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Bathroom scales issue!

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,070
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Has anyone else noticed if their bathroom scales vary a lot from the doctor's or say Boots?

Just bought a new set of scales. Weighed myself this morning and then used the height & weight reader at Boots - there was a 3lb difference.

My scales also weighed me 10st 13 on Sunday, which is about my normal weight, yet 11st 03 today! It's impossible to put that amount on in 5 days, surely? I've just eaten & exercised my usual amount.

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    Zero gravitasZero gravitas Posts: 12,368
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    ALL scales LIE!!!>:(


    :D
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    trevgotrevgo Posts: 28,241
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    Personally speaking, I find all but my own bathroom scales are completely inaccurate. They always have me about 5 lbs less than any others, so they must be right.
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    MaxatoriaMaxatoria Posts: 17,980
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    make sure they're on a solid flooring, and lets just say basic biology can easy cover a few pounds, a couple of cups of tea/coffee and something to eat could add a few pounds in weight, so if you want to compare try it directly after the doctors with no loo breaks/eating food in between while wearing the same clothes

    also yours or the doctors scales don't have to be accurate as trading standards don't come and test them like they do at shops so without a known weight such as a 5 stone block of metal thats designed for the calibration of scales theres no way to know who's out and by how much
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    netcurtainsnetcurtains Posts: 23,494
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    Always get weighed naked at home after a poo. There's no point in getting weighed anywhere with clothes on after numerous cups of tea.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,070
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    Thanks all. I weighed myself this morning before food. No clothes on. I was 11st 03. At Boots an hour later (still no food) i was 11st 01, but i guess i can take a pound off for my clothes (had taken my shoes and coat off).

    So that means my scales weigh me 3lb more than Boots. Wondering if this is a normal variation or if i should return my scales for a refund?
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    Zero gravitasZero gravitas Posts: 12,368
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    Put a known weight, such as a couple of bags of sugar or litres of water, on them and then adjust the scales to read the correct weight.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,070
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    Put a known weight, such as a couple of bags of sugar or litres of water, on them and then adjust the scales to read the correct weight.

    Thanks, i will do this. I put on weight easily, so i need something accurate to keep track of.
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    PictoPicto Posts: 24,270
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    Put a known weight, such as a couple of bags of sugar or litres of water, on them and then adjust the scales to read the correct weight.

    This is the correct advice, on balance.
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    MudboxMudbox Posts: 10,110
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    or take your scales to Boots..

    my digital scales wouldn't let me weigh a small amount.
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    Tom_TitTom_Tit Posts: 6,336
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    What about the clothes and shoes etc you would have been wearing in Boots?
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    biggle2000biggle2000 Posts: 3,588
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    ALL scales LIE!!!>:(


    :D

    Mine do by about 2 and a half stone I reckon :D
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    Watcher #1Watcher #1 Posts: 9,043
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    I think you are better off with an 'old school' rotating dial set of scales.

    We have these and some posh digital ones, and hard tiles in the bathroom. The digital scale can vary by 3 lbs within 30s.

    The old fashioned ones are consistent.

    I'd second weighing yourself first thing in the morning as well - you want to be consistent in how you do it.
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    muggins14muggins14 Posts: 61,844
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    I'd agree re the digital scales.

    Also, only use your own scales. Weigh yourself once a week at most, always at the same time of day (morning is best obviously). With your own scales you will know if you've lost or gained, no matter what other scales say (if Boots say you are 10st 6 and your own scales say you are 10st 3, if you lose 3lbs your scales will still tell you you're now 10st, so stick to your own scales).

    Over-weighing can just lead to paranoia :D
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    BluescopeBluescope Posts: 3,432
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    I am on a diet at the moment so I am weighting myself everyday. I have noticed that my weight does actually change on a daily basis which I was quite surprised about. I did not think I would see much change over a day but you do. What also shocked me was how much difference clothes make adding 3-4 pounds to your current weight i did not think it would be that much.

