Beware: weight and scales

nancy324

nancy324

Cathlete
I usually weigh myself only every few weeks, on the doctor's scale at the gym. I think it's a Health-o-meter. Anyway, I always test it by making sure it balances at zero before stepping on. It's usually very consistent, but today I weighed 2 lbs. less than usual. I was a bit wary, so I decided to compare it to the (very old) digital scale we have in the bathroom at home.

About 10 minutes later, I got on the bathroom scale and weighed 2 lbs. more than the gym scale, then got on again a minute later and weighed 3 lbs. more than the gym scale. I weighed a 5-lb. dumbbell and it registered 5 lbs. I then weighed an 8-lb. dumbbell and it registered 8 lbs.

Question: do you think I've lost weight or not? I think maybe I have regardless of the numbers, just because the gym scale has me at a lower number. Although I try not to use the bathroom scale, I think I'm at a lower on that as well.

It's just so hard to believe because I've been pigging out like crazy for the last 2 weeks.

Has anyone else had strange scale readings? I need a reality check. Thanks.
 
Find one scale that you consistantly weigh yourself on and only stick to that scale. You'll go nuts otherwise. Back in my WW's days I would weigh in at home and get a totally different weight at the WW's meeting. So, I only went by what the one at the meetings went by and life was a lot less complicated. Just my 2 cents!

Sally
 
Our digital scale is wacky, everytime you step on the thing it will give you a different reading....You should see me sometimes, I move it all over the floor in the bathroom.....LOL Crazy, I know :p


"Today is a Gift, Have Fun"

~Jennifer~

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My digital scale is crazy sometimes too. Every once in a while I weigh myself and it's less than I think it should be. I get excited and weigh myself again just to see the smaller # and wham! Bigger number is back! I just plain struggle with whether or not to weigh myself at all.
 
I guess I should just stick with the doctor's scale at the gym and ignore the digital thing at home. It seems a lot less consistent.
 
Nancy, also be aware......it may read accurate with a 5# or 8# weight, but let me tell you about mine. 5# reads accurate, 8# reads accurate...then I put on 2 - 30# weights, total of 60 # and it read 57#...hmmmmm. So I put on 110# (2 - 25# and 2 - 30#s in just the position as if I were standing on the scale). It was a full 4.5 pounds under so I adjusted the scale to read exactly 110# with the weights on it (which is almost exactly my weight - give or take on various days). Now I know it's correct. UNLESS of course my weights are off x( x( x( }( .

Briee (I don't like scales either, but use them occasionally)
 
Nancy, I cannot imagine you pigging out. You seem so content with your Seinfeld-esque "Big Salads" and nightly popcorn fest ;-)

Sarah
 
Briee, thank you so much for doing that! That really helps. I think the only trust-worthy scale is the one at the gym. I'll never get on that bathroom scale again. (I'd toss it if my DH would let me.)
 
i agree that you should stick to one scale and that's that. i make sure my home scale is consistent by getting on it at least two times in a row to make sure it's the same reading. i pay attention to whether it says i've gained or lost, but not to the actual number. i have no idea if that's right or not - everytime someone uses my scale they tell me they weigh more or less at my house than they do at home. but i figure the increments of loss or gain should be accurate enough.
 
Please don't pelt me with rocks, but I can't believe I keep losing weight.

Listen to this: I've calculated that I eat AT LEAST 2000 calories each day. I eat 850 calories before I get home in the evening on weekdays, every single day. On my lightest fare days, dinner is about 600 calories (Seinfeld Big Salad ;). After dinner, I usually eat a bag of popcorn which has 250 calories. Then on even the lightest days, I'll eat 3 containers of yogurt and some fruit. That's 2000 calories.

Two or three nights per week I eat ice cream instead of yogurt, and that has FAR more calories than the yogurt. And dinner is at least 800 calories 2 days per week (I add olives and beans to my salad). I also generally have at least one pig-out day per week where I eat all kinds of extra stuff, like pizza or crackers and cheese. My guess is that I average at least 2500 calories per day each week, and I do mean AT LEAST.

I don't exercise nearly as much as most Catheites. On a good week, I do 3 workouts, but that's really a very good week.

I've been losing about a pound per month. I'm not complaining, and I'm fine with my current weight, but I'm really mystified.

I'm 5'3" and small-boned. When I was 25 years old, if I ate more than 1800 calories per day, I gained weight. In fact, most of my life 1800 has been the magic number for maintenance for me.

Does anyone see anything I'm missing?
 
Nancy, first of all you are ONE LUCKY WOMAN LOL!

How long have you been eating about 3 yogurts or a little ice cream every night? If that's something that has changed in the last year or so, maybe it's all the dairy that's helping you stay so lean despite a healthy calorie count. There are some studies saying that adding low-fat dairy to your diet can help the body burn fat and stay lean, they're not sure why - the calcium, the potassium, the extra protein? I think the more dairy the participants ate, the more they tended to lose weight. At any rate, it sounds like you have found the "magic formula" for your body, carry on and enjoy!
 
Diane, I really think you're right. I've been eating more dairy since I was about 40 or so, and I've been able to eat more calories since that time. When I was young, if I exceeded 1800 calories per day, I always gained. But in my forties, I didn't have to be as careful. I was consuming large quantities of ice cream, and noticed that I wasn't gaining weight. Now, in my 50s, I'm actually losing! :eek:

Thanks so much for not pelting me with chocolate. :p :+ As you say, I guess I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. I'll just eat as clean as I can, and not worry about quantity or calories at all. I feel like I received a Get Out Of Jail Free Card. ;)
 
Nancy, girlfriend, count your blessings; the diet gods are smiling on you. Now, I do have to pelt you with a Scharffenberger semi-sweet mocha bar }(

Sarah;-)
 
As if we needed more excuses to eat ice-cream: I read in one of the current health/ fitness magazines (can't remember which one... maybe Natural Health?) that full-fat ice cream has been associated with lower infertility rates. The speculation is that the full-fat dairy helps your ovaries work better.

See? Ice cream IS good for you! ;)
 
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