My old scale would "remember" your last weight, and if you were within a pound or two of your previous weight, it would just display the previous weight. I didn't think it was possible for an inanimate object to be lazy up until I discovered that.
Edit: wound up buying this scale, which works the right way, after specifically looking for one that doesn't do this (seems to be a widespread problem).
I got a decent one for less than $20 on Amazon.
(Well, at least it seems to be decent so far. I'm not a scale expert, I don't know what makes a good scale)
I was just struggling with this question too! I think I'm just going to buy another one. I looked on Amazon and bought their recommended one, which had a TON of reviews and over 4 stars.
I purchased this from Amazon and I’ve been pretty happy with it
I bought the cheapest one I found on Amazon. It was 15ish CAD. Morning of comp it weighed me in at 92.8kg
Two hours later, I weight in at 92.2/4kg.
Not too bad.
Keep tracking food.
In the future, I would recommend bringing a scale with you. I work 24 hour shifts and I travel often (car and plane) and I bring my scale with me.
I use this scale. It fits in my backpack. It's the size of a large laptop and is half the weight.
I use this scale. It fits in my backpack, which is my personal item in flight. It's the size of a large laptop and weighs less than a laptop.
Moving your scale around can definitely mess with the calibration. I've seen a calibration tip of turning on the scale and letting it turn off on it's own 2-3 times before actually weighing yourself if you have to move it before use, so maybe that would help. Also making sure that you are putting it in the same place each time, as uneven flooring could be a part of the problem.
This is the scale I use. It's inexpensive and seems accurate. I have to move it every time I use it (I put it in the exact same place each time, but never need to bother with that on/off nonsense!) I chose it because the review on Wirecutter specifically mentioned accuracy when being moved around.
I would get rid of that scale ASAP. You are getting all this positive feedback that you are making progress and the only negative feedback is a scale that may not be reliable. You can get a simple, reliable bathroom scale for under $20.
https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Digital-Bathroom-Technology-Included/dp/B00F3J9G1W This is a simple scale that just shows scale weight (you don’t want any other features right now, esp not body fat or anything related to that). I have this brand (Etekcity) for my kitchen scale and it is very solid and accurate.
Put it on a flat, hard surface (not carpet—put it on wood or tile).
I got this $20 one which was at the time the first thing that popped up on Amazon when you typed in "digital scale" or something like that: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F3J9G1W
It was, for me, to the tenth of a pound equal to those massive competition-calibrated weigh-in scales when I checked
I have this one from amazon. Not sure what your budget is or where you live but it looks like there’s a five dollar coupon at the moment, so it would be 15. I’ve tested it with weights and it seems accurate!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F3J9G1W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_VzYIFbHEC5MRX
Yeah, it sounds like you need a new scale ��
I got mine on Amazon and it has 4 sensors. As long as I have it on a hard surface it doesn't matter how I stand on it. I even tried weighing myself multiple times standing differently every time and it always settles on the same weight down to the 1/10th of a pound. If you're interested, here's the link.
Digital scales have a minimum threshold for measuring a difference in quantity. For example, this scale lists a graduation of 0.1kg.
Rank 2 on amazon for this category, I really like it for the simplicity and accuracy, price is not bad.
I use this scale https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F3J9G1W/
When I measure myself I do it until i get the same result 3 times in a row. Usually it happens the first 3 times i step on it. As with any scale, you'll have to stand pretty still to get an accurate reading. But i got used to where the optimal place is to stand where it fluctuated the least.
I've honestly only bought one scale EVER, but this is the one I got, and I've had zero problems with it (bought it last year). It also came with a free tape measure. It doesn't do the fancy stuff like measure BMI or anything, but it's a good-working scale if you're on a budget (which I absolutely was, and still am).
EDIT: Looks like there is a newer version of mine that does measure BMI, if that's important to you. Not sure if you can get it in the UK, but it is available on Amazon.
I bought this recently because I wanted one that looked nice and this definitely does! (It's also one of the top rated on Amazon) https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Digital-Bathroom-Technology-Included/dp/B00F3J9G1W/ref=sr_1_6_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1508309119&sr=8-6&keywords=black+body+scale
Hey thanks! I do plan to eventually do it. I actually went to the gym a few weeks ago... wanted to start up a regular schedule for it, but haven't had the motivation to go again.
I use the scale listed below https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F3J9G1W?ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00&redirect=true&psc=1&pldnSite=1, but it's clear as opposed to black (not like it really matters).
It seems to work really well, and it's accurate at all weights, I've found. It's apparently the highest rated on Amazon, which also tells you something. :)
I had a scale that was maybe 8 years old. I noticed the same thing. It would range in 2-4 pound differences each time I stepped on it. At first I "averaged" it, or waiting to see if it would settle down to a consistent number after a few consecutive attempts. Then, I bought a new one. It was $19. Works great, no more variation. I mean if we're going to get excited about losing 1-2 pounds a week, we might as well be able to reliably see it, right?
