighed myself on my dad's and i was about 3lbs less than mine say i am!!!! :mad:

its actually really bothering me (i know that will probably sound stupid) because i just want to know ACCURATELY what i weigh. i can't go and use one of those weighing machines in boots or whatever. i hate weighing myself in front of other people and get really self concious. plus, i like to weigh myself in my underwear as clothes add weight to you.

does anyone else have this problem? does anyone know of any ACCURATE bathroom weighing scales out there because i'm just getting really fed up now :(
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Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Any kind of carpeted floor would be fairly useless for accurate weighing. I'd also imagine that most average bathroom scales are not very accurate, they probably fluctuate a pound or so. But then so do most people on a daily basis.

    You should probably concentrate on trying not to be as bothered by the odd pound up or down, than by trying to get some super accurate scales. I know you will find it hard to accept, because you're conditioned to want to achieve some value or other, but it's an utterly meaningless number, and chasing the numbers won't ever bring you any satisfaction, you only get frustrations like this out of it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I find that I'm a different weight depending on what scales I use, I don't own any myself but when I visit friends/familys I sometimes use theirs and get a different result even if I'm weighing myself on the same day wearing the same clothes.

    I think it depends on a number of factors; you should weigh yourself on a firm/level floor but I think that the time of day that you weigh yourself makes a difference as well (think you are heaviest in the morning). I remember weighing myself at my grandmas once and her scales weren't set to zero so it gave a lower reading, but this was because they were so old they didn't want to stay on zero! I think the big ones you get like at gyms and boots etc are probably the best, I hate weighing myself in front of others too as I'm so skinny but I think they probably give you the most accurate reading. Or make an appointment for a health check with your nurse or GP, they can weigh you there and will most likely be more accurate.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i don't use my weighing scales on a carpet. we have hard flooring in my bathroom.

    i am always heavier in the evening so i always weigh myself first thing in the morning. it just does my head in that every single morning, i get 2 or 3 different results and one result makes me 2/3lbs heavier. i just wanna know what i weigh accurately :(
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    home weighing scales are notorious for different weights in different places and for different weights after getting on and off again. ok for a rough guide but if u want to know exactly down to the lb you are wasting your time.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i am always heavier in the evening so i always weigh myself first thing in the morning.
    :eek2: What's that going to acheive? You're just seeing whatever you want to see so its kind of a waste of time no?
    When/what you eat/drink and all sorts of factors will affect the result so as Mist said, imo you should concentrate more on how you feel/look than a meaningless numbers game.
    Mist wrote:
    You should probably concentrate on trying not to be as bothered by the odd pound up or down, than by trying to get some super accurate scales. I know you will find it hard to accept, because you're conditioned to want to achieve some value or other, but it's an utterly meaningless number, and chasing the numbers won't ever bring you any satisfaction, you only get frustrations like this out of it.
    :yes:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    icey wrote: »
    :eek2: What's that going to acheive? You're just seeing whatever you want to see so its kind of a waste of time no?
    When/what you eat/drink and all sorts of factors will affect the result so as Mist said, imo you should concentrate more on how you feel/look than a meaningless numbers game.

    :yes:

    Well, surely your weight in the morning is the most accurate?

    If you weigh yourself in the evening, you'll be heavier because you'll have eaten and drank. I drink 2 litres of water a day and I know that 1 litre of water weighs about 2lbs? I'm always heavier in the evening purely because of how much I drink. I'm always lighter in the morning after I've slept.

    Plus, I was advised somewhere that its best to weigh yourself in the morning...can't remember where though!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    theres no point weighing yourself you will neer get a true reading, especially if you are usung different sets of scales. You're best going from how you feel and how your clothes feel and also using a tape measue too.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well, surely your weight in the morning is the most accurate?

    If you weigh yourself in the evening, you'll be heavier because you'll have eaten and drank. I drink 2 litres of water a day and I know that 1 litre of water weighs about 2lbs? I'm always heavier in the evening purely because of how much I drink. I'm always lighter in the morning after I've slept.

    Plus, I was advised somewhere that its best to weigh yourself in the morning...can't remember where though!

    But why are you so hung up on accuracy?

    What matters is that your weight is remaining consistently within its healthy range. If your scales tell you that you weigh three pounds more than my scales tell you you weigh, that's a pretty irrelevant and meaningless statistic. What matters is that when you weigh yourself on your own scales, at the same time of day, on the same surface, that your weight is relatively consistent. It's never going to be exactly accurate or exactly the same every day, unless you invest in some super duper expensive highly accurate scales, but really, there is no need and I'm sure you have better, more fun things to blow 100 quid on.

    If it's telling you different things every time you stand on it, even when you weigh yourself in the morning, pre-breakfast, post-dump, then if it really matters to you, you can always stand on the scales three times each morning, and take an average of those three readings as your weight. Over time, this will give you a pretty reliable idea of what your weight is doing.

    This is probably bad advice however, as you strike me as someone who needs to spend a lot less time and energy obsessing about the numbers on the scales, not even more than you are already.

    So yes, throwing them out of the bathroom window sounds like a great idea. Just don't bother replacing them.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Weighing yourself in the morning is just showing you what you want to see. Ofcourse you will be lighter in the morning you haven't eaten. Weigh yourself in the morning a few times and take the average do the same for the afternoon and evening and average the averages?

    I always put the scales in the same place when I weigh myself u doubt it makes a difference but meh.

    I doubt you need to even be bothering about your weight though, but who am I to judge.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You don't weigh yourself in the morning to get a low weight, you do it to get a more consistent one.

    What's the point of weighing the food you've eaten in the last few hours? what does it tell you about your health?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You lose water over night, and presumably most people go to the toilet when they wake up. You can lose 2/3llbs easy if you desperately need a wee. Same as a pint of coke with a meal alone, will put a llb of weight on.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I find digital ones most accurate, used on a hard, even surface. Gotta echo what other people have said though, the most important thing is that you are in a healthy weight range, and weighing yourself more than once a week can be counterproductive anyway because of the daily weight fluctuations most people have.
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