SO UPSET - scale was BROKEN!

So i have been eating well and working out and have lost 18lbs since Jan 5.  Really good i, i know, but i have a lot to lose.  So every morning i get frustrated cause my spring scale gives me 3 different weights and i average the 3.  My husband kept saying to get  a nice new scale.  So today we went to Bed bath & beyond and got a new scale. 

Much to my dismay I stepped on it and realized that our old scale was 11 pounds off! I was heartbroken.  All that work and now my numbers on the scale are where they were 2 weeks ago.  Tears and crying began as my husband kept saying, "but you lost the weight, it's still gone. "

He doesn't understand how hard it is going to be for the next 2 weeks to step on the scale and see numbers that are higher than they were 2 weeks ago.  AGH!!! I  just have  a mental hurdle to climb now, one, realizing i was ten pounds larger than my largest EVER! and two, seeing the same numbers for another couple of weeks. 

I need some CC love! any helpful advice?

That sucks! You're right...it's a mental thing and you're husband was right too.. you already lost that weight. When you step on the scale now, just say to yourself "oh yeah, well a few weeks ago, I started out even heavier than I thought..so instead of coming down from 200 pounds, I was really 210..." (whatever it really is)

Just a thought, have you tried weighing something that you know the weight of? Like put a 5 lb. weight on the scale and see what the scale registers.

The weight will still come off and you would have stopped when you felt more comfortable in your own skin. Be proud that you came down from that higher number. This will be a funny story in a month. In the meantime, here's a hug.

I feel you, I don't even own a scale so when I get weighed at different places it varies. Stay in there though, you've still lost the weight and that should effect how your body looks and feels not just the numbers on the scale.

lol, when I go to the doctor my weight is like 10 pounds more. It doesn't bother me at all. Stop caring about the number, there's absolutely no reason to.

"All that work and now my numbers on the scale are where they were 2 weeks ago.  "

You're being completely illogical.  Nothing changed.  You still lost the same amout of weight.  Your start weight was 11 pounds off as well.

Your weights may have been inaccurate, but the weight change was correct. You still lost 18 pounds, not 7.

It's a mental thing more than anything else. We all know the numbers don't matter as long as you feel good and the weight is still coming off. But that doesn't change the fact that mentally you feel heavier than you actually are.

I feel fat on the days i haven't lost weight. And i feel less fat on the days i have lost weight. Even if the difference is marginal.

Stick with it, and you'll get there.

*hug*

Different scales have different workings. What you should do is weigh yourself by difference; weigh both yourself and something heavy-ish, like a chair or another person. Then just weigh the chair or other person. Subtract their weight from both your weights. The difference is your weight.

Thanks for all the hugs & advice- i woke up this morning feeling better about everything.  Stepped on both scales got my real numbers and now am ready to move forward. 

what you need to do is to take a picture once a month....scales SUCK, and i fight with mine once a week (i rarely win...lol) also take measurements, although seeing the scale number go down is awsome, solid proof (measuements going down and actually seeing a difference) is the most satisfying!!

I was just about to recommend the same thing skillz just did.   Weight gains and losses can be so arbitrary sometimes.  Gaining muscle weight but losing fat?   The scale doesn't know that.  Retaining a bit of water?   Again, it has no idea.   I see weird fluctuations all the time.   This time around I'm measuring inches.  Don't get me wrong.  I still obsess over the numbers on my scale, but when that gets me down, I can still rely on the inches to tell me I'm on the right track.

Original Post by mochi-chan:

Different scales have different workings. What you should do is weigh yourself by difference; weigh both yourself and something heavy-ish, like a chair or another person. Then just weigh the chair or other person. Subtract their weight from both your weights. The difference is your weight.

What could possibly be accomplished by doing this?