I have this and I like it quite a bit. Inexpensive, Prime eligible, seems to cross-validate with the other scale in our house.
I've been using a scale I got from 'Etekcity' on amazon for $15 (currently at $18) and it's been working wonderful! Definitely one of my more favorite scales, especially for it being so cheap.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F3J9G1W/ref=s9_al_bw_g121_i2
My friend ended up getting this one that supports up to 400lbs: http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Digital-Weight-Bathroom-Scale/dp/B00F3J9G1W/
I actually think he paid less than what the price is right now (Amazon automatically raises prices based on demand) but the reviews seem pretty good. I personally think it's a little janky to have the amazon seller's name on the scale but he says it works pretty decently and it's cheap.
Personally I like my Tanita scale, have owned it for a lot of years and it's still using the original batteries I put in so that by itself is pretty impressive. It also does the resistance body fat testing that's not very accurate but it can be kinda fun anyways.
This is the one I bought:
$19, available by prime, and works like a charm. However it is only weight, no body fat % or anything like that. Also slim and powered by 1 AAA battery.
I got this one: https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Digital-Bathroom-Technology-Included/dp/B00F3J9G1W
No bells and whistles but works fine.
It's just a photo on imgur, I can link you directly to the scale on amazon though, just a moment!
Edit: link! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F3J9G1W/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_Dvd3yb4QWESDQ
it's worked great for me so far
I bought this one on Amazon years ago and I've never had any problems with it. It frequently goes on sale with the lightning deals.
I’ve had this one since January and it hasn’t failed me! It measures by .1 and I got it on Amazon here
Here is the one I bought. I like this one a lot.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F3J9G1W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I’ve been wondering that as well! I currently use this scale. I’m going to try those tips tomorrow and see what happens. Thank you!
I just recently purchased a new one for this exact reason.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F3J9G1W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_2xF8Fb6QVM93S
Thats the one I purchased according to the nytimes its really good for a budget scale.
Deal link: Amazon
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I got this one off Amazon a while back. Highly rated, fairly cheap, pretty accurate in my experience.
This lil’ guy has been with me since the beginning. He’s cheap and accurate up to the first decimal.
Any normal scale works fine, like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Digital-Bathroom-Technology-Included/dp/B00F3J9G1W/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?keywords=scale&qid=1547854740&sr=8-3-spons&psc=1
I've been using this since February and it's been solid - https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Digital-Bathroom-Technology-Included/dp/B00F3J9G1W
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This is the one I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F3J9G1W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This is the one I use. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F3J9G1W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I was recently shopping for a scale, and had some of the same questions.
I've heard the ones that try to estimate bodyfat percentage (or anything else besides weight) are extremely inaccurate, so it's probably not worth it. If you want to track bodyfat, using calipers and a 3 site skinfold test, and being consistent about the 3 sites and how you perform it, will give you better relative measure of your own bodyfat percentage than the scales that use bioelectrical impedance (BIA) to estimate body composition. The skinfold test isn't particularly accurate for absolute bodyfat measurements (comparing your bodyfat to someone else's), but it is much better at estimating change over time than BIA (notice in the link I provided, for changes over time, BIA was the worst of all of the methods tested, including BMI). Even still, the error over time in the skinfold test is in the range of 4%, so it's not very good for tracking whether you've gone from 20% to 18%, but it would do fine for tracking a change from 25% to 15% if you test it once every couple of months.
Based on that, I decided to find the cheap scale that seemed to be the most accurate according to reviews and had a nice visible display. This one fit the bill; it does one thing, tell you your weight, and seems accurate enough.
You don't need that much precision, as your bodyweight will fluctuate throughout the day due to water weight, how recently you've eaten and how recently you've taken a dump, etc. A rolling average of a couple of days measurements is always going to be better than a single measurement.
I bought this scale for weighing myself around February of last year. Works great, super quick, and dirt cheap.
I've also bought this food scale in May and it's also been working great for food, tea, and coffee measurements. Being very cheap also helped. It's smaller than it looks though and so may not work for you.
Etekcity Digital Body Weight Scale with Step-On Technology, 400 Pounds, Elegant Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F3J9G1W/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_QP3fybM45Z7T9
$19.99 on Amazon
This one is simple and seems accurate, it's better than a few others I've had over the years: http://smile.amazon.com/Etekcity-Digital-Weight-Bathroom-Scale/dp/B00F3J9G1W
This is the one I bought. It's very straight forward, only $19, accurate, available for Amazon Prime shipping, and no-frills. Also, lots of good reviews.
I use this one. It's been really great.
I've had this one for three years. Still pretty accurate and haven't had to change batteries.
I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Digital-Weight-Bathroom-Scale/dp/B00F3J9G1W
$18.88 with free 2day shipping with Prime.
Best of luck! You'll do great! this scale would be awesome for me! Thanks for the contest!
I ended up with this one due to the good reviews and sleek look