Scale to scale

[BurdsNest]

This isn't really a FitBit situation, but I know there are some of you who have your Fit hooked up with Weight Watchers.  

I am a lifer @ Weight Watchers and enjoy my Saturday morning meetings.  My Fit and my E-tools are connected so that I can see my activity points.  What a great thing.  I have two scales in my home, one happens to be a Weight Watcher scale which gives me not only my weight, but my fat, water, and BMI.  

I'm wondering if anyone else has this dilemma, but when I'm weighed in @ WW my weight is ALWAYS more than what I weigh @ home.  I'm not talking a couple of ounces, I'm talking a pound or more.  I get a couple of ounces from scale to scale, but both my scales are saying one thing, (in different locations in my home) and WW says another.  

If you are weighing in @ WW, have you experienced this?  What would happen if I purchased the Aria, FitBit scale.

[RivalDealer]

They all differ, I have two sets of digital scales and one is always a couple of lbs heavier than the other, I only use the one that gives me the heavier reading.

The main thing is consistancy, keep using the same scale, if the one at home says you lost 2 pounds the one at WW should also say you lost 2 pounds even if the total weight it gives is different. Chances are the one at WW will be medical grade and more likely to be right than the consumer scales you have at home.

I use these ones http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00G15O1QM and they seem to be dead on with more professional scales.

[BurdsNest]

Thanks!  You're right, the loss and gain should be the same no matter what the different scales say.  But......one said a loss of 1.5, 1.6 (scales @ home) on Friday.  By Saturday morning, @ WW, lost 0.6.  You can see my confusion.  It may not seem like a lot of weight but.......

[RivalDealer]

I can understand the confusion and frustration, at night I am always 2lb heavier than when I wake up in the morning. 2lb really isn't a lot of weight but it all adds up over time.

I can choose to lose 2lb in a day by doing certain things, including not eating after lunch then doing hard exercise in the morning before eating, keeping meals light on that day and stopping eating again after lunch will generally result in a 2lb loss the following day, but my body hasn't changed any, just whats in it.

Try not to worry about a few pounds, as long as you are moving towards your goal progressively that is all that should matter really. The goal doesn't even have to be weight, it can be inches or to get in to a pair of jeans, to run faster or further, lift heavier, body fat percentage, whatever.

I have a bad habit of jumping on the scales every day, it can be disheartening, looking at a graph of your weight loss over time (if weight loss is your goal) is a better indicator, if you have been on a plateau for a few weeks or longer then its time to reassess what you are doing, until then just keep doing what works for you 🙂

[Puppylove]

Bear in mind that the reading on a scale varies alot throughout the day.  When you ate last, the clothing you wear, when you went to the restroom last and how much water you've had. even salt intake which can cause fluid retention will increase your weight temporarily.  so even on the same scale at different times of the day you will weigh as much as 5 pounds different.  maybe even more. 

[BurdsNest]

I always weigh myself in the morning, after a bathroom break, both scales, in the same clothing.  The only variable is that I have on different clothing @ WW.  Very light clothing and I get weighed in the am as well.

I get what everyone is saying.....all true.  It sometimes boggles my mind especially since I'm involved in a Meltdown challenge, and my ultimate goal is to shed the pounds.  

Thanks a bunch!

[dancefoxtrot]

I try to remember to go to weight tab and look at the year total. It is reassuring on the days my one scale says more than it did yesterday. Over the 2.5 months I lost 10 lbs and that is good. It drives me nuts if I'm doing 10k eat light and healthy and the darn scale  goes up.  I do weigh everyday just about and it can be as simple as water retention or frankly needing to poop. 

Not to worry as stress releases cortisol which causes fat storage. 

Enjoy the journey.

Barbara G

[BurdsNest]

Thanks dancefoxtrot!  In my head I know all this,  but when you are competing with something that is often so inconsistent, it can be a bit frustrating.  My journey down was much easier than this maintenance stage.  Just trying to lose 3-5pds because I'm fixated on a certain number, can drive a person nuts.  I will try to let it go.  But I have to lose 2.65 pds in 11 days to win the Meltdown Challenge I'm participating in and I want to win because well.......it's fun!   

Have a good one!

[BurdsNest]

RivalDealer, your weight is most accurate in the morning.  definitely you will see a pound or 2 increase in the evening.  They say that your weight may fluctuate anywhere between 1-4 pounds DAILY!!  Wow!  Totally frustrating when we are all so anxious to see the scale move.

But, there are other indications, as you very well know.  Inches

Sincerely,

Watching

[DominicJ]

"Chances are the one at WW will be medical grade and more likely to be right than the consumer scales you have at home."

Not necessarily

Although the WW one will be "better" it will be also be abused a lot more.

A home scale will likely be bought, put on the floor, and used

A WW scale will be bought, put on the floor, used, picked up, taken to another class, put on the floor, used, and by the time a weeks gone by, it'll be put on a slightly different bit of floor and used, and its reading week to week wont be wildly consistant.

Personally I wouldnt worry about the odd rogue reading.

I've just drank two 600ml bottles of diet pepsi, I'm 2.5lbs heavier than I was an hour ago, and will remain so till I have a wee.

[BurdsNest]

DominicJ....Funny!  Well you're right, except although the ww scale is used my hundreds, it's stable.  There are three stations with lovely women who record you weight via computer as you step on the scale.  

I've committed to only weighing myself on Thursday morning after 4 days of workouts.  Then, not again until Saturday.

On Saturday, I feel off track and ate two McDonald's cheese burgers and a hot apple pie.  Took me up almost 2pds the next day!  Couple of days to get rid of that!

Sincerely,

Too much sodium

[josephz2va]

It also changes based on what you consume from zero to weigh in. If you were to consume a liter of water, eat your breakfast food plan, and then weigh in, you'll gain 3 pounds in that short time.

If you don't bother with all three and burn off on the elliptical machine for example, you may weigh the same or +/- a pound or two. If you use the restroom and completely empty, you'll lose on average of a pound of waste.