My Finicky Scale and I

This has been a good dietbet for me. I have worked out every day. I have upped my water intake a lot. I have curbed my holiday eating. I haven't been overly restricting. I could, probably, eat a little less...but that's what got me into trouble with yo-yo dieting and disordered eating before. I am hitting my moderation stride, with good results. I feel better, already, and a few pounds have come off.

I think.

My scale is finicky. I step on it once, it flashes a number, it flashes another, it goes back. It settles. And I am left to wonder if that's the true number. I do my "test"--grabbing a weight (shampoo bottle, whatever) and step on. I put it down, and step off. The number is different. I'm frustrated! The difference is never drastic (a half a pound, maybe a full pound), but it does sometimes mean the difference between gaining, losing, or staying the same. And that is frustrating. I'd get a new scale...but I've had this problem with other scales. I don't know if there's any "true" solution.

I know one solution would be to weigh less often, once a week instead of every day. I am, however, very much data oriented. I find numbers reinforcing. I believe self-monitoring is an important part of my success. I just worry about the potential punishing effect of seeing a "bad" number--especially if it is a scale error. I know this won't matter in the long run--but it gets to me. It bothers me that I might need to wait till tomorrow...or the next day to truly "confirm" success. It especially gets me when I step on and see a great number, but then, two seconds later, it's much less great.

This is especially hard right now when the number is one, even AFTER this dietbet is over and I win (optimism!), I don't want to see.

This is especially hard right now as I am enjoying one of those looonggg college breaks, with only a part-time job, at best. There isn't much else to focus on. Not that I am complaining about that! This is my last break before the real world, and I am enjoying it. But it still gives my mind time to linger over certain undesirable things.

For now, I am trying to keep going. I am keeping my exercise up. Trying to eat healthy foods. Working on moderation. Trying to make peace with a finicky scale, and the number on it.

desertcat

01/05/2015 3:03PM

If the numbers are all within around a 2 lb range, that's pretty normal fluctuation. If it's more, either you need a new scale or your floor is super uneven. My floors are a bit uneven, and the weight on my scale changes when I move it a foot over in any direction, but it's usually just .2 or .4 lb differences.

KnitterBeth

01/05/2015 1:13PM

I have one of those finicky scales, too. It can vary by as much as 1 pound within the space of a minute or two. Can make DB weigh-ins tough sometimes! :)

kwogni

01/05/2015 12:39PM

The readout fluctuations are part of the scale's internal electronics. It's best to just to weight yourself just once each time and go with that reading rather than fret over the differing readings. Also, fluctuations can also happen if your floor is not 100% level. If this is the case, be sure that the scale is always in the same spot each time you weigh yourself. What's most important is the weight change over a period of time.

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