Doctor scale vs. home scale
 

I went to the doctor today and the scale said 214, but my scale at home said 221. Is it common for two different scales to be that... off... from each other? From what I understand, doctor's scales are more accurate.. but still... :help:

From what I have read, inexpensive home scales are most accurate for people who weigh in the vicinity of about 150 pounds. I also always weigh less at the doctor than at home, but I don't mind it, it's better than weighing more at the doctor than at home! I post my weight using my home scale since it is the one I have access to daily, but in the back of my head I know that I weigh a little less than my posted weight.

If you home scale is old, you might want to invest in a new one. The springs do start to wear out after a while and a new one might be somewhat more accurate.

Hi!

I think it's important to weigh myself on the same scale every time, especially if I'm not sure if my scale is showing the right number. The reason is I will still have an idea whether I'm losing or gaining pounds.
If you're weighing yourself regurlarly at your doctor's maybe you should keep a separate record of those numbers?

HTH.

Well I just bought the scale for the diet, so it's new. I don't think that's the problem. I know the ones at the doctor's office are supposed to be more accurate. I guess I should be happy I don't weigh as much as I thought I did. But you're right, I think I will just stick with the numbers on my scale as they seem to be consistant within a pound or so.

One more question though... How much more do people usually weigh at night vs. the morning?

I used to weigh myself both morning and evening but stopped when I got depressed over the evening weight. For me the difference can be between 1-6 lbs. I just check my weight in the mornings now (right before breakfast), and not every day.

Couple weeks ago I went to the doctor and wieghed 185. I weighed myself before I went to the doctor and wieghed 185. The next day my honey bought me a new scale and when I weighed myself on it, I weighed 180. I figured the scale at the dr's had to be accurate cause I weighed beforehand, but I was pretty surprised to lose 5 lbs overnight!

tipping the scales...
 

I think the thing to consider here is weight loss (lbs). Yes, the doctors scale will be a lot more accurate as it's an expensive scale that can be fine tuned. The ones available at the local Walmart are between $10 and $40 dollars. They're not built the same, obviously much cheaper and most likely less accurate... BUT... they do the same job. If you lose 10 lbs, you lose 10 lbs. Whether it's on the doc's scale or your own.

Do yourself a big favor. Don't check your weight more than 2x per week. You're weight fluctuates so often, you might get discouraged if you're checking it too often. And use a tape measure. Sometimes you can lose inches vs lbs. Just read some of the posts around here.

Good luck! :)

and here comes the monkey wrench....
 

I use to go to weight watchers and the Doc, and they always made me weigh 6 lbs more than my home scale. The doc said his scales could be out, because so many people stand on them in a day...they get them looked at, but not that often...

dont' worry. i don't think that a doctor's scale is more accurate. (trust me. i am finishing medicing university so i know what we have in the hospital.) and it all dipendes on what did you drink or eat before you went to do doctor....i think that it is more important to watch di difference on your scale then a value....

Hi jospalato,
very interesting to know! But I agree with you and Coolcat...

well....
 

I would agree with you on the Doctor scales....but like my doc said....they don't get them looked at often, to see if they are working accurate...they can be out, because a lot of people use them in a day...Some Doctors now even have the digital ones...what are they run on???? Batteries..... So I just use my same scales all the time...then I know whats up or down.

I just bought a new scale and it weighs me 10 pounds heavier than the old one, but either way I have lost 12 pounds! :yay: But since I'll be using the new one from now on, I guess I need to re-adjust all my records so it doesn't look like I gained 10 pounds in one day. I think the new one is closer to my docs scale, cause I always weigh quite a bit more there than my old scale said.

Here is what I do...
 

I go get some of my weights from weight lifting...(not the sand ones)...I stick them on the scale to see how accurate my scale is...If its a new scale no problem....