Stupid @$&%!# scale

My scale sucks. It gives me a different reading every time I step on it. As if I gained 3 pounds from 20 seconds ago and then lost 5 from 10 seconds ago, etc. I tried buying a digital but it did the same thing. Can anyone recommend where to buy a good scale or am I doomed to guestimate my weight every Monday morning?? I live in Ontario, Canada.

Thanks!

amazon.com has some realy nice scales


i live in London, Ontario with a friend rightn ow<3333

I got a great digital scale at Zeller's (about $30); I think it is called a Healthometer. hasn't let me down yet. I am in Ottawa, whereabouts in Ontario are you?

I live in Arnprior which is about 45 minutes west of Ottawa. I was just at the Zeller's in Bayshore yesterday too. Next time I'll have to pick one up! Thanks!!

your scales isn't sitting on a carpet surface is it?

some scales won't work properly unless they are on a hard floor.

I have a digital scale that matches the scale at my doc's office...

I had a similar problem and got a new one off of ebay which has been GREAT.  But like nomoreexcuses said, make sure its on hard and stable ground.  if its on carpet or on a bump or uneven surface, you could have some horrible readings.  try putting it somewhere different and see if it does the same thing.

I just had a similar problem.  I have felt so good about losing 10 lbs but then today I weighed on some scales at the hospital that I work at and I weighed 4 lbs heavier than I did at home.  Soooo depressing.  I went to another scale at the hospital and got the same weight.  I weighed this morning at 6:30 a.m. on my scales straight out of bed, after the morning bathroom break and before drinking or eating anything.  I weighed again at work at 9:30 a.m. after breakfast.  Should that make a 4 lb difference?

I have a healthometer too. I like it however it needs to be on a hard flat surface. my old scale gave a different reading depending where i placed my feet. that was very frustrating

Make sure your battery is nice and fresh. Mine has that issue when the battery needs changing. Also agree with pp, ensure the scale is on a very flat, hard surface and in the same place everyday.

Yes my scale is on my hard cold bathroom floor. The one I am currently using is not my digital one and does not use batteries.

Thanks for all the tips and tidbits!!

*raises hand* I'm from London, Ontario too!

I use my old faithful mechanical scale that cost me 10 bucks at Wal Mart. It weighs me the same as my doctor's office scale, so I'm good with it.

I used to work at Home Outfitters, and they have several digital scales that are all quite good, and range in price from -heart-attack-omg-are-they-KIDDING!? expensive down to about $30.

For what it's worth, I was a PMEL (Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory) tech in the Air Force. I calibrated all kinds of scales, including many many hospital scales. Even the high end sliding weight beam scales (the ones you are used to seeing) are only accurate +/- one pound. Your average home scale can easily be off by five pounds. What you want is repeatability. If you weigh yourself at home, and then at the hospital you are going to weigh differently. Most hospital scales have to get calibrated every 6 months to a year. Your old scale at home may have been calibrated when it left the factory (if you were lucky) but not since. They do get more inaccurate over time. My suggestion, only weigh yourself on your scale at home. As long as you can get repeatable results then just use those results. Your weight changes every day anyway. All you are looking for is a trend (hopefully downward). On a side note, back when I was in PMEL I purchased a brand new digital scale for about $30 at the time. I took it to work, pulled it out of the box and checked the calibration. It read about 6 pounds heavier at 150 and 8 pounds heavier at 200 pounds. Sure, it said on the box that it was accurate to +/- 1 pound, but that was just the readout. If you want a scale that's actually that accurate, you are going to pay several hounded dollars. So, look for repeatability, that's the best you can do.

Thanks for the info ahbe!  I always suspected scales were inaccurate.  Maybe I should try to design one that is accurate! (I'm an engineer with a wee bit too much time on her hands)

Great idea Red! You design it, send me the plans and I'll build it. Well, as long as I can build it out of wood. =P That's another one of my hobbies.

that would be the coolest scale ever- you guys could exhibit it at MOMA or something and it would be interactive art... I have this vision of what it would look like... now, which woods do we use for the moving parts, and which for the weights? I?m voting a lovely bit of maple for the step-on bit, with maybe a cherry inlay...