[BuyCheapest]

The majority of home scales are NOT very consistent, and when you're on P2 this can drive you nuts. Check to see if your scale is consistent- if it's not, you might want to think about getting another one. BUT, make sure you check the new one as well. If it doesn't pass the test, take it back.

1) Weigh yourself (any time of day) 5x in a row. If there is more than a .4 difference, that's a bad sign. If it's more than .6, you already know it's not consistent.

2) If your scale passes the first test, get off of it and weigh something that much difference in weight- a child, heavy plant, your husband, etc.

3) After that weight "settles" (on a digital scale), get off of it and get yourself back on. If your weight is more than .4# different than it was the first time, it's also not consistent.

We all get a bit scale phobic on P2- we're only human, after all! So if your scale is not consistent, do yourself a favor and invest in one that is.

If you haven't checked your scale but your weight is bouncing all over the place- losing 2# one day (after the first week), then gaining a pound, losing 3, etc., you pretty much know your scale is not consistent.

Also- don't worry about gaining .2 or .4#- that is an insignificant blip. Women retain water for all kinds of reasons, and it's not at all unusual for them to settle into a pattern of losing nothing for a couple of days, and then losing between 1 and 2#.

[rozneesitcn]

great post! wish I had known this a few years ago when I had a bad scale lol. Thankfully I have a new WW one and it passed all the tests!

[occafeVes]

If you have a digital read the manual that comes with it. Many have a reset period after a weight is given. If you hop back on during this time or someone else tries to weigh too soon it will not be accurate. I believe mine said 3-5 minutes for a total reset.

[sportsbettinge]

If you have a digital read the manual that comes with it. Many have a reset period after a weight is given. If you hop back on during this time or someone else tries to weigh too soon it will not be accurate. I believe mine said 3-5 minutes for a total reset.

interesting- i wonder why that is needed?

[OwdBKKHO]

This comforts me that I am not the only person to place "child/husband/it on scale trick".
Thanks!

[Iphone]

interesting- i wonder why that is needed?

I don't know it just said it needed X amount of time to reset before weighing again to ensure accurate #'s. Not sure if my other ones said that, this is the first one that I actually read the book on LOL

I will say it's really accurate, right on with what my Dr. weighs me (about 1.5 pounds lower to account for the clothes I have on there) and also the same accuracy when matched against the scale they have at Sams with the BP monitor. Sometimes I wish it was lying though

[Ornamiviant]

Hi.. My scale is all over the place and this helps a lot. Re: #1 point. Is that .4 between all 5 numbers of try? or from lowest to highest variance? Thank you..

[Phywhewashect]

i'd say from the lowest to the highest. a little variation is going to be expected with an inexpensive scale. but once you establish that it's fairly consistent with itself, then i'd record either the lowest weight you get, or the highest. i usually weigh 3-4x and then take the lowest.

[BrandandGeneric]

A strain gauge and load cell bend and stretch when you step on a digital scale, causing electrical resistance which is translated into your weight. If you get back on it quickly before it has a chance to recover or 'reset', you're adding compression on top of compression, which causes the weight to be higher.

[wbondarmunw]

I calibrated mine with a 10-pound weight, I'm so freaky about it, it has to stay in exactly the same spot and I have to place my feet in exactly the same spot. When I have to move it to clean, I re-calibrate it and carefully place it back exactly where it was before. Here's something weird, it's been running on the same battery for the past six years!