New Scale Set Back

So, I reward myself for each week that I "stay on track".  The first week's reward was a manicure and last week's reward was to replace my old, dirty, ugly scale.

Great, except that my new, shiny and pretty scale has a 3.8 pound difference.  Ouch.  For someone who has only lost 9 lbs so far, that's a lot. 

Do I just start recording the new weight since it is probably more accurate? 

I suppose once I lose a bit more I'll get over my need to clarify to everyone on earth that I ACTUALLY lost 9 lbs even if my chart says I lost 5.2.  Arrrrrgh.

Hi pleasantly...

The most accurate you'll ever find is in your doctor's office. The rest can be off... don't worry about the actual weight, but how it changes with time :)

I can't help but notice you're in Washington DC. Me too (Well, in Fairfax, VA)!

Welcome to C-C :)

The same thing happened to me, my difference though was almost 15 pounds.  I couldn't deal with that so I created a new profile and started at the new accurate weight. 

I wish I could have figured out a way to start at my starting weight but I couldn't figure it out.  So although my profile says I have lost 4.6 or something, I have acutally lost 30 pounds as of today. 

If you figure somthing better out, let me know.

    I had the same thing happen too except my weight difference was 16 pounds! I just decided to log the scale weight and be encouraged when the weight came down intead of being discouraged about the bigger number.

Just keep going no matter what the number says!

Thanks.  I guess I just needed to vent.  I'm glad I'm not the only one!  And especially glad that I didn't have to face a 15-16 pound increase!  If you guys can keep going, I guess I can too :)

After I got over the shock, yes the crying and why me, I am actually glad to know the truth.  I feel more in control of things and realize this is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix.  You can keep doing this.

Actually this just happened to me last week.  My loss to date is 7 pounds.  My difference was 5 pounds. I want ahead and added my "weight gain" with a disclaimer of why I gained 5 pounds.  After about 2 weeks I am down to where my old one once read.  That is actually an achievement in iteslf and I feel like I can start clean once again! Good Luck!

To ensure my scale's accuracy I test it with something I know the weight of every few months.  I use dumbbells.  It should be at least 20 pounds since most scales are inaccurate below that weight.

If your 20 pounds weighs 21 then you have a one pound for every 20 problem...this can add up quickly!