    The key is you weight yourself using the same scales under the same conditions. So I tend to do it now first thing in the morning before breakfast. If you do this using the same scales at least you known how much weight you are losing. Who known's which scales and actually correct.

    In terms of scales I would suggest the electronic ones which in my view seem more accurate. It is also worth getting the scales that give you a BMI figure they dont cost much more than the normal scales. I am not that bothered about BMI reading but it is interesting to know what it is.
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    MudboxMudbox Posts: 10,110
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    muggins14 wrote: »
    Over-weighing can just lead to paranoia


    it's like watching a clock, or watching a kettle....




    1litre of water weighs 1kg(2.2lb).....so bear that in mind.
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    MaxatoriaMaxatoria Posts: 17,980
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    Mudbox wrote: »
    it's like watching a clock, or watching a kettle....




    1litre of water weighs 1kg(2.2lb).....so bear that in mind.

    only at zero degree's technically but i doubt the difference is noticeable but for consistency i'd always use the same set of scales
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    Zero gravitasZero gravitas Posts: 12,368
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    Maxatoria wrote: »
    only at zero degree's technically but i doubt the difference is noticeable but for consistency i'd always use the same set of scales

    I wasn't going to go into the technical bit, or talk about weighing the packaging for that matter:o, as if the OP is concerned about a few grams or fractions of an ounce they have a problem that can't be resolved on here.:D
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,070
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    Thanks everyone. Think i'll buy 2 x 2 litre bottles of water later and see if my scales weigh them correctly.
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    Hut27Hut27 Posts: 1,673
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    I have a set of scales rescued from a skip, dumped by Health Centre(Doctors) solely because they are Pre-metric. They are platform type painted White with sliding Bar and micro adjustments ,Stones,Pounds and Ounces. They are brilliantly accurate.
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    callmedivacallmediva Posts: 1,862
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    Does it matter what the scales show?

    If they said you weighed 11.3 one week and 11.0 the week after, you've lost 3 pounds, they showed 11.6 you've gained 3

    You're only talking about a few pounds, it's not like they're showing 3 stone difference is it?
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    bart4858bart4858 Posts: 11,436
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    MICH78 wrote: »
    Just bought a new set of scales. Weighed myself this morning and then used the height & weight reader at Boots - there was a 3lb difference.
    That's not a meaningful test. Unless you wore exactly the same clothes, had had nothing to eat or drink, had not been to the toilet, had exactly the same things in your pockets and purse (including the same amount of loose change), and there wasn't a long enough interval between the readings to have sweated, burned off, or aspirated some of the weight.

    Also, you would have to repeat each reading two or three times. And then, perhap there is a difference after all in calibration between the scales.
    My scales also weighed me 10st 13 on Sunday, which is about my normal weight, yet 11st 03 today! It's impossible to put that amount on in 5 days, surely? I've just eaten & exercised my usual amount.
    If the difference really was exactly 4 lbs, and that is due to extra fat deposits, that would mean you've overeaten by some 12,000 calories (I think it's 7kcal per gram). If that's unlikely, then there could be half-a-dozen other reasons for the discrepancy. Don't forget you're weighing everything else in your body, including things that change constantly (how much you're hydrated for example).
    MICH78 wrote: »
    Thanks everyone. Think i'll buy 2 x 2 litre bottles of water later and see if my scales weigh them correctly.
    I doubt that will work well. If the scales only weigh to the nearest 0.5Kg for example, then weighing just 4Kgs, if it works at all, won't tell you anything. (Fine for digital kitchen scales though.)
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    MikeJWMikeJW Posts: 3,948
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    What you've been eating, and drinking in particular, makes a big difference. I've varied by up to about 5 pounds in a day, and this site says that's the normal kind of range.
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    shmiskshmisk Posts: 7,963
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    1 week the scales at boots had me quite heavyand an inch and a half taller then I am, 10 days later, I lost the inch and a half, and half a stone
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