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Author: Gary 345/330/175
Date: 07-21-03 11:52
After weighing in at the doctor's office on their "balance beam" scale and it saying 330 lbs, I came home and tried my new scale that goes up to 330 lbs and it keep saying somewhere in the neighborhood of 323 lbs, 7 pounds less than at the doctor's office, now I know the doctor's balance beam scale is more accurate so I figure the 330 lbs is the much more accurate figure,
......but should my home digital scale be as much as 7 pounds off ???????
......is that normal for home scales to be that far off, or should I take it back and get a refund ?
What is everyone's else's experience with this, have you been weighed at the doctor's or at a gym or someplace with a balance beam scale and then would soon after weigh yourself at home on a digital scale and it be about 7 pounds off ?
Also:
I stepped on the scale at least 10 times and with a few exceptions it would say something slightly different each time -
323.4 323.2 322.8 323 323.4 323.4 ect.
Gary
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Author: BFL Michelle 139/127/105
Date: 07-21-03 12:18
I am assuming at the DR. office it was not first thing in the morning. You may have eaten breakfast and or lunch and had stuff to drink, plus you probably had your cloths on. I mentined to you before I subtract 5 pounds if I weigh with my cloths on and it would be even more than that if I had had anything to eat or drink. I would go with your new scale, whatever is says first thing in the morning after you've been to the bathroom and either with nothing on or just something very, very light like undies and a t shirt.
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Author: Otta-no-better 162-134-125
Date: 07-21-03 12:56
I think consistant is what you're really looking for. Like Michelle says with the same clothing or lack thereof .... I put the scale in the same tile corner everytime ... same time of day. All these things being equal, you'll get an accurate record of weight loss. You'll drive yourself nuts comparing scales.
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Author: Gary 345/330/175
Date: 07-21-03 13:10
Actually I forgot about the shoes and clothes, with the shoes and clothes on at home it is about a 3 to 3.6 pound difference from the doctor's scale.
Now since I read that digital scales at their very best might reach 99% accuracy,
then that means it could easily be expected to be about 1% off.
330 lbs x 1% = 3.3 lbs margin of error.
So that would make it within reason.
I called a scale company and had asked them about the difference between
the doctor's scale and a digital scale and they said also that many doctor's
rarely bother to have their scales checked and adjusted and that the doctor's
scale could be off as much as 10 lbs sometimes.
(but you would think if a spring stretched in a doctor's scale that it would give you a lighter weight instead of a heavier one, right ?
Anyhow, it still just bother me just a bit that I can get on and off the digital scale
10 times within a 3 minute period and get about 5 different readings,
like 326.4 then 326.2 then 327 then 326.8 then 326.4 ect.
I could maybe it being as much as .4 off each time, but .8 seems a little
too much error range, what do you think ?
Gary
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Author: Gary 345/330/175
Date: 07-21-03 13:10
Actually I forgot about the shoes and clothes, with the shoes and clothes on at home it is about a 3 to 3.6 pound difference from the doctor's scale.
Now since I read that digital scales at their very best might reach 99% accuracy,
then that means it could easily be expected to be about 1% off.
330 lbs x 1% = 3.3 lbs margin of error.
So that would make it within reason.
I called a scale company and had asked them about the difference between
the doctor's scale and a digital scale and they said also that many doctor's
rarely bother to have their scales checked and adjusted and that the doctor's
scale could be off as much as 10 lbs sometimes.
(but you would think if a spring stretched in a doctor's scale that it would give you a lighter weight instead of a heavier one, right ?
Anyhow, it still just bother me just a bit that I can get on and off the digital scale
10 times within a 3 minute period and get about 5 different readings,
like 326.4 then 326.2 then 327 then 326.8 then 326.4 ect.
I could maybe it being as much as .4 off each time, but .8 seems a little
too much error range, what do you think ?
Gary
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Author: BFL Michelle 139/127/105
Date: 07-21-03 13:13
lmbo - I think you are obsessing...:) just get on it once and go with it. Can't say I haven't done just what you are doing and now I'm glad my scale doesn't do the .5, .4 or .2. It just gives me the whole weight.
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Author: Susan
Date: 07-21-03 13:58
I don't know what it is but the Doctors scales alway weight you more then your home scale. Do they rig it to do that ..........so you get so depress they have to prescribe anti depressants?
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Author: Gary 345/330/175
Date: 07-21-03 14:35
.......or maybe to make you think you are a heavier than you are to help better motivate you to finally start that diet :-)
Gary
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Author: Doug 272/158/170
Date: 07-21-03 15:26
If it is only changing .8 pounds that is less than .3% variation. That sounds pretty good to me.
Whether your weight is going up or down is much more important than how accurate the absolute number is. I would just stick with the scale you have.
If you cannot stop worrying about it and own a weight set use it to calibrate the the scale buy weighing the weights.